Rafael van der Vaart: ‘I nearly joined Arsenal but leaving Spurs was the only regret of my career’ Exclusive interview: Dutchman reflects on the north London derby, Redknapp’s tactics and his retirement from the game

Rafael van der Vaart still remembers the day really well. Almost exactly eight years ago Tottenham travelled to the Emirates in an attempt to close a gap of seven points on their arch-rivals and moreover to win at Arsenal for the first time in 17 years. Earlier that season, Van der Vaart was signed from Real Madrid on deadline day and in his first months he showed why the Spurs fans were excited. Seven goals in 12 games was an impressive return, but the big day was still to come.

Initially things had looked really bleak, though, with Arsenal taking an early 2-0 lead and no signs of any resurgence from Spurs. But it all changed in the second half, with Van der Vaart inspiring his team with a goal and two assists to an historic 2-3 win. It’s still Tottenham’s only victory at the Emirates, something which adds to the popularity of the Dutchman. But he admits the victory was unexpected for the players, with Harry Redknapp choosing an unusual approach at the interval. “Afterwards we went into town and all the people we met were like: ‘wow, Harry is a brilliant manager!’ Because we were losing 2-0, people were asking me: ‘what did he tell the players before the second half?!’ I was like: ‘what he told us?!’ ‘Nothing at all, haha!’”

Silence from Redknapp

Van der Vaart clearly remembers the setting in the dressing room at the time. “When Redknapp came in you could tell he was angry but he didn’t speak. The only thing he said was: ‘Lennon out, Defoe in.’ And then he left again. We were sitting there and were thinking we should perhaps try and keep the damage limited, like to not concede more than four goals. But then we came out of the changing room and won 3-2!

It was unlike other occasions, in where Redknapp was more vocal and would often makes his feelings clear, also to praise the Dutchman. Van der Vaart really enjoyed his time under the charismatic manager from start to end. But he developed close bonds with several people inside the club. Another person with who he got on really well was Allan Dixon, the club’s liaison officer. “After I arrived at the club in 2010 he helped me with a lot of things and at a certain point I invited him for lunch, to thank him for his help. I took him to a sushi place and the next day I scored my first goal for the club in a game against Wolverhampton Wanderers. So I said: ‘Listen, let’s do this again.’ In the weeks after I kept scoring or giving assists, and we were winning as well. So we kept going for sushi on the Friday, haha. It became a kind of tradition, like that he would join me when the training had finished.”

“Sometimes when we were there, other players like Gareth Bale or Luka Modric would call him – who needed his help for something else. They would say: ‘Ahhh, surely you’re out with Raf again!’ Allan would tell them he would be back later on. It was great fun. It was also Allan who emphasised the importance of the north London derby to me. After we beat them at the Emirates I was in my car that night and then the song ‘We are the Champions’ was on the radio. I called Allan and put the volume very loud and we were both singing along. It was great.”

With those keen memories, it’s then a somewhat bizarre thought that Van der Vaart could have actually been playing for Arsenal instead. It was his Dutch team-mate Robin van Persie who recommended him to his club, with the move a seemingly realistic possibility. “I remember Robin contacted me at the time to tell Arsene Wenger was interested and that Arsenal would be watching a match of me at Real Madrid. I think that happened when we played Villarreal away. I did well that match, but in the end the move just didn’t materialise. In hindsight I’m happy it didn’t happen, otherwise I would have never experienced those beautiful years at Spurs!”

Moving on from White Hart Lane

Van der Vaart signed for Midtjylland in August 2016 (AFP/Getty Images)After two seasons he would leave White Hart Lane though, opting to go back to Hamburg where he had been settled before. When looking back it’s probably the only decision he has regretted in his career. After three years in Hamburg, he went to Real Betis in 2015, before joining his Dutch girlfriend Estavana Polman in Denmark, who is a professional handball player over there.

Van der Vaart himself signed for Midtjylland and this summer he made the move to Esbjerg. But he felt the end of his playing days were in sight, as he had to deal with a lot of niggling little injuries. Eventually he decided to retire a month ago. “It had crossed my mind for some time. In recent months I was more in the gym, recovering from injuries, than on a football pitch. At some point I thought: ‘If I get injured again, I’ll call it a day.’ And that’s what happened soon after.”

Adjusting to retirement

The thought and adjustment of being a retired player was not too difficult to adapt to, although the very first moment was a bit strange, admits the Dutchman. “When I decided to stop, I really wondered how I would feel waking up the next morning, knowing I didn’t have to go to training. I was really curious. That night I was thinking what I would do the next day, like to spend time with my young daughter and perhaps watch a bit of handball training of my girlfriend Estavana. The feeling was good and to be honest I’m even busier now than I was as a player recently.”

The person who was most disappointed with his retirement was his own son Damian (aged 12), who hopes to follow in his father footsteps one day. “He still lives in Hamburg and he is training with Hamburg at the moment. Next year he hopes to join their academy. He is really enjoying his football and he is talented as well.” Bringing up a young boy with big footballing dreams perhaps makes Van der Vaart realise how special his own career has been, with clubs such as Ajax, Hamburg, Real Madrid and Spurs. On top of that, there were many major tournaments with the Dutch national team, most notably the World Cup in 2010 when they reached the final.

Return to Spurs in coaching role?

Now he focuses on his work as a football-pundit for Dutch and German TV, something which seems to come naturally to him. In the meantime he has also received similar requests from within the UK. What the long-term future holds, he doesn’t know, but Van der Vaart believes in the gradual path by following his instincts. He might go into coaching. And then a role at a Spurs youth team is a possibility. “It could be an option. Sometimes I train my son’s youth team and it’s something which gives me a lot of energy. It’s great to do.”

When sitting in his pundit chair he says is enthusiastic about the current Spurs team. “Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen are standing out at the moment, but generally they do so well because they play as a real team. I think the Spurs squad of my time was perhaps slightly better individually, but the current team is a tight-knit collective who is really difficult to beat.”

Still, Van der Vaart also rates their north London rivals and feels Sunday can prove to be an even match. He remembers manager Unai Emery from his days in Spain. “He could be very active on the touchline, but I like people with passion. I think he and Arsenal are a good match and they will probably give him time to develop as well.”

Van der Vaart has fond memories of the derby, in which he scored four goals in two years. Perhaps the return match in the year of that famous 3-2 victory was his personal highlight. He scored two goals in a 3-3 draw which had everything. “I remember nutmegging Jack Wilshere twice in the space of a few seconds. You can still find that on YouTube. That was one of my best football nights ever. I felt so free on the pitch, it was incredible. I really think it was one of my best games in my career.”

If both Arsenal and Spurs can reproduce some elements of that game on Sunday, it will be an entertaining derby.