Rafael van der Vaart

Rafael van der Vaart is a professional football player who was born in Heemskerk in 1983.

The attacking midfielder has gone on to represent the Netherlands in international football. 

He currently plays his football in Germany for Hamburg and actually captains the side. The Dutchman has also taken part in the Premier League for Tottenham and La Liga with Real Madrid.

At the age of 10, Van der Vaart signed for Ajax as a youth player. It marked the start of a 12-year period at the club.

In 2000 he made his senior debut against FC Den Bosch in the 1999-2000 campaign. He went on to win two Eredivisie titles with the Dutch club in 2002 and 2004, whilst in 2002 they also lifted the KNVB Cup to land the double.

Hamburger SV paid €5.5million for Van der Vaart's services in June 2005. In a four-year spell at the Bundesliga club, he scored 48 goals from his 112 appearances. He finished his first season as their leading goalscorer with 16. They were also successful in the 2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup.

The Dutchman was in high demand in the summer of 2008 when he attracted offers from Atletico Madrid and Juventus. It was Real Madrid, though, who reached an agreement with Humburger for €13million.

He made his debut for the Spanish club in a 4-3 victory over CD Numancia where he was able to mark the occasion with a goal. 

While playing at the Bernabeu, his side finished runners-up in La Liga twice, although he did win the Supercopa de Espana in 2008. 

In the final hours of the summer transfer window of 2010, the Dutchman made a surprise move to Tottenham in England for £8million. He was set for a move to Bayern Munich a day earlier but that deal collapsed, leaving him available for purchase.

Van der Vaart was able to score 15 goals in his first season at White Hart Lane. He stayed with the Premier League club until August 2012, before a return back to Hamburger.
The Dutchman was part of the Netherlands team that reached the final of the World Cup in 2010. They were beaten in extra-time by Spain after Andres Iniesta scored the winning goal.

He was also involved in Euro 2012 for his national side but they were beaten by Portugal in the final group game to eliminate them from the competition.

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