Vennegoor of Hesselink hangs up cleats

Vennegoor of Hesselink in his Hull jersey

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands   ●   After Ruud van Nistelrooy announced his retirement yesterday, another Dutch striker followed in his footsteps today.

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink is hanging up his cleats after a sixteen-year long career.

The 33-year old former Dutch international played his last games for PSV in Eindhoven. Before that he scored goals for FC Twente, Celtic, Hull City and Rapid Wien.

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink had 19 caps for the Dutch national team, in 18 matches he came on as a substitute.

The striker said it was time for him to call it a quits. “I am 33 years old. And if you have been playing football for 16 years on top level, it means that your body takes longer and longer to recover.

“It’s been enough. I have no qualms about it and that says everything.”

On a footnote: His last name (22 characters if spaces are included) was the longest to ever feature in the Dutch top flight Eredivisie