Certain players who possess this very important Technique are often entrusted with the set piece role by their coaches. But a certain player has perfected this act of hitting "dead balls" that he is never overlooked for the set piece role. And that player is a certain Dutch Man named Rafael van der Vaart.
Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart born 11 February 1983 is a Dutch footballer who plays for German Bundesliga club Hamburger SV and the Dutch national team. His preferred position is as an attacking midfielder; he can, however, also operate in other positions, such as second striker. Van der Vaart began his career at AFC Ajax' famous youth academy and worked his way into the first team, debuting as a 17-year-old. So stunning was his impact he was hailed as the new Johan Cruyff .He was named Dutch Football Talent of the Year and became the first recipient of the Golden Boy Award while at the club.
Van der Vaart was born in Heemskerk to a Dutch father and a Spanish mother from Chiclana de la Frontera, Cádiz. Before joining AFC Ajax, he played for a local club called De Kennemers based in Beverwijk. He grew up on a caravan park living a "gypsy life" and often pretended to be Romário while playing football. He watched the English Premier League as a youth. It was at the caravan park that he learned how to play football and, at the age of 10, he joined the AFC Ajax Academy. Van der Vaart has said of his upbringing, "That was the way my family lived. My father was born there and it is a lifestyle. Maybe it is not a normal lifestyle but I always liked it. I always played football on the street. It was an easy life, then I was 10 years old and went to Ajax and played there for almost 12 years."
A product of Ajax's famous youth academy, Van der Vaart made his debut for the Amsterdam club in the 1999-2000 season, aged 17, in a 1-1 draw with FC Den Bosch. Much of his early career was blighted by a series of knee injuries which saw him spend several months out of the first team. He made an average of only 23 appearances a season in five years with Ajax before leaving the club in the summer of 2005.
From Ajax he headed to the Bundesliga with Hamburg, a surprising move for a player who had been linked with much bigger clubs. He helped Hamburg to three successful seasons, qualifying for the UEFA Cup and being named the club's skipper, before he got the big move that was always expected. He went to Real in the summer of 2008 but, despite establishing himself on the international stage at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, he was reduced to a bit-part role and chose to move to Spurs in August 2010.
He proved to be an inspired acquisition by Harry Redknapp and was widely regarded as the signing of the season after contributing 15 goals and nine assists in his debut campaign in the Premier League. Though concerns about injuries saw his playing time reduced in 2011-12 - he was regularly Spurs' first player to be substituted - the Dutchman still helped himself to another 13 goals and remained an influential figure.
Strengths: A versatile midfielder, good shooting, set piece specialist and a potential match-winner.
Weaknesses: Suspect in the air, his consistency has also been called into question.
Career high: Named the 2003 European Young Player of the Year.
Career low: Being left without a squad number at the start of the 2009-10 season with Real Madrid when told he was surplus to requirements.
Style: Versatile, classy, an excellent passer of the ball.
Quotes: "Rafael is different class, especially the way he plays off the front man, finds little pockets and just picks up the ball. He goes quite deep and is a fantastic player. He picks up possession and creates things from nothing." Former Spurs team-mate Peter Crouch.
Van der vaart has produced a lot of magical moments through set piece plays. He enjoyed a very nice partnership with Peter Crouch at Totteham, where he provided much of the assist for the tall lanky striker.
With a lot of other players who posses this technique I still believe Van Der Vaart is the master of them all, if you doubt it you need to find out from Standard Liege and many others who have been punished by his Set piece specialized boots.
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