Monday, June 28, 2021 at 06:39• Daniel Cabot Kerkdijk • Last update: 06:48

Rafael van der Vaart was a trending topic in Spain for hours on Sunday evening after the elimination of the Dutch national team at the European Championship. In the southern European country, after the 0-2 defeat in the eighth final against the Czech Republic (0-2), the statements made by the former footballer as an analyst about la seleccion espanola, who did not make a good impression in the first two group matches of the European Championship with Sweden (0-0) and Poland (1-1).

At the time, Van der Vaart hoped for a confrontation with Spain in the knockout phase. “Let’s hope so. Whistling on, really. I really find Spain a horror, Jesus. . . There’s actually nothing in it,” the former footballer of Real Madrid and Real Betis, among others, analyzed at the NOS. “It’s a bit of playing around, but no one is willing or able to give that decisive ball. It’s probably ‘can’. Disappointing, really.”

Van der Vaart’s statements did not go down well in Spain. Tens of thousands of social media users, but also Spanish internationals such as Koke and Sergio Busquets, found the statements of the former the Dutch international absolutely inappropriate or referred to his dubious track record as a player for Betis. It was also claimed that he apparently was not over the lost 2010 World Cup final. Van der Vaart finally wished Luis Enrique’s team success via Twitter in the last group match against Slovakia: a game that was won 0-5. However, it was not over.

After the elimination of the Netherlands in Budapest were Holland, Paises Bajos and Van der Vaart trending topic in Spain for hours. Tens of thousands of social media users quoted the former midfielder’s previous quotes and provided them with the necessary cynicism. Van der Vaart’s name appears frequently under almost every publication of the major Spanish sports newspapers on social media. Spain hopes to reach the quarterfinals on Monday evening at the expense of Croatia.

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