Dutch Football - Spain - Primera Division - Real Madrid - Van der Vaart: "Let's not get nervous"

"The intellectualisation
of football has
always foundered
on a simple problem-
-the players. Doing
all your most
rewarding thinking
with your feet seems
to dull the philo-
sophical impulse.
Unless, of course,
you are Dutch.
According to legend,
Europeans played
a moronic, muscular
version of the world's
game, until Holland
proclaimed its vision
of total football in the
1974 World Cup,
and enlightenment
dawned."

From:
Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football

Van der Vaart: "Let's not get nervous"

Tuesday 11 November 2008

Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has urged everyone connected with the club to remain calm amid their current turbulent spell.

The Spanish champions came from behind to defeat Malaga 4-3 at the Bernabeu on Saturday evening despite losing Sergio Ramos to a first-half red card.

The dramatic victory was Real's first game since losing 2-0 at home to Juventus in the Champions League and van der Vaart has admitted their current inconsistent form is a concern.

"It's hard to explain why we've been so inconsistent. We are conceding a lot of goals at the moment, but I think it's just a bad streak," said the Netherlands international.

"But if we stay calm, we will be able to play better. We shouldn't allow it to make us nervous because it will only get worse if we did.”