86 THE PREM ERA
STUNNING TRANSFERS
£8m
Real Madrid to Tottenham Hotspur
Summer 2010In one of the great deadline-day moves,
Tottenham completed a surprise swoop for
the Netherlands playmaker in the dying
moments of the summer window.
Interview by Kevin PalmerIt must have felt like a big
step down leaving Real Madrid for
Tottenham Hotspur. Did you ever
have any doubts about the move?
Joining any club after Real Madrid is a step
down, but I preferred to look at the positives
of the move to Tottenham. I was frustrated
that I couldn’t play at Madrid and lost some
of my enthusiasm for the game, but this
move ended those problems. I had to make
a decision very quickly as the move came
about on the final day of the transfer
window. I made the right choice.Were you disappointed that none of
the major English clubs tried to sign
you this summer?
Not really. I always wanted to play in
England and, even though there was some
talk that Manchester United or Chelsea
were interested in me in previous times,
Tottenham were attractive to me as they
were in the Champions League for the first
time and a team on the up. Also, I wanted
to join a team that could win trophies and
my belief is Spurs can do this.Despite playing for Ajax and Real
Madrid, you have not won too many
medals in your career. Is this your
chief motivation now?
Winning trophies is a big target for me.
You want to play on the biggest stages,
in the biggest competitions and, at the
end of your career, being a winner is
the main target. I haven’t won too
much in my career and I want to
put that right at Tottenham.Some of the English media suggested
Tottenham had signed a player who
would cause trouble in the dressing
room. Was that unfair?
Maybe this reputation comes from the fact
that I expressed my opinions to the coach
in a certain way at other clubs. But this does
not bring you the result you want. It got me
nowhere arguing with people in my days
at Ajax, and there was no point in trying to
convinceJose Mourinho that I should be in
his team at Real Madrid last summer. Moving
clubs was the best solution for everyone.Do you see Spurs challenging the top
sides in Europe for many years to come?
This Spurs team have players who can
challenge anyone in the world, and when
you look at guys like Gareth Bale and Luka
Modric, they are world class.Jermain Defoe
is one of the best strikers I have played with
and Peter Crouch is also a big threat for us. If
everyone stays here and we build as a team,
we can challenge for every trophy very soon.
There is no reason to doubt ourselves.Finally, do you see yourself staying
at White Hart Lane for a long time?
I’m very happy here and feel more relaxed
at this club than any I have been at before.
You could say that I have learned to love
football all over again at Spurs and this
shows how good this move has been
for my career. I have moved around
too much, so the time has come
to settle in one place now.Rafael VAN DER VAART
While Van der Vaart was undeniably a hit
at Tottenham, scoring 24 Premier League
goals in two seasons and starring in the
side that reached the Champions League
quarter-finals, his spell in London proved
to be relatively short-lived. In 2012 he
returned to former club Hamburg.WHAT CAME NEXT...
“I wanted to join
ateamthat could
win trophies
and my belief
is Spurscan
do this”