Roy Rudolphus Anton Makaay (born March 9, 1975 in Wijchen, Netherlands) is a Dutch international footballer who is a striker for the Netherlands and Bayern Munich. His nickname ist Das Phantom (the Phantom), for his ability to score out of nowhere.
Makaay was the European Golden Boot winner for the 2002/03 season for being the top scorer in Europe. He was first recognised as a talented striker while playing for Vitesse Arnhem in the mid 1990s and honed his skills at the Spanish First Division with Tenerife and later with Deportivo de La Coruņa where he scored 22 goals in 36 appearances in his most profilic 1999/2000 season. His international caps for the Dutch national team has been limited due to previous players like Patrick Kluivert, Dennis Bergkamp and now Ruud van Nistelrooy who scored far more goals for the national team and who played for more internationally renowned clubs. Makaay did play for his country at Euro 2000 and Euro 2004.
His first encounter with Bayern Munich came during the UEFA Champions League 2002/03 season when he scored a hat-trick at the Olympiastadion in Munich in Deportivo's 3-2 against the Bavarian giants. The Bayern bosses then kept a close eye on him through out the whole season and finally beat off stiff challenges from Manchester United and Chelsea to get their man. A club record fee of $20 million was paid to Deportivo La Coruņa. He has since scored 46 and 13 Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League goals in his first two seasons at Bayern and the German giants still expect him to carry the goal scoring burden.
As of 2005, the introverted and soft-spoken Makaay is one of the most popular players in the recent history of Bayern Munich.
