Van Der Vaart signs deal with Real Betis

Van Der Vaart signs deal with Real Betis

Former Spurs man Rafael Van der Vaart signs three-year deal with Real Betis. He has managed to score 25 goals for the oranje in his 109 appearances. He has represented them in 3 European championships and 2 world cups. The Ajax youth academy graduate went on to play for their senior team, Real Madrid, Tottenham and Hamburg.

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The 32 year old primarily likes to play attacking football and is a great asset when his team is pushing forward. He plays attacking midfield but can be deployed as a defensive midfielder and a central midfielder as well. He is known to take long shots and provide accurate long balls to his teammates. He is also great at taking set pieces. The midfielder often likes to play the ball off the ground. He suffers due to his diminutive stature when it comes to winning aerial duels and is not a great asset defensively as his contributions in his own half are usually not half as impressive as those in the oppositions half.

"I spoke with the coach and we want to win the league. The most important thing is that the fans are happy because we're playing good football. When the club dropped to the Segunda [Division], I saw they still had 40,000 fans on YouTube, and that says a lot about the club.” He said.

"Betis are a great club and I'm happy to return to the best league in the world. I have huge ambition. In football, one day you're king, another you're bad. I want to return to the Holland side," he added.

"I'm a different footballer to the one who played at Real Madrid. I've got more experience, but I suppose that I'm basically the same type of player. I had two bad years with Hamburg but I think I'm still a good player." he further said.