Saturday, July 04, 2009

Rafael Van der Vaart: £8M Dutch Master Ideal To Replace Alonso At Liverpool


According to reports in the Spanish, Dutch and German press Rafael van der Vaart will be allowed to leave the Bernabeu for a knockdown fee of just £8m.

The player’s stock has definitely fallen since his move to La Liga but the Dutchman would surely be the ideal man to replace the likes of Xabi Alonso at Liverpool.

The multi-million pound arrivals of Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul Albiol and soon Karim Benzema will mean that Real will need to recoup some of their incredible outlay by selling a number of fringe players.

Van der Vaart is expected to be one of those. However, he claims not to be worried, “On the one hand the uncertainty about our positions grows with each signing, but on the other hand I’m quite relaxed about it.

“I signed a contract for five years. If the club management tells me clearly I need to go, I’ll look for something else, but I want to battle.”

Van der Vaart began his Real career with 4 goals in his first 4 games including a goal on his debut against Numancia and a hat-trick against Sporting Gijon.

However, since then the Dutch playmaker has failed to score and increasingly been relegated to substitute appearances.

The €13 million summer signing has played 32 league games for the Spanish champions but only started 15 of those games.

Apart from starting the two final league games of the season, his previous last full 90 minutes came in a Copa Del Rey match versus Real Union in November and his last full game in La Liga was way back in September, hence his frustration.

After all, in 3 seasons for Hamburg he started 72 of his 74 league appearances and scored 29 goals.

Prior to leaving Hamburg his manager Martin Jol had this to say about his star player, “He is one of the best five play-makers in Europe and he dictates the rhythm of Hamburg.” That’s high praise indeed but the 26-year-old had proven to be a huge hit both in his homeland with Ajax and in the Bundesliga with Hamburg.

The 2007/08 season was the Dutchman’s most prolific campaign in 3 seasons in Germany.

He scored a total of 12 goals in 29 League appearances taking his overall League tally for Hamburg to an impressive 29 goals in 74 appearances. Not bad for a playmaking attacking midfielder.

This is a similar scoring rate to the one he enjoyed with Ajax where Van der Vaart scored a total of 52 goals in 117 League appearances.

This record includes the 2002/03 season when the Dutch international scored a staggering 18 goals in 21 League appearances.

The diminutive playmaker has also got a decent scoring record at international level for Holland after netting 14 goals in 68 games.

The Dutch star certainly has all the attributes to be a major hit in the Premier League and at a mere £8m would surely be an absolute bargain for a number of clubs.

Especially as he can play centrally, on either wing or as 2nd striker.

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