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Rafael van der Vaart
Personal information
Full name	Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart
Date of birth	February 11, 1983 (age 24)
Place of birth	Heemskerk, Netherlands
Height	1.74 m
Nickname	Rafi
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Hamburger SV
Number	23
Youth clubs
1987 – 1993 1993 – 2000	De Kennemers AFC Ajax
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2000 – 2005 2005 –	AFC Ajax Hamburger SV	117 (52) 35 (15)
National team2
2001 – present	Netherlands	42 (8)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10 february, 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 7 february, 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart (born 11 February 1983) is a Dutch footballer who captains Bundesliga side Hamburger SV and plays for the Dutch national team. Van der Vaart was born to a Spanish mother and a Dutch father in Heemskerk, in North Holland. He has scored 8 goals in 41 caps for the national team.

His previous clubs were Ajax and De Kennemers in his hometown of Heemskerk. Van der Vaart played for the Netherlands in Euro 2004 and in the 2006 World Cup. He married Sylvie Meis, on June 10, 2005, and their first child, Damián Rafael, was born May 27, 2006.

Contents 1 Career 1.1 Ajax Amsterdam 1.2 Hamburger SV 1.3 International career 2 Individual prizes 2.1 Prizes (at Ajax) 2.2 External links

At the age of ten, Rafael van der Vaart was enrolled in a youth trial in Amsterdam for Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam. His talent was quickly noticed and he eventually joined AFC Ajax on a trial basis. It was soon decided that young Rafael was allowed to continue to stay at the club.

At age seventeen, Rafael van der Vaart made his debut for AFC Ajax in a 1-1 draw with FC Den Bosch in the 1999/2000 season. Van der Vaart played exceptionally well in that match which made a foreshadowing of many great football from him to come. However, that was his only match for the rest of the season.

In the 2000/2001 season, Van der Vaart saw a vast amount of game time compared to his first season at AFC Ajax. It was expected that Rafael van der Vaart would make appearances here and then as a substitute, but then Ajax coach Co Adriaanse opted to play Van der Vaart more and more, giving the Dutchman a good spell of game time at Ajax. Van der Vaart's keen eye for attack was noticed and he was put into the central attacking midfielder position. Oftentimes though, he was seen playing on the left flank. That year, he went on to be elected as talent of the year from the Ajax supporters who saw much potential in young Van der Vaart.

2001/2002 brought more prestigious times for Van der Vaart. He was given the number 23 shirt as a sign of his further growing involvement with AFC Ajax. However, in that season, Van der Vaart suffered a serious knee injury which would require operation. He was diagnosed with having a rip in his knee meniscus. The operation went through and Van der Vaart returned to football, however, the injury plagued the young player even more and on April 2, 2002, Van der Vaart sustained a more serious injury in the same area and required a more important operation, removing his entire meniscus. This injury prevented Van der Vaart from taking part for the rest of the season.

Van der Vaart came back strong in his second full season at Ajax. In the 2002/2003 season, Van der Vaart had recovered from his injuries and during the Amsterdam Tournament, he scored two goals in Ajax's magnificent 4-3 victory over FC Barcelona. Ajax went on to win the tournament and Rafael van der Vaart was voted the best player of the tournament.

Van der Vaart moved to Bundesliga club Hamburg SV on July 1, 2005, where he is positioned as playmaker. He was appointed team captain in the 2006/07 season.

Rafael van der Vaart made his international debut against Andorra on the October 6 2001.

• 2002: Best player Amsterdam Tournament
• 2001, 2000, 1999: Talent of the Year at Ajax Amsterdam
• 2001: Amsterdam Sportsman of the Year
• 2002: Talent of the Year of Europe

• 2003-2004: National Championship
• 2002-2003: Amsterdam Tournament, Johan Cruijff Schaal
• 2001-2002: National Championship, Amstel Cup, Amsterdam Tournament

Preceded by Marten Eikelboom

Amsterdam Sportsman of the Year 2001

Succeeded by Edwin de Nijs

• Rafael van der Vaart Online - The Official Website

Hamburger SV - Current Squad

1 Wächter | 2 Sorín | 3 Atouba | 4 Reinhardt | 5 Mathijsen | 6 Wicky | 7 Mahdavikia | 8 Karl | 9 Guerrero | 10 Kompany | 11 Olić | 12 Kirschstein | 13 Fillinger | 14 Jarolím | 15 Trochowski | 16 Klingbeil | 17 Sanogo | 18 Hampel | 20 Demel | 22 Berisha | 23 van der Vaart | 24 Gouhari | 25 Cannizzaro | 27 Laas | 28 de Jong | 30 Benjamin | 32 Ben-Hatira | 33 Feilhaber | 35 Rost | 37 Hennings | 38 Ljuboja

	Netherlands squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 van der Sar | 2 Jaliens | 3 Boulahrouz | 4 Mathijsen | 5 van Bronckhorst | 6 Landzaat | 7 Kuyt | 8 Cocu | 9 van Nistelrooy | 10 van der Vaart | 11 Robben | 12 Kromkamp | 13 Ooijer | 14 Heitinga | 15 de Cler | 16 Maduro | 17 van Persie | 18 van Bommel | 19 Vennegoor of Hesselink | 20 Sneijder | 21 Babel | 22 Timmer | 23 Stekelenburg | Coach: van Basten