Van der Vaart joins Danish revolution
Danish club FC Midtjylland have confirmed the signing of former Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart from Real Betis on a two-year contract. The 2015 Danish Superliga champions announced the move in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon after weeks of speculation and negotiations with the Dutchman.
Midtjylland have increasingly been coming to the forefront of people’s attention in recent years. Ulvene, as they’re commonly referred to in Denmark, have a unique way of approaching football. Their “moneyball” method of thinking uses mathematical analysis in order to get the edge over their opponents. And because of this Midtjylland are no stranger to success in Europe, not only domestically. The club beat Southampton over two legs in the Europa League play-off round and looked set do to the same again over European heavyweights Manchester United, after a 2-1 home win, before a certain Marcus Rashford netted his first two goals for the Red Devils to put the Danes to the sword and kick start his career.
Van der Vaart is just the latest high profile name to be involved with FC Midtjylland, after Simon Kjær, Winston Reid and Pione Sisto all came through the ranks at the club. Sisto, 21, has recently completed a move to Celta Vigo for a rumoured fee of €5 million as the Spanish club look to make their mark in this season’s Europa League. Van der Vaart could potentially be seen as his replacement, or even a stop gap for another young talent to shine through at the MCH Arena. His career has seen him play for some of Europe’s biggest clubs, after coming through Ajax’s famed academy as a youngster.
Van der Vaart himself hailed the move as “a great day for me and the club”, whilst fellow Midtjylland midfielder Tim Sparv has labelled Van der Vaart’s transfer as an “incredible signing not only for our club but for the Danish league in general”, echoing Van der Vaart’s sentiments. The Copenhagen Post has described it as the “most high-profile signing in Danish football for nearly two decades”, with Van der Vaart arguably the biggest foreign player to ever play in the Danish Superliga.