FIFA World Cup™ Germany 2006 player's profile

The one-time wunderkid of Dutch football, Rafael van der Vaart should not be short of confidence entering the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ having enjoyed a productive season with club side Hamburg.
It is now over six years since the left-sided playmaker first burst on to the scene with Ajax. Born in Heemskerk on 11 February 1983 Van der Vaart had joined the Amsterdam giants at the age of ten and, after scoring seven goals in 27 appearances in his first full season, 2000/01, found himself compared to the likes of Dennis Bergkamp and even the great Johan Cruyff. He made his senior debut as a 17-year-old in a 1-1 draw at Den Bosch in April 2000 and his international bow followed just 18 months later in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Andorra. That first cap came early in the 2001/02 campaign, when he built on the promise of his first season by hitting 14 goals to help Ajax win the title before a serious knee injury disrupted his progress that February. Injuries continued to plague the youngster the following term but he still managed 18 goals in 21 games, firmly establishing himself as a hero of the Ajax faithful even before he assumed the captaincy and helped the club seize back the Eredivisie crown from PSV in season 2003/04.

Unhappily Van der Vaart became a target for abuse for opposition fans because of his high-profile relationship with Dutch television presenter and model Sylvie Meis. Indeed in September 2004, the referee in charge of Ajax’s match at ADO Den Haag actually threatened to abandon the game due to the chants being sung about Van der Vaart’s now wife. At the same time, the player’s relationship with then Ajax coach Ronald Koeman was worsening and he was stripped of the captaincy, and when things did not improve under Koeman’s successor, Danny Blind, it was clear that the time had come to move on.

His destination, however, surprised everyone. Van der Vaart’s attacking flair had appeared perfectly suited for Spanish football and the last thing people expected was a transfer to Hamburg, a club without a notable success in almost a quarter of a century. Cruyff’s reaction was typical. "I don't know what to say about it or what Rafael van der Vaart is doing in Hamburg," he wrote in his newspaper column. However, the move to the only ever-present club in the Bundesliga's 42-year history appears to have suited the Dutchman, particularly as Hamburg have been happy to build a team around their biggest signing since Kevin Keegan, and to ensure his attacking instincts are indulged to the full.

With Rafael Wicky providing defensive cover, Van der Vaart has operated in his preferred position behind the front two during the past season, scoring freely as Hamburg enjoyed a fine campaign at the top end of the Bundesliga table and reached the last 16 of the UEFA Cup. For the Netherlands, meanwhile, he may no longer be an automatic first pick but he did appear in nine of their 12 Germany 2006 qualifiers and struck the opening goal in the 2-0 win away to the Czech Republic, their main rivals for top spot, in October 2005.

In the 4-3-3 formation favoured by coach Marco van Basten, it seems that Van der Vaart’s best hope of a starting role is as a left-sided forward, although he did deputise successfully for the injured Phillip Cocu in central midfield in the qualifying win in the Czech Republic. The 23-year-old will be aiming to reproduce his recent flying form for Hamburg in an Oranje shirt this summer and the German setting should help, as should the atmosphere created by Van Basten in the Dutch camp. "He tells us to go out and enjoy ourselves," said Van der Vaart, who is hoping to do precisely that in his first outing on the world stage.

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UEFA EURO 2004™ player's profile

AFC Ajax supporters caught their first glimpse of a superstar-in-the-making when the left-sided playmaker Rafael van der Vaart took his first-team bow in the 1-1 draw at FC Den Bosch in April 2000. And nothing has happened since to persuade them otherwise.

National team
Having appeared for the Netherlands at the FIFA World Youth Cup in Argentina in the summer of 2000, he stepped up a level to make his full international debut against Andorra in October 2001 and is now a regular in the national set-up. Van der Vaart scored in three games in UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifying, but Dick Advocaat's finals formation excluded Van der Vaart's favoured position, and after starting against Germany made only two more appearances from the bench, including the last 34 minutes of the semi-final defeat by Portugal.

Club
Van der Vaart was born in Heemskerk in 1983 and joined Ajax at the age of ten. Scored seven goals in 27 first-team appearances in his first full season, 2000/01, after replacing the veteran Richard Witschge. The next year his ratio was even better: 14 in 20, as Ajax won the Eredivisie and Dutch Cup. The downside to his blossoming career came when he sustained a serious knee injury against RKC Waalwijk requiring surgery in February 2002. Van der Vaart had two more injuries in the 2002/03 season, but still had time to net 18 goals in 21 games. In February 2003 he signed a new, improved deal.

2003/04: Dazzled once again as Ajax won back the Eredivisie crown from PSV, scoring seven times in 24 league outings.

Did you know?
He told uefa.com of comparisons with Johan Cruyff: "It's nice but Cruyff was really fantastic and I am still young."

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