Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart (born 11 February 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Van der Vaart began his career at Ajax's youth academy and worked his way into the first team, debuting as a 17-year-old. Known for his playmaking skills, he drew comparisons to Johan Cruyff. He was named Dutch Football Talent of the Year and became the first recipient of the Golden Boy Award while at the club. He moved to Bundesliga club Hamburger SV, then to Real Madrid, then on to Tottenham Hotspur before returning to Hamburger SV in 2012. In the latter stages of his career, Van der Vaart had brief spells playing in Spain and Denmark before announcing his retirement in 2018, and return in 2019 with a testimonial match. Van der Vaart earned 109 caps for the Netherlands between 2001 and 2013. He represented the country at three UEFA European Championships and two FIFA World Cups, reaching the final in 2010. In 2019, Van der Vaart began his darts career, joining the British Darts Organisation. Early life Van der Vaart was born in Heemskerk to a Dutch father and a Spanish mother from Chiclana de la Frontera, Cádiz, who had moved to the Netherlands weeks after birth. Before joining Ajax, he played for a local club called De Kennemers based in Beverwijk. He grew up on a trailer park, with him belonging to a Dutch cultural minority called the Woonwagenbewoners, with them sharing ties with Irish Travellers and the Yenish people, and often pretended to be Romário while playing football. It was at the trailer park that he learned how to play football and, at the age of ten, he joined the AFC Ajax Academy. Van der Vaart has said of his upbringing, "That was the way my family lived. My father was born there and it is a lifestyle. Maybe it is not a normal lifestyle but I always liked it. I always played football on the street. It was an easy life, then I was 10 years old and went to Ajax and played there for almost 12 years." Club career Ajax Van der Vaart came through the ranks at Ajax with national teammates John Heitinga and Wesley Sneijder. Initially, he signed for Ajax on a trial basis as a ten-year-old, but was eventually enrolled permanently after impressing the coaches. At the age of 17,