Rafael Van Der Vaart
Average Rating: 9/10 Hits: 782 Submitted: Nov 23, 2007
Here you can find various scout reports on Rafael Van Der Vaart's performances in Football Manager 2008. Do you want to find out if he's on of the best players in FM2008? Do you want to know how good Rafael Van Der Vaart will be in a couple of years time? If he'll achieve everything you want him to or if he'll be a complete flop?
Find out everything you need to know about attacking midfielder Rafael Van Der Vaart in Football Manager 2008.
Rafael Van Der Vaart is currently playing his trade in Germany, for Bundesliga side HSV. The Dutch International has been capped a total of fourty-four times for his country, scoring eleven goals in the process. The view of the general public is that the ex-Ajax playmaker is somewhat of a free-kick specialist, and isn't afraid to have a pop from thirty yards out when he feels he has a chance of scoring. Upon completing his first season as a HSV player, he was able to boast thirty-one appearances for the side in all competitions, and helped the clubs cause by scoring eleven goals.
Van Der Vaart was born in the North of Holland to a Spanish father, and Dutch mother. His date of birth is 11th February 1983 which makes him just twenty-four years old when you boot up your Football Manager 2008 disk. He began his footballing career in his hometown where he was picked up by De Kennemers; he moved to Holland giants Ajax in 1993 where he made his name known across Europe.
The Dutch National team picked up on this young talent and gave him a run-out against Andorra on October 6th 2001, and he was even included in both the Euro 2004 and FIFA World Cup 2006 tournaments. However, manager Dick Advocaat has found his services required at a minimum for the National side, as he forced to sit onto the bench for the majority of the Euro 2004 competition. It was thought that Van Der Vaart did not fit into the style of play the Holland manager chose to use, and unfortunately for Rafael; this system worked quite well leading him to become no more than a fringe player for the side. After shining at club level in the season leading up to the World Cup tournament is was widely expected that Van Der Vaart would get his chance, but small, niggling injuries meant that he would miss the opening game. With Advocaat's side beating Serbia & Montenegro it was the manager's choice to stick with the winning formula, and leave our Van Der Vaart yet again.
In this years version of Football Manager Van Der Vaart can play a vital role in almost any top European side straight from the off. He has all the required ability to do well for the likes of AC Milan, Real Madrid and Man United - and his potential could lead him to become the best playmaker in the world. He has a wide range of abilities that can be vital to leading your side to success. His ability to pick out almost any pass is fantastic, and he can usually be seen collecting the ball from the midfielders and splitting open the defence to play through on goal one his side's attackers. At just the age of twenty-four this is remarkable.
With a range of abilities listed above, and more, you'd expect him to be the perfect playmaker. However, there are a few concerns regarding Van Der Vaart I have discovered during my time managing him. Whilst his ability on the ball is very good, he can occasionally find himself ball-watching, and thus finding himself caught out of position. If the rest of the team are depending on his service then this can lead to some problems in the final third of the field.
Another thing worth mentioning is his tackling and marking, whilst these aren't essential for an attacking midfielder they can be extremely handy when you need to hold on for the final ten minutes. You don't want someone like him to be tracking back to help out with the defence, so if you find you need that extra solid player in midfield or at the back, it would be a wise-choice to sacrifice Rafael in order to secure the points you've worked for.
I'm going to assume that in your FM save game you are not the manager of HSV, and so don't have Van Der Vaart in your squad currently. I'm also going to assume that you are a European based club who is set to take place in European competition in the coming season. Because if you are not, then there is a smaller chance you will be able to fund and persuade Van Der Vaart to join your playing staff team. It will cost anywhere between £11 million and £16 million for his current club to allow him to hold contract talks with anyone, and the player himself will request around £56,000 per week in wages, and depending on the buying club he'll settle for a four-year deal.
Season 1 - Shakhtar Donestk - Ukranian High League
I was both surprised and thrilled to discover a player of Rafael's calibre could be persuaded to join a Ukrainian team, I assume that the lure of Champions League football was a major factor. Shakhtar wouldn't settle for anything less than £14 million unfortunately due to me leaving the deal until the end of the transfer window, but nonetheless he was able to adapt to the squad instantly and was an instant hit with the fans. He made everything click in the central of the park, concentrating on the more attacking side of things he connected the midfielders and the strikers, creating bucket loads of chances for my lone-striker, Lucarelli.
I liked to play him as an attacking midfielder, just behind Lucarelli with an arrow running forward. I gave him maximum creative freedom and a free role so his flair and creativity could play a major part in the team. Albeit in a rather poor standard league it was a success, Van Der Vaart was not fazed by the physical side of the league and his crowd-pleasing performances were enough to lead us to a league and cup double. I was particularly impressed with the partnership he had with Lucarelli, a combination of youth and experience brought out the best in both players and it was entertaining to watch.
The only downside to Van Der Vaart's season was a rib injury sustained in a Champions League match that left him on the sidelines for a month. During this time that team went through a sticky patch and it was clear we were missing the creative presence of Rafael, and I was delighted to welcome him back just after Christmas. Another injury later on in the year could suggest that he is prone to injury, but it turned out to be a small facial injury (again, it was picked up during a match) and he was back and in training within a week.
The Dutch International contributed to the side's title race against Dinamo with seven goals in twenty-two appearances, a couple of which were free-kicks to secure vital points; most notably a winner against Roma in the Champions League group stages. He also managed to create fourteen assists in these appearances and finished the season with an average rating of 7.32. An extremely successful season at Shakhtar, and it was obvious that he had the ability to cope in a much more difficult league.
Season 2 - Fulham - Coca-Cola Championship
A career move saw me take over the reigns as manager of Fulham, and with a new Chairman in place I was given a hefty £16 million in my transfer kitty. Naturally, I instantly had a look at VDV and saw he was worth just £5 million, I offered £15 million to my old club and to my delight both the club and the player accepted. The Championship is arguably a better league than the High League, but the physical strength wasn't as tough, so I thought it would be a great chance for Van Der Vaart to really show what he can do.
A second place finish was difficult to accomodate but we managed to stay there for the majority of the season and win promotion. Needless to say I probably wouldn't have managed a play-off position if it wasn't for VDV, the AMC was in lethal form the entire seasons in the same role he played at Shakhtar. The same formation was played so Rafael was played behind a lone-striker. Most of the time this was Kamara but it usually varied from game-to-game.
However, at Shakhtar VDV was one of a few star players and so the glory was shared out amoungst them. At Fulham he was the main man, he ran the show and was possibly the best player in the division all season. He finished the campaign having made double the amount of appearences than he did in Ukraine (22 at Shakhtar, 44 in Fulham) and scored three times the amount of goals (7 in Shakhtar, 21 at Fulham).
This just goes to show how much he has improved in the one season and how effective he can be in England, albeit in at Championship level but still a great achievement. He was the captain, playmaker, top goalscorer and assister who looked like he was about to enter the prime of his career. Next season he will enter the Premiership where his skills will be put to the test, if he shines like he has done in the last two league campaigns it will be safe to say he is one of the world's best playmakers.
Season 3 - Fulham - Barclays Premiership
A team expected to go straight back down ended up finishing in eleventh place, reaching the semi-finals of the Carling Cup and beating Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool at home. I decided not to spend big on the attacking front as I wanted VDV to shine as he done in the Championship, so I stuck with the VDV/Kamara partnership that had worked well enough the previous season. More or less the same line-up meant our form carried on over from last year with Van Der Vaart yet again showing what he can do.
The league campaign was very similar to the last and Rafael managed to make 46 appearences in all competitions, scoring 21 goals just as he had last season. His link-up play improved dramatically this season as he managed 17 assists, nine more than the season in the Championship. He helped the teams cause with six of his twenty-one goals being free-kicks, a couple of which secured vital points against surrounding teams. His flair and creativity was up against tougher, faster opposition then bafore and although he struggled at first - he managed to overcome this and adjust to the Premiership lifesyle.
I'd really like to see VDV put in some more performances in European competitions, as I feel he has improved greatly since Shakhtar and he could really shine if playing for the right team. However, it would take me a couple more seasons to reach a European spot and due to losing interest I think it's best I stop here. I've enjoyed watching his progression and how he can easily adapt to another league, plus the fact that he's such a creative player makes it even more exciting. He has proved to me he can cope in the Premiership, so I have no doubt that he has the potential to become one of the best in the world.
Van Der Vaart was born in the North of Holland to a Spanish father, and Dutch mother. His date of birth is 11th February 1983 which makes him just twenty-four years old when you boot up your Football Manager 2008 disk. He began his footballing career in his hometown where he was picked up by De Kennemers; he moved to Holland giants Ajax in 1993 where he made his name known across Europe.
The Dutch National team picked up on this young talent and gave him a run-out against Andorra on October 6th 2001, and he was even included in both the Euro 2004 and FIFA World Cup 2006 tournaments. However, manager Dick Advocaat has found his services required at a minimum for the National side, as he forced to sit onto the bench for the majority of the Euro 2004 competition. It was thought that Van Der Vaart did not fit into the style of play the Holland manager chose to use, and unfortunately for Rafael; this system worked quite well leading him to become no more than a fringe player for the side. After shining at club level in the season leading up to the World Cup tournament is was widely expected that Van Der Vaart would get his chance, but small, niggling injuries meant that he would miss the opening game. With Advocaat's side beating Serbia & Montenegro it was the manager's choice to stick with the winning formula, and leave our Van Der Vaart yet again.
In this years version of Football Manager Van Der Vaart can play a vital role in almost any top European side straight from the off. He has all the required ability to do well for the likes of AC Milan, Real Madrid and Man United - and his potential could lead him to become the best playmaker in the world. He has a wide range of abilities that can be vital to leading your side to success. His ability to pick out almost any pass is fantastic, and he can usually be seen collecting the ball from the midfielders and splitting open the defence to play through on goal one his side's attackers. At just the age of twenty-four this is remarkable.
With a range of abilities listed above, and more, you'd expect him to be the perfect playmaker. However, there are a few concerns regarding Van Der Vaart I have discovered during my time managing him. Whilst his ability on the ball is very good, he can occasionally find himself ball-watching, and thus finding himself caught out of position. If the rest of the team are depending on his service then this can lead to some problems in the final third of the field.
Another thing worth mentioning is his tackling and marking, whilst these aren't essential for an attacking midfielder they can be extremely handy when you need to hold on for the final ten minutes. You don't want someone like him to be tracking back to help out with the defence, so if you find you need that extra solid player in midfield or at the back, it would be a wise-choice to sacrifice Rafael in order to secure the points you've worked for.
I'm going to assume that in your FM save game you are not the manager of HSV, and so don't have Van Der Vaart in your squad currently. I'm also going to assume that you are a European based club who is set to take place in European competition in the coming season. Because if you are not, then there is a smaller chance you will be able to fund and persuade Van Der Vaart to join your playing staff team. It will cost anywhere between £11 million and £16 million for his current club to allow him to hold contract talks with anyone, and the player himself will request around £56,000 per week in wages, and depending on the buying club he'll settle for a four-year deal.
Season 1 - Shakhtar Donestk - Ukranian High League
I was both surprised and thrilled to discover a player of Rafael's calibre could be persuaded to join a Ukrainian team, I assume that the lure of Champions League football was a major factor. Shakhtar wouldn't settle for anything less than £14 million unfortunately due to me leaving the deal until the end of the transfer window, but nonetheless he was able to adapt to the squad instantly and was an instant hit with the fans. He made everything click in the central of the park, concentrating on the more attacking side of things he connected the midfielders and the strikers, creating bucket loads of chances for my lone-striker, Lucarelli.
I liked to play him as an attacking midfielder, just behind Lucarelli with an arrow running forward. I gave him maximum creative freedom and a free role so his flair and creativity could play a major part in the team. Albeit in a rather poor standard league it was a success, Van Der Vaart was not fazed by the physical side of the league and his crowd-pleasing performances were enough to lead us to a league and cup double. I was particularly impressed with the partnership he had with Lucarelli, a combination of youth and experience brought out the best in both players and it was entertaining to watch.
The only downside to Van Der Vaart's season was a rib injury sustained in a Champions League match that left him on the sidelines for a month. During this time that team went through a sticky patch and it was clear we were missing the creative presence of Rafael, and I was delighted to welcome him back just after Christmas. Another injury later on in the year could suggest that he is prone to injury, but it turned out to be a small facial injury (again, it was picked up during a match) and he was back and in training within a week.
The Dutch International contributed to the side's title race against Dinamo with seven goals in twenty-two appearances, a couple of which were free-kicks to secure vital points; most notably a winner against Roma in the Champions League group stages. He also managed to create fourteen assists in these appearances and finished the season with an average rating of 7.32. An extremely successful season at Shakhtar, and it was obvious that he had the ability to cope in a much more difficult league.
Season 2 - Fulham - Coca-Cola Championship
A career move saw me take over the reigns as manager of Fulham, and with a new Chairman in place I was given a hefty £16 million in my transfer kitty. Naturally, I instantly had a look at VDV and saw he was worth just £5 million, I offered £15 million to my old club and to my delight both the club and the player accepted. The Championship is arguably a better league than the High League, but the physical strength wasn't as tough, so I thought it would be a great chance for Van Der Vaart to really show what he can do.
A second place finish was difficult to accomodate but we managed to stay there for the majority of the season and win promotion. Needless to say I probably wouldn't have managed a play-off position if it wasn't for VDV, the AMC was in lethal form the entire seasons in the same role he played at Shakhtar. The same formation was played so Rafael was played behind a lone-striker. Most of the time this was Kamara but it usually varied from game-to-game.
However, at Shakhtar VDV was one of a few star players and so the glory was shared out amoungst them. At Fulham he was the main man, he ran the show and was possibly the best player in the division all season. He finished the campaign having made double the amount of appearences than he did in Ukraine (22 at Shakhtar, 44 in Fulham) and scored three times the amount of goals (7 in Shakhtar, 21 at Fulham).
This just goes to show how much he has improved in the one season and how effective he can be in England, albeit in at Championship level but still a great achievement. He was the captain, playmaker, top goalscorer and assister who looked like he was about to enter the prime of his career. Next season he will enter the Premiership where his skills will be put to the test, if he shines like he has done in the last two league campaigns it will be safe to say he is one of the world's best playmakers.
Season 3 - Fulham - Barclays Premiership
A team expected to go straight back down ended up finishing in eleventh place, reaching the semi-finals of the Carling Cup and beating Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool at home. I decided not to spend big on the attacking front as I wanted VDV to shine as he done in the Championship, so I stuck with the VDV/Kamara partnership that had worked well enough the previous season. More or less the same line-up meant our form carried on over from last year with Van Der Vaart yet again showing what he can do.
The league campaign was very similar to the last and Rafael managed to make 46 appearences in all competitions, scoring 21 goals just as he had last season. His link-up play improved dramatically this season as he managed 17 assists, nine more than the season in the Championship. He helped the teams cause with six of his twenty-one goals being free-kicks, a couple of which secured vital points against surrounding teams. His flair and creativity was up against tougher, faster opposition then bafore and although he struggled at first - he managed to overcome this and adjust to the Premiership lifesyle.
I'd really like to see VDV put in some more performances in European competitions, as I feel he has improved greatly since Shakhtar and he could really shine if playing for the right team. However, it would take me a couple more seasons to reach a European spot and due to losing interest I think it's best I stop here. I've enjoyed watching his progression and how he can easily adapt to another league, plus the fact that he's such a creative player makes it even more exciting. He has proved to me he can cope in the Premiership, so I have no doubt that he has the potential to become one of the best in the world.
