Rafael van der Vaart - footballer of the Spanish club Betis and the Dutch team. The player is a pupil of the Ajax school in Amsterdam. He gained world fame during his appearances for various European clubs. He became famous thanks to his good technique and ability to perfectly execute free kicks. More details about it will be discussed later.
First steps in sports
The future famous Dutch soccer player was born on February 11, 1983 in the northern Dutch city of Hemskerk. At the age of ten, when watching in Ajax, Amsterdam, the boy made a great impression on the club’s children’s trainers, so he easily got to study at the local academy. His debut in the core took place when the guy turned 17 years old. Then he came on as a substitute in the national championship match against Den Bosch. Despite the diligence during training and the zeal for the game, that year in official fights he did not go on the field anymore.
Ajax
In the 2000-2001 season, the coach of Amsterdam Grand Ko Adrians began to trust the young player more. Initially, he transferred the guy to the reserve, but very often released him for a replacement. At the end of the year, fans already saw great potential in the young man. It is not surprising that according to the results of the season, it was Rafael van der Vaart who was recognized as the best young player of the team. The guy’s height was 176 centimeters, but this did not stop him from not only creating scoring chances for his teammates, but also from scoring himself both with his head and from standard positions.
According to experts, in the new season, the football player was to become the leader of his team. However, fate decreed otherwise. At the very beginning of the season, the player received a meniscus injury, which led to surgery and a long recovery. After returning to the field, a relapse occurred, which again required surgical intervention. As a result, before the end of the season, the footballer did not play any more games. After rehabilitation, the midfielder again began to play at the former level, thanks to which a number of clubs wanted to get him into their ranks.
Hamburg
July 1, 2005, the footballer moved to Hamburg. This decision was very unexpected, because it was claimed by more eminent teams. Be that as it may, in his new club the player very quickly became a leader. Experts say that it was thanks to him that Hamburg was able to take third place in the national championship and ended up in the Champions League. In the starting season for himself in Germany, Rafael van der Vaart scored nine goals in his opponent. At the same time, most of the goals were scored with beautiful blows from long distances. By effectiveness, he became the best in the team. The following year, the midfielder was selected as captain, but due to an injury he again flew out of the game for a long time. Without its leader, the team was quickly among the outsiders, but Rafael’s return after six months helped her to climb to the top of the table. In the 2007-2008 season, the player set his own record, scoring 21 goals in all tournaments in which he participated.
"Real Madrid"
Rafael van der Vaart became a player in Real Madrid in August 2008. The transaction amount was estimated at 15 million euros, and the Dutchman himself signed a five-year agreement with the club. He scored the first goal in Spain in his debut match against Numania. After a statement by team coach Manuel Pellegrini in the summer of 2009 that he did not count on Dutch football players, Rafael could leave the club. But be that as it may, the midfielder remained in the team, however, he no longer received proper game practice in the future.
Latest clubs
In 2010, the footballer moved to the London club Tottenham. Here he very quickly became a base player. In each match, the Dutchman performed a large amount of useful work, so it is not surprising that over time an individual award of the best player of the month appeared in his asset. Two years later, Rafael van der Vaart moved to Hamburg. According to him, he was very happy to return to Germany. In the team, he acted as efficiently and could well remain here until the end of his career. Along with this, the club’s affairs in the sports and financial plan were not going well. The midfielder decided to change the situation. After the contract expired in the summer of 2015, the footballer signed a three-year agreement with the Spanish Betis.
National team
For the national team of his country, Rafael van der Vaart first played in 2001 in a duel against Andorra. He played for the national team at three European and two world championships. Among his greatest achievements here are Euro 2004 bronze and 2010 silver mundial. As of today, Rafael is one of the five Dutch football players who have played the most matches in the national team's T-shirt.