You have got to sympathise with Rafael Van der Vaart, albeit, briefly. I mean, yeah he has played for Real Madrid, yeah he is regularly in the Dutch international squad and, yeah he wakes up to Sylvie Van der Vaart (quite possibly the hottest WAG that has ever caught the eye of fans around the world). Yet, the problem is, he has to compete with Wesley Sneijder for a place in the starting line-up for Holland. This is where the sympathy comes into play – Sneijder is one of, if not the, best playmaking centre midfielders in the world. A problem VdV must face as he vies for the same position as Sneijder.
Bert Van Marwijk has been playing the talented playmaker out on the left of a 4-2-3-1 formation in order to accommodate Sneijder and, to be honest, who can blame him? Real Madrid were far too hasty in selling Sneijder and for so little to eventual Champions League winners, Inter Milan. He repaid the faith shown in him by, now Real Madrid coach, Jose Mourinho by helping them to the treble last season. As good as VdV may be, I hate to say it but, Sneijder is by far the better player.
However, I feel Van Marwijk is being a bit harsh on the new Spurs man. After leaving him out of the first XI altogether against footballing minnows San Marino, VdV was only give 64 minutes to prove his worth to the national coach before being substituted in the 2-1 victory over Finland. VdV’s reaction must not have aided his cause either as he covered his mouth appearing to say something about Van Marwijk, Sneijder or just swearing in general in order to not be picked up on cameras. He should be working hard to reclaim a place in the starting Dutch XI and I feel his move to Spurs will be good for him following a stop-start 2 years at Real Madrid.
Holland and former Real Madrid teammate Arjen Robben feels Spurs should build their team around VdV recently stated that Spurs midfield is now up there with the best in the Premiership following the acquisition of his Dutch compatriot and had nothing but praise for the new Spurs signing. I, for one, am excited to be seeing VdV in the EPL as he adds something different to a Spurs team already bustling with creativity. So, my advice to VdV would be to knuckle down for Spurs and show Van Marwijk that you warrant a place in the Holland starting XI, perhaps at the expense of Sneijder.
