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Debate: Van Der Vaart One Too Many For Real?
In the wake of Real Madrid adding the ingenious Dutch playmaker Rafael van der Vaart to their squad this summer, Goal.com asks whether he is really needed at the Bernabeu…..
06-Aug-2008 3:18:29 AM
First off, Rafael van der Vaart is a good signing. A very good signing. In fact, when you notice that Real Madrid have had to lash out a measly €13 million for a player who almost radically transformed SV Hamburg to a German Bundesliga contender, then you realize that he is really a great signing.
Rafael van der Vaart is one of the most creative midfielders in Europe. A graduate of the Ajax Amsterdam youth academy, that last bastion of Total Football, at 25 he is young and dynamic and is versatile enough to play virtually anywhere across the midfield.
He would be another addition to the already bulging Dutch contingent at the Bernabeu and would bring flair and panache to a Real Madrid side that still needs a considerable chiseling and polishing to become the fantasy football machine that president Ramon Calderon promised in the summer of 2006.
And then of course he has glamour. Van der Vaart is the Dutch version of David Beckham and is married to Dutch actress and presenter Sylvie Meis. And the Madrid public loves glamour.
Do Real Want Him?
But then again, there are stark doubts. Before we explore whether Real Madrid need Rafael van der Vaart or not, let us explore whether the Merengues actually did want him.
All this summer Real Madrid have been chasing one man and one man only, a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. Of course, they have been making an enquiry or two about Kaka but mostly they have devoted themselves to The Pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Concrete links with Van der Vaart emerged only in the middle of last month, half a month after Euro 2008 pulled off its tent. It was around the same time that Manchester United apparently confirmed that Ronaldo is bolted inside Old Trafford.
A pro-Real Madrid sports daily in the Spanish capital smoked out rumours of Van der Vaart joining Real. Inside days in an interview Real Madrid’s Dutch star Wesley Sneijder insisted that his mate is eager to join Real Madrid. Van der Vaart though initially claimed that he would most probably stay on at the AOL Arena for one more season but soon Real posed a bid to Hamburg which the German side promptly rejected but when Real made an improved offer of €13 million, both Hamburg and Van der Vaart agreed.
For Real Madrid to sign a high profile player like Van der Vaart without trumpeting for days isn’t quite digestible. And the fact that the links between Real and Van der Vaart surfaced only after the Man United police ceased the smuggling of Ronaldo reinforces the suspicion that Calderon signed the player only because he had failed to sign Ronaldo.
After all, in the summer of 2006 after Calderon failed in his bid to sign the promised Kaka or Cesc Fabregas, he sign their supposed replacements. And this summer now that he has seemingly failed to prize Ronaldo away from Old Trafford, he has decided to sign Van der Vart as his replacement.
Do Real Need Him?
And now that Rafael van der Vaart has become a Real Madrid player, the question whether he is one too many shall certainly be raised. Because in spite of Van der Vaart’s free-kick skills, accurate long range shots, creativity from central midfield, versatility to play on the wings, German Bundesliga exploits with Hamburg, he is not guaranteed a starting position at the Bernabeu.
Because Real Madrid already do have a very strong midfield. Because they have two top class anchormen in Fernando Gago and Mahamadou Diarra, a mercurial Brazilian hotshot in Julio Cesar Baptista, an injury-prone but world class winger in Arjen Robben, a disgruntled but talented playmaker in Robinho and a decent left sided medio in Royston Drenthe.
Because Real Madrid also have Guti and Wesley Sneijder, each of whom started 27 La Liga games last season. Because striker Gonzalo Higuain is a fiercely talented young striker who can accommodate himself into the midfield at a short notice. Because young midfield gun Ruben de la Red is back in the squad after a high at Getafe last season.
Large Squad = Large Problem
Bernd Schuster is a shrewd personality, who does know a thing or two about how to accommodate his players into his system. But then again, at the start of last season Real did appear to stumble at times, clearly indicating that the players needed time to settle down.
Which they eventually did. But this season the Madridistas would want Real to play the Neverland football right from Day One. Which implies that Schuster needs to start plotting his formation from now.
Wesley Sneijder’s absence for at least three months might open a window for Van der Vaart to creep into the starting line-up, but what after he returns?
Chelsea signed Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack in the summer of 2006 not to win the Premiership—since they thought that they would win the domestic crown without the duo anyway---but to win the Champions League. Real too seem to have adopted a similar policy as after six years of European drought, they want to cash in on every dim opportunity to reclaim the European throne.
At the unveiling of Rafael van der Vaart on Tuesday, Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon remarked,”We said that the new arrivals would be few but of great quality. That seemed logical after two successful seasons in which we've brought in 19 young, promising players.”
While a huge squad is good for the men-in-suits and the bloke who does his nutter on the sidelines, it is a terrifying prospect for the players, who are constantly on the edge for fear of losing their places.
Real Madrid have a very large squad where talent and quality is overwhelming and spilling onto the bench. Which flares up the possibility of player frustration and ego clash.
So by constructing a large squad, have Real Madrid created an unmanageable monster?
Subhankar Mondal
Rafael van der Vaart is one of the most creative midfielders in Europe. A graduate of the Ajax Amsterdam youth academy, that last bastion of Total Football, at 25 he is young and dynamic and is versatile enough to play virtually anywhere across the midfield.
He would be another addition to the already bulging Dutch contingent at the Bernabeu and would bring flair and panache to a Real Madrid side that still needs a considerable chiseling and polishing to become the fantasy football machine that president Ramon Calderon promised in the summer of 2006.
And then of course he has glamour. Van der Vaart is the Dutch version of David Beckham and is married to Dutch actress and presenter Sylvie Meis. And the Madrid public loves glamour.
Do Real Want Him?
But then again, there are stark doubts. Before we explore whether Real Madrid need Rafael van der Vaart or not, let us explore whether the Merengues actually did want him.
All this summer Real Madrid have been chasing one man and one man only, a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. Of course, they have been making an enquiry or two about Kaka but mostly they have devoted themselves to The Pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Concrete links with Van der Vaart emerged only in the middle of last month, half a month after Euro 2008 pulled off its tent. It was around the same time that Manchester United apparently confirmed that Ronaldo is bolted inside Old Trafford.
A pro-Real Madrid sports daily in the Spanish capital smoked out rumours of Van der Vaart joining Real. Inside days in an interview Real Madrid’s Dutch star Wesley Sneijder insisted that his mate is eager to join Real Madrid. Van der Vaart though initially claimed that he would most probably stay on at the AOL Arena for one more season but soon Real posed a bid to Hamburg which the German side promptly rejected but when Real made an improved offer of €13 million, both Hamburg and Van der Vaart agreed.
For Real Madrid to sign a high profile player like Van der Vaart without trumpeting for days isn’t quite digestible. And the fact that the links between Real and Van der Vaart surfaced only after the Man United police ceased the smuggling of Ronaldo reinforces the suspicion that Calderon signed the player only because he had failed to sign Ronaldo.
After all, in the summer of 2006 after Calderon failed in his bid to sign the promised Kaka or Cesc Fabregas, he sign their supposed replacements. And this summer now that he has seemingly failed to prize Ronaldo away from Old Trafford, he has decided to sign Van der Vart as his replacement.
Do Real Need Him?
And now that Rafael van der Vaart has become a Real Madrid player, the question whether he is one too many shall certainly be raised. Because in spite of Van der Vaart’s free-kick skills, accurate long range shots, creativity from central midfield, versatility to play on the wings, German Bundesliga exploits with Hamburg, he is not guaranteed a starting position at the Bernabeu.
Because Real Madrid already do have a very strong midfield. Because they have two top class anchormen in Fernando Gago and Mahamadou Diarra, a mercurial Brazilian hotshot in Julio Cesar Baptista, an injury-prone but world class winger in Arjen Robben, a disgruntled but talented playmaker in Robinho and a decent left sided medio in Royston Drenthe.
Because Real Madrid also have Guti and Wesley Sneijder, each of whom started 27 La Liga games last season. Because striker Gonzalo Higuain is a fiercely talented young striker who can accommodate himself into the midfield at a short notice. Because young midfield gun Ruben de la Red is back in the squad after a high at Getafe last season.
Large Squad = Large Problem
Bernd Schuster is a shrewd personality, who does know a thing or two about how to accommodate his players into his system. But then again, at the start of last season Real did appear to stumble at times, clearly indicating that the players needed time to settle down.
Which they eventually did. But this season the Madridistas would want Real to play the Neverland football right from Day One. Which implies that Schuster needs to start plotting his formation from now.
Wesley Sneijder’s absence for at least three months might open a window for Van der Vaart to creep into the starting line-up, but what after he returns?
Chelsea signed Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack in the summer of 2006 not to win the Premiership—since they thought that they would win the domestic crown without the duo anyway---but to win the Champions League. Real too seem to have adopted a similar policy as after six years of European drought, they want to cash in on every dim opportunity to reclaim the European throne.
At the unveiling of Rafael van der Vaart on Tuesday, Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon remarked,”We said that the new arrivals would be few but of great quality. That seemed logical after two successful seasons in which we've brought in 19 young, promising players.”
While a huge squad is good for the men-in-suits and the bloke who does his nutter on the sidelines, it is a terrifying prospect for the players, who are constantly on the edge for fear of losing their places.
Real Madrid have a very large squad where talent and quality is overwhelming and spilling onto the bench. Which flares up the possibility of player frustration and ego clash.
So by constructing a large squad, have Real Madrid created an unmanageable monster?
Subhankar Mondal
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