Rafael van der Vaart was
Real Madrid’s only big signing in the summer when he joined from
Hamburg for €13 million. After making a blistering start to his
career in the famous white shirt, when he netted four goals in his
first three league games, the 25-year-old has almost completely
disappeared from view as he struggles to hold down a place in the
Madrid first XI despite the team’s incessant injuries.
According to AS, Predrag
Mijatovic has lost all confidence in the playmaker and has been so
unimpressed by the Oranje midfielder’s displays that he is now
considering putting him up on the transfer market in June next
year.
The Madrid-based daily also
speculated that former coach Bernd Schuster had noticed a change in
Van der Vaart’s mental and physical attitude during training
several months ago. Ever since compatriot Wesley Sneijder returned
from injury, the ex-Hamburg captain has barely been utilised and he
has continually looked lacklustre even when called upon.
Things have not looked any brighter
under new coach Juande Ramos, either. The Dutchman was taken off at
half-time in the 3-0 win over Zenit St. Petersburg in the Champions
League, and was surprisingly overlooked in El Clasico when Sneijder
had to be substituted 30 minutes into the game.
Ramos opted to send in the
inexperience canterano Miguel Palanca instead, a
20-year-old (who will turn 21 this Thursday) who had never played a
single game with Madrid’s first team prior to Saturday’s debut
against Barcelona.
The good news for Van der Vaart,
based on the reports that he will only be transfer listed in the
summer trade period, is that Mijatovic is willing to give him until
the end of the season to turn his fortunes around.
