Rafael van der Vaart

Rafael van der Vaart is an attacking midfielder of English side Tottenham Hotspur and the Netherlands national team. He trained in the Ajax academy. In 2000/2001 Rafael became the best young player of his club.

In July 2005 he transferred to Hamburger SV. That decision struck everybody as such clubs as Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United were struggling to get him.

Without any doubts, van der Vaart distinguished himself in the very first season with the club, scoring nine fantastic goals and becoming the top goalscorer. However, he had to skip several matches due to an injury in 2006/2007, but the following season was great and Rafael netted six goals in first seven matches.

In 2008 Rafael signed a five-year contract with Spanish side Real Madrid, but played for it only for two years. In August 2010, the footballer transferred to London side Tottenham Hotspur, where he soon became a regular. Nowadays Rafael is extremely useful for the club in every match.

Van der Vaart made his first appearance for the main national squad in October 2001. He played for it in UEFA Euro 2004, 2008 and 2012 and the 2006 and 2010 World Cup.