The big interview: Rafael van der Vaart – "Yes, Zlatan threatened to break my legs – but he did that to everyone..."

Photo: Kasper Sveistrup Povlsen

Photography:Kasper Sveistrup Povlsen

Van der Vaart announced his retirement on November 5, 2018 after an injury-hit spell with Danish side Esbjerg. "I just have to stop now. I'm not here to rehabilitate, but to play football," he said. "I would have wanted to become a football grandpa, but that is not the case. I can only be grateful for all the years I was allowed to play football."

He is now a veteran of big-money moves, Champions League campaigns and World Cup finals, but Rafael van der Vaart could still give today's young bucks some sage advice on coping with the strain of being a highly-rated youth. In 2003 he was the first ever Golden Boy, an award given by European sports journalists, and the field was especially competitive. “If I remember correctly, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo came second and third that year,” Van der Vaart tells us, with a cheeky smirk.

I was raised there so to me it was just the normal life, but every time I've moved to a different country it’s been something I’ve been asked about, as it's considered quite unusual. I had a wonderful time growing up. Many people think it’s linked to poverty but that’s not the case at all. It was very sociable, with other relatives living very close. My parents aren't there any more, because after I signed my first contract at Ajax I bought them a house. But other family members are still on the park, so I still go back.

Other people making those comparisons was all right, but personally I’ve never really liked to make them myself. I didn't want to be the next version of any player – I wanted to establish my own name. When I was younger, I always knew I was a pretty good player, but it was impossible to foresee how far I’d go. I had a left foot and vision like no one else, but I wasn’t the quickest and my right foot wasn’t so great, so there were things I needed to work on. I’ve always said the one change that would’ve been nice is if I’d been a bit faster – like fast enough to be able to run past people instead of just being overtaken all the time! I think speed can make a huge difference, to the extent that if I'd been quicker, I believe I could have won the Ballon d’Or at some point during my career.

There were several highlights. When I was young, the best moment came when I was 10 and I got invited to the academy. I remember getting all this Ajax training gear and suddenly I was able to call myself an Ajax player. From then on, my goal every season was to remain at the club and then make my debut in the first team. I managed to do it when I was 17. I can clearly recall the phone call I made to my dad to tell him that I’d been picked for the senior squad. Once I established myself in the first team, my best ever moment came when I scored with a backheel against Feyenoord. When you’ve scored a goal like that, you realise you'are unlikely to experience a more unique momen.

Yeah, that one is true. One day, before a game against Bayern Munich, Ronald came to me and said: “At this moment, you aren't good enough to play for us as a midfielder but we want you to play as a left-winger.” I wasn't happy with that, because if I wasn’t good enough to play in my natural role, how could I be considered good enough to play out of position? In the end, I asked to be on the bench, which eventually led to me being stripped of the captaincy. Later on, after we’d both left Ajax, we recognised the mistakes we'd made. I’m the first to admit when my actions aren’t the smartest, and that incident showed a lack of respect to Koeman.

I’m never that bothered by someone giving his opinion in a column. But with regards to my Hamburg move, I can remember I wasn’t really keen when they first approached me. I agreed to visit the club and the reception I got was incredible. I spoke with manager Thomas Doll and the directors Bernd Hoffmann and Dietmar Beiersdorfer, and their vision was really impressive. I got to see the stadium, which was phenomenal, and soon I realised that this was the club I wanted to sign for.

Overall I had a really good time there, but yes, it was very difficult to go out somewhere in Madrid without getting noticed all the time. In London it was less of an issue, and here in Denmark it’s even quieter. But generally it’s nice when people come up to you or have a little chat, although I'm not overly keen on crowds. I’m not complaining about it, though, because if you don’t really want that lifestyle, you should just remain as an amateur footballer.There were rumours of a falling out between you and Real Madrid boss Juande Ramos when you were often deployed as a substitute. Did you get frustrated about that, and what was your relationship with the manager?
Lewis Posada Mercado, via Facebook

Yeah, it did get mentioned. I had several conversations with Robin van Persie, my team-mate with the Dutch side, and he'd spoken to Arsenal about me a few times, but I never heard anything. I didn't regret it – joining Spurs was the best thing that happened to me. I actually had the chance to move to the Premier League a lot earlier. When I was about 19, Gerard Houllier wanted to take me to Liverpool. I was flattered, of course, but at the time I wasn’t that interested in moving abroad. However, my agent said it would be a good idea to give Houllier a call. He explained that he'd talked about me with Michael Owen, who'd said he would be very happy to play with me at Liverpool. It was amazing to hear that, but I was still sure I wanted to remain at Ajax.

It wasn’t easy, but I was able to pull through. The coach [Manuel Pellegrini] told me at the start of the season that I was his fifth choice in my preferred position, behind Guti, Kaka, [Esteban] Granero and Raul. I remember I had to train separately from the rest of the squad, like running alone around the training ground. But once the transfer window closed, I was reintegrated into the group. In the end, I was a regular starter in my position and put in some very good performances. People might argue that my time with Real Madrid was unsuccessful, but look at the stats and you'll see that I played a lot of games and scored quite a lot of goals. When I look back on my Real Madrid career, I do so with a lot of fondness.

The Euro 2008 group matches against Italy and France. It was pure pleasure to be on the pitch in those two games – I could’ve played for about six hours and not got tired. Both Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup were brilliant to be a part of. In 2008 we were all thinking, ‘Wow, we are really good’, but it wasn’t like we were expecting to go and win the tournament. In 2010, it was more or less the opposite. We had a feeling like, ‘We don’t play that impressively, but no one is going to beat us’. That’s probably the best feeling you can have as a team during a major tournament.

The referee had a difficult game. You know, with about a minute or two to play in extra time, we got a free-kick and Wesley Sneijder’s shot definitely took a deflection, but somehow Spain were awarded a goal-kick – we couldn't believe that decision. Soon after, Spain got the ball into our box. We didn't get rid of it properly, and I tried to save the situation but was too late. I don’t want to say the moment we should have had a corner decided it, but we thought: ‘How is it possible?’

But at around 4pm on deadline day, my lawyer called me to say Spurs were interested in signing me. I asked him if I could think about it. He replied that I had to decide within two hours! I started to evaluate everything, then took a little nap. Suddenly I was jolted awake by the phone going off. It was about 5.40pm and my lawyer was on the phone again, telling me that I had to decide there and then. I thought for a split second, then said, “Yeah, let’s do it!” I had no time to overthink it or discuss it with anybody – it was pure intuition. Very soon I realised how happy I was with the decision. From the moment I arrived at Spurs Lodge, the club’s former training ground, I felt at home.How did Harry Redknapp at Spurs compare to your previous managers? He must have been pretty different...
Josh Hodgson, via Twitter

He was a magical guy – a father figure – but Harry could also be rock-hard. He was very much an old-school type of coach. During a team talk, he’d pull out a little piece of paper on which he'd written down the starting XI and would say things to us like, “Just give the ball to Luka [Modric], then Luka can try to find Rafa, and you will win the game.” Then, if we'd played a really good first half, he would openly praise you, saying things like, “Fucking hell, Rafa, what a player!” He gave you a boost – you would run faster for someone like him. Redknapp’s style suited my own very well, and it all fitted in perfectly with my overall positive image of the English game while I was at the club.

I never had anything against Arsenal, but when I joined Spurs I tried to learn about the club’s traditions and I soon found out about the magnitude of the match. I always try to immerse myself in the emotions of the fans, and in the derbies against Arsenal I tried to give Spurs fans a little bit of their pride back. I wanted them to have something to cheer about at work the next morning. Other derbies I played in were really special, too. Real against Atletico was a good atmosphere, and I played in El Clasico. That isn't strictly a derby, but it’s seen globally as the biggest game of the year – you can definitely feel it. All over the world, people are talking about it, and it almost feels as if you're going to play the World Cup final.

I don’t remember him saying anything to me. All I remember is what I said to him afterwards: “Close your legs next time!” I still regard that Spurs-Arsenal game [in April 2011] as my best day in football. It was on a warm spring night, with a little evening sun and a brilliant atmosphere in the stadium – just the perfect footballing conditions. I had one of my best games that night. We went 1-0 down, I scored the equaliser, but then we let in two before pulling it back to 3-3, with me scoring another goal. Luka Modric missed a big chance to make it 4-3 towards the end, which was a pity because we needed to win. I don’t think the supporters had often experienced a derby quite as good as that one – it was an incredible match.

I remember in the January we played a big match against Manchester City, who were five points ahead of us at that point. We were 2-0 down, before coming back to 2-2. In stoppage time we got this big chance, where Gareth Bale raced away, only to play the ball just too far in front of Jermain Defoe, who poked it wide. Moments later we gave away a penalty. Mario Balotelli scored it, we lost the game and the gap became eight points, which was a huge blow to our title aspirations. Until then, we'd been in such good form that it felt as if we had a genuine opportunity to win the Premier League title.

Andre Villas-Boas wasn’t the ideal coach for me. He bought Gylfi Sigurdsson and then told me he would be his new No.10. I found that a little bit strange considering what I’d achieved over the previous two years. I started the first match of the season on the subs’ bench, so when Hamburg approached me, I thought it was a nice opportunity to go back. But I shouldn’t have left Tottenham, though it’s always easy to say that with hindsight. I had some brilliant times during my second spell in Hamburg, but the fact that we were in the relegation play-off in the second and third seasons wasn’t good.

There were a few factors in my decision. Firstly, my girlfriend (Estavana Polman), plays handball in Esbjerg. She’s got a long, successful career ahead of her, so I was hoping that I could live quite close to her. At the same time, I wasn’t playing a lot for Betis and Midtjylland showed an interest, so it was a win-win situation. Also, I’m still not that far away from Hamburg, where my 11-year-old son from a previous marriage lives. [FFT: Have you ever played handball?] No, she hasn’t taught me anything yet!

I’ve experienced some good times, but yes, we seem to have experienced a tipping point. Nowadays, there’s a lot more emphasis on pace and power in teams, and technically refined players seem to have less of a chance to shine. I experienced that at Betis, three years ago. I started off pretty well, but then I picked up an injury and couldn’t get back in the team. The manager [Pepe Mel] told me that I was the best player on the ball but that he needed another kind of player in midfield.

When I saw the team, I couldn’t believe it – these players would kick the ball straight out of the stadium, but still get applauded as they were running around and doing lots of slide tackles. That’s not the kind of player I wanted to be. I hope the times when playmakers were appreciated more will come back again. Andres Iniesta, David Silva, Isco – those are the players that you want to go and watch week in, week out.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Arthur Renard has been writing for FourFourTwo since 2013, when Ronald Koeman hosted him for a Readers interview in a small room in stadium De Kuip. Two years later Arthur moved to London, where he still lives and from where he covers English football, while he has also been travelling the world to cover events like the World Cup and Copa America.

Latest

Premier League Golden Boot race hots up as Cole Palmer chases down Erling Haaland total

See more latest ►

Get FourFourTwo Newsletter

Most Popular