Rafa van der Vaart might only have featured in three north London derbies during his time in N17, but he certainly made the most of his trio of appearances against the Gunners. His record of four goals, two wins and a draw is impressive, but it was his enthusiasm and determination to succeed that made him such a fans favourite at the Lane. We caught up with the Dutch star ahead of today’s big game.
What is it about derbies and especially our derby against Arsenal that brought the best out of you? You always seemed inspired when you played the Gunners!
Rafa: I have always liked playing in derbies and in classico matches. Even as a young kid in the youth academy at Ajax, when we were playing Feyenoord from Rotterdam, I could hardly get any sleep the day before the match. It’s just excitement. You are defending your club in a sporting battle, it’s about honour first and the opportunity to make your supporters proud.
At Ajax and Real Madrid, it was the classicos against Feyenoord and Barcelona, and the derbies against Atletico. At Hamburg SV I played the derby against Werder Bremen and at Spurs, there were the fantastic north London derbies against Arsenal. You don’t have to give me a lecture about the history of certain matches. As a player I just feel it, you walk on the pitch, you hear the cheering of the fans, it all has that different intensity and you know straight away – it’s game on. And on a match-day against Arsenal it is definitely game on!
You also seemed to understand straight away what it meant to the fans – where does that come from, your own love of football?
This story is from the Spurs v Arsenal edition of Tottenham Hotspur Publications.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Spurs v Arsenal edition of Tottenham Hotspur Publications.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
OBITUARY – JOHNNIE HILLS
We were saddened to hear of the passing of John ‘Johnnie’ Hills, a defender who spent 11 years at the Club as an amateur and professional between 1950-61. He passed away at home in Brussels, Belgium, on Friday, 26 November, aged 87.
PAPER CHASE
Club historian John Fennelly looks back at what supporters were reading on their way, at half-time and heading home afterwards when NORWICH CITY visited in March 1938.
RIDE FOR UGO
Laurence Gant, Head of Academy Sports Medicine and Science, is set to take part in a five-day charity cycle in memory of his friend, and our former Under-23s coach Ugo Ehiogu.
DEVELOPMENT SQUAD
BIG WIN OVER EVERTON
SPURS WOMEN
INTERNATIONAL ROUND
GAME ZERO ACHIEVES NET ZERO CARBON STATUS
Sky this week published a case study revealing that Game Zero, our Premier League match against Chelsea here in September, achieved net zero carbon emissions.
LIVING IN THE MOMENT
Exclusive interview with our young midfielder OLIVER SKIPP, now an established member of our first team and also a familiar face to today’s opponents, who is enjoying every moment in the Premier League spotlight.
MEET OUR FIRST-YEAR UNDER-18S PLAYERS
TOUGH DAY AGAINST COTTAGERS
TREBLE TOP
Looking back at Spurs hat-tricks scored against tonight’s opposition.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW ?
A creative midfielder who was full of heart and desire, LEWIS HOLTBY made his Spurs debut against this afternoon’s opposition back in January 2013 and went on to make 42 appearances in our colours, scoring three goals. We caught up with the Germany international to discuss his time at the Club and find out what he is up to now…
