Thursday 24 September 2015 11:53, UK
We profile Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart as he looks to make his belated bow for Real Betis against Deportivo La Coruna on Thursday...
The Betis fans have had a long wait to get a glimpse of summer signing Rafael van der Vaart. After missing out on a visit to former club Real Madrid due to an ankle injury, the Dutchman has spent the last two La Liga games sat on the bench as an unused substitute.
In the meantime, Betis supporters have even had another prodigal son to welcome home with former hero Joaquin making an emotional return to the club -- providing an assist for the winner against Real Sociedad.
Van der Vaart isn't quite an Andalusia native, although his ties to the region are strong. His Spanish grandmother lives 80 miles south of Seville and was among the 4,000 fans present at his unveiling. That sense of home is important for a player who needs to be loved.
It's been a strange career for Van der Vaart. Earmarked for stardom from the outset, he was Ajax's player of the year and a senior international at 18. But it's been a tale of talent over trophies ever since. Van der Vaart hasn't won a thing since leaving Amsterdam.
That can partly be explained by some curious choices. Leaving Ajax for Hamburg in 2005 certainly didn't impress Dutch icon Johan Cruyff. "I don't know what Rafael van der Vaart is doing in Hamburg," said the former Ajax legend.
When he did make the move it proved the wrong one. Harry Redknapp later had some joy at Tottenham by making Van der Vaart "feel important" but in Madrid he was undermined by the instability at what the midfielder described as "the most impatient club in the world".
His time there was best summed up by the fact that the president, sporting director and coach were all gone within three months of his arrival. Redknapp too moved on from Spurs and when Andre Villas Boas made it clear he wasn't his man, it was back off to Hamburg.
Having been in the Volksparkstadion for his comeback game in 2012, this writer can vouch for his popularity there -- an assist for Heung-Min Son within two minutes putting Hamburg on their way to ending Borussia Dortmund's 31-game unbeaten run. Van der Vaart was feted.
However, happy days in the Hamburg hot-house didn't last. Though a play-off win helped maintain Hamburg's record of never being relegated from the Bundesliga, he was, nevertheless, named as the biggest flop of the season by his fellow professionals in Germany.
Evidently, Van der Vaart has not moved to Betis from a position of strength. Having also missed last year's World Cup through injury, any hope of an appearance at Euro 2016 (part of the explanation for turning down a move to MLS) looks doomed one way or the other.
And yet, despite all this, Van der Vaart is only 32. His touch will not have deserted him and pace was not his to lose. Publicly, Betis coach Pepe Mel has made worthy noises - "if Van der Vaart does not run, he will not play" - but privately he surely understand the deal.
Compromise is not part of Van der Vaart's plans. "I always try to play my own game. I won't change my style of play and I hope I can show that again here at Betis. No 10 was always my best position but I think now I could also play like a No 6 and build the play from deeper."
There were signs of that in pre-season before the untimely injury. After one friendly victory, local newspaper Estadio Deportivo declared that "Van der Vaart is now in charge" and with Mel committed to entertaining football, there is at least the prospect of a shared vision.
"I'm playing as a kind of Xavi, with lots of freedom," he told Voetbal International. Training is very focused on the ball. It's less physical than Hamburg and that suits me. Betis are focused on possession whereas Hamburg sometimes just ran and fought without touching the ball.
"Attacking is what suits me. At Hamburg we played two years for relegation, just to stay in the league and it was totally different football. I hope that this year I can enjoy football again, playing with the ball and I can show what I can do."
Armed with a three-year deal that could see him turn 35 in Betis green, the club is gambling not only on the player's fitness but also on their ability to make good on the Van der Vaart manifesto. "When I lose the fun in soccer, it's better to quit." Let's hope that's some time away.
