Rafael van der Vaart
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70%Born
1983 (41 years old)
Birth Place
Heemskerk, NetherlandsPosition
Attacking Midfield
Status
Ethnicity
Team Number
Height
176 cm
Weight
73 kg
Outfitter
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Agent
Market Value
Retired
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Sport
SoccerTeam
_Retired Soccer
2nd Team
League
_No League Soccer
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Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart (engl.: 'from the ride', born 11 February 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
Van der Vaart began his career at Ajax's youth academy and worked his way into the first team, debuting as a 17-year-old. Known for his playmaking skills, he drew comparisons to Johan Cruyff. He was named Dutch Football Talent of the Year and became the first recipient of the Golden Boy Award while at the club. He moved to Bundesliga club Hamburger SV, then to Real Madrid, then on to Tottenham Hotspur before returning to Hamburger SV in 2012. In the latter stages of his career, Van der Vaart had brief spells playing in Spain and Denmark before announcing his retirement in 2018, and return in 2019 with a testimonial match.
Van der Vaart earned 109 caps for the Netherlands between 2001 and 2013. He represented the country at three UEFA European Championships and two FIFA World Cups, reaching the final in 2010.
In 2019, Van der Vaart began his darts career, joining the British Darts Organisation.
Van der Vaart was born in Heemskerk to a Dutch father and a Spanish mother from Chiclana de la Frontera, Cádiz, who had moved to the Netherlands weeks after birth. He grew up on a trailer park, belonging to a Dutch cultural minority called the Woonwagenbewoners, who had ties to the Irish Travellers and the Yenish people, and he often pretended to be Romário while playing football. It was at the trailer park that he learned how to play football and, before joining Ajax, he played for a local club called De Kennemers based in Beverwijk. At the age of ten, he joined the Ajax Academy. Van der Vaart has said of his upbringing: "That was the way my family lived. My father was born there and it is a lifestyle. Maybe it is not a normal lifestyle but I always liked it. I always played football on the street. It was an easy life, then I was 10 years old and went to Ajax and played there for almost 12 years."
On 10 June 2005, Van der Vaart married Sylvie Meis and on 28 May 2006, their son Damián Rafael was born. Some of the media have described the couple as the "new Beckhams" but both of them denied the claims saying that they prefer to just live a normal life.
In the summer of 2009, Real Madrid wanted to sell Van der Vaart, but the player decided to stay in Madrid because his wife was undergoing cancer treatment there. A year later, upon his move to England, Van der Vaart stated, "She had a very serious illness and it is true that she had to be treated at the Clinica Quiron. Last season, they wanted me to leave but I couldn't leave for that reason. Now she is well and the only thing that happened was that Madrid wanted to sell and I wanted to get back to enjoying playing football, and Tottenham are a great team that are going to give me the football opportunities that I need."
In 2010, Van der Vaart found out through emails that his wife was having an affair with a KLM airline pilot. On New Year's Eve 2012, Van der Vaart and his wife separated. Their son Damián signed for the youth team of Ajax in September 2023.
Since August 2016, Van der Vaart has been in a relationship with Dutch handball player Estavana Polman who played for Danish club Team Esbjerg. This was the main reason he moved to Denmark and chose to play for Midtjylland. On 27 December 2016, they announced that they were expecting a child. Their daughter Jesslynn was born in June 2017.
On 10 August 2021, Van der Vaart was hired in his first coaching role as an assistant coach to Peter Hyballa at his former club Esbjerg. Van der Vaart had lived in Esbjerg for the past five years due to his relationship with handball player Estavana Polman, who was playing for Team Esbjerg. On 27 January 2023 the club confirmed, that Van der Vaart's contract had been terminated by mutual agreement.
Career Honours
Career Milestones
Former Youth Teams
1993-2000 |
Former Senior Teams
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2000-2005 |
2001-2013 |
2005-2008 |
2008-2010 |
2010-2012 |
2012-2015 |
2015-2016 |
2016-2018 |
2018 |
Former Club Staff
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2021-2022 Assistant Manager |
2022-2022 Caretaker Manager |
2022-2023 Assistant Manager |
Contracts
Fanart
Banner
| Tottenham | Appearances | English Premier League | 2010-2011 | 28 |
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| Tottenham | Goals | English Premier League | 2010-2011 | 13 |
| Ajax | Appearances | Dutch Eredivisie | 2000-2001 | 27 |
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| Ajax | Goals | Dutch Eredivisie | 2000-2001 | 7 |
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