Royston Drenthe and Rafael van der Vaart: Inside Story of Their Time at Real Madrid

Royston Drenthe and Rafael van der Vaart were the guests on Ziggo Sport’s Kick ‘t Met program. The gathering became a tribute to Drenthe who had hung up his boots a few days before. Both coincided in their time at Real Madrid and precisely from the white team they left their best starters. The Netherlands internationals gave very juicy details about that time and especially about what they did off the field.

“One Saturday we played at home against Barcelona, ​​but the previous Thursday Drenthe insisted on going to a party. I thought: ‘I shouldn’t do this,'” Van der Vaart said with a laugh. “We lost that match 0-2 (it was April 10, 2010 with Pellegrini in charge) and there was a big stir in the press. I was in the starting eleven in the game against Barcelona, ​​although I only took a look at the party for five minutes,” the midfielder mischievously reveals.

Instead of clearing things up, Drenthe made things more confusing. “It wasn’t a party at my house,” Drenthe explains. “It was a party that took place behind closed doors. Gonzalo Higuaín was also there….” At that moment Van der Vaart interrupted him to expand on the details of that famous party: “All the members of our team were at that party, that is precisely why we lost that game.” They both laughed for those involved in the party…

Drenthe, who announced a few days ago his end to football as a professional player, also received praise from a dedicated Van der Vaart. “What seems a shame to me, and I have also said it to him, is that Royston is the best left-back the Netherlands has ever had.” And he continued: “If he had put aside his ego and his street football-type way of playing, he would still have played as a left back for the Oranje until four years ago.” The truth is that Drenthe only played 10 minutes as an Orange international. “He liked to play against Cristiano Ronaldo in training. He found that to be a challenge. He wondered: Christian? Who is that”. “Cristiano Ronaldo went crazy with him. He was fast, agile and technical. How was he going to pass you? At one point, Cristiano started running down the left wing because he no longer knew what to do with Drenthe,” Van der Vaart said of a Drenthe who enjoyed the explanations of his ‘friend’.

Drenthe and Van der Vaart in a Madrid match.DANI SASTREDIARIO AS

Real Madrid had Marcelo as a left back, but Van der Vaart puts Drenthe at his level. “There was no difference with Marcelo at that moment they were perfectly matched. The only difference was that Royston preferred to be a left winger than a full back. He wanted to attack and take actions,” Rafael concluded.

“I was attracted to bad boys like Benzema”

Drenthe also explained his time at the Santiago Bernabéu. “Benzema was someone who really fit into that kind of culture at Real Madrid. That poppy culture of Real Madrid. He quickly felt at home there, but at first he didn’t speak much because he only spoke French. I was always attracted to bad boys. That was automatic, you understand? I also always met Karim during the holidays: Las Vegas, Miami…, we were always in the same place.”

Both had kind words about Cristiano Ronaldo, although it was not always clear to them that he would shine. “I saw him shoot free throws during practice and I thought, ‘Is this so good?’ He didn’t have that much level in the first training sessions. I didn’t think he was that good, but when the game started he was very ready and did everything very well,” says Van der Vaart of the first impressions that Cristiano, with whom he had a good relationship, left him. “He hung out more with Pepe and Marcelo, who were boys he saw a lot at that time. Cristiano was a very nice guy, but also a great person. He almost had no life left. If we wanted to do something secretly, we couldn’t do it with him. So I also chose my own path,” Drenthe closes.

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2023-11-24 15:12:41
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