Rafael van der Vaart looking forward to Tottenham Hotspur's Champions League debut
Rafael van der Vaart today said that he was eagerly anticipating Tottenham Hotspur’s debut in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.
Spurs take on Werder Bremen in Hamburg Tuesday night and van der Vaart, who joined Harry Redknapp’s squad on the last day of the transfer window from Real Madrid for a fee of eight million pounds, can’t wait to get involved against the bitter rivals of his former club Hamburg.
He told Spurs’ official website that: "I know this is massive for the club and it's big for me as well because Hamburg and Bremen in Germany is a big rivalry, just like Tottenham and Arsenal. Bremen are one of the best attacking teams in Europe. They score many goals, but I believe we will have a good chance against them."
“It's a big night for everyone, the stadium will be full and it's the start of the Champions League. It will be a special night."
The match is Spurs’ first in the main draw of the elite competition for European clubs since they reached the semi-final of the European Cup — the former name and format of the tournament — back in the 1861-62 season.
Meanwhile, manager Redknapp is hoping that the club can get off to a strong start in their bid to make it through to the knockout stages of the competition. Spurs also have defending Champions League winners Inter Milan and Dutch champions FC Twente in their group, so he feels it vital to pick up points in their first match.
He said that: "We're starting the group with a very difficult away game, but it's important to get something from it. We always look to win every game anyway and we're looking to make a flying start in the competition. You don't want to get beaten in your first game, you want to get points on the board.”
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