Rafael van der Vaart to remain at Tottenham Hotspur despite failing to qualify for the UEFA Champions League
Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Rafael-c30339 van der Vaart insisted he was planning to remain at White Hart Lane, despite the London side failing to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League. The former Real Madrid man said he would not be leaving the English Premier League side in search for Champions League football.
After a highly impressive run in the European competition and the Premier League, the Spurs fell short of finishing in the top four. Harry Redknapp’s side suffered a drop on form towards the end of the season, which will now see them finish out of the top four.
However, they have managed to secure a place in next season’s Europa League. The second tier European completion might not be as prestigious as the Champions League but Van der Vaart revealed he was looking forward to it.
He said while speaking to reporters, “We always want to play in Europe. It is good to have the experience from the Europa League and it would be a nice title to win. I like to be playing every two or three days. Of course I want to be playing in the Champions League.”
While he admitted he would prefer playing in the Champions League next season, he gave no indication he was considering a Tottenham Hotspur exit to make that happen. Van der Vaart said he had been impressed by the Spurs performance this season, especially in the Champions League.
The Dutchman continued, “But I have only been here one year. I have enjoyed my year and we will see what next season will bring. It's really important to be in Europe. You saw this season that being in the Champions League has helped us. It is so important for players and that's why we want to win our final game against Birmingham.”
Tottenham Hotspur defeated http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 Milan along with the other teams in the group stages of the Champions League to progress to the knock out stages. The London side then defeated Serie A giants AC Milan to make it to the quarter-finals of the European Cup.
Unfortunately they went on to lose to Van der Vaart’s former side Real Madrid, managed by Jose Mourinho. Tottenham Hotspur signed the 28-year-old attacking midfielder from Madrid in the summer of 2010 for an estimated price of £8 million.
Since his arrival at White Hart Lane last summer on a long term, four year deal, the Dutch international has gone on to make about 36 appearances for the Spurs in all competitions and has managed to find the back of the net 15 times.
He has managed to cement his place in the first team and is an important part of Harry Redknapp’s future plans at White Hart Lane, despite the English manager claiming he needed reinforcements in the upcoming transfer window.
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