This has been pointed out by Dina in yesterday's comments and by some other posters around the internet, the one thing wrong with Valencia CF as currently constructed: Our lack of another goalscorer besides David Villa.

Look at the numbers: In 4 games, Villa has scored half of Valencia's 8 goals, tied with Florent Sinama Pongolle of Atletico Madird and Rafael Van der Vaart of Real Madrid as Pichichi (leading scorer) of La Liga.

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Rafael van der Vaart took a hat-trick off Sporting Gijon as Real Madrid walloped them 7-1 to go second in Spain's Primera Liga - one point behind Villareal
Real Madrid 7 - 1 Sporting Gijon Highlights

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Rafael van der Vaart took a hat-trick off Sporting Gijon as Real Madrid walloped them 7-1 to go second in Spain's Primera Liga - one point behind Villareal
Real Madrid 7 - 1 Sporting Gijon Highlights

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MADRID, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Real Madrid new boy Rafael van der Vaart scored a hat-trick to help the champions thrash promoted Sporting Gijon 7-1 in the Primera Liga on Wednesday.

Sporting were subjected to a 6-1 beating at home to Barcelona on Sunday and were quickly on the back foot at the Bernabeu as Netherlands midfielder Van der Vaart completed his hat-trick in the 46th minute. Click to continue reading...

My little bro was in town so I skipped the game and took him to the BRONX ZOO. Based on the highlights I saw and commentary it looks like I missed another SNOOZEFEST. Winning like this is good for the standings but bad for the soul of a team that is supposed to be about attractive 'futbol'. Anyways here's what GOAL. Click to continue reading...

Real Madrid stole the victory in another game filled with excitement, but CD Numancia is stealing the limelight - and maybe even a few hearts. After their shocking defeat of Barca on the opening weekend of La Liga they were gifted a trip to the Bernabeu - thanks, schedule makers - where it was assumed [. Click to continue reading...

Here I have compiled a Football Corner Dream Team and I am eager to hear what you think about my selections (leave a comment). I an going with a 4-4-2 formation and I hope you agree with my selections.

GK: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid) (Captain)

DR: Dani Alves (Barcelona)
DL: Gael Clichy (Arsenal)
DC: N. Click to continue reading...

Last week Rafael van der Vaart said it was about time he'd score again for Oranje. He hadn't scored again since the end of 2007, in the Belarus freezing cold. And see, last Wednesday he scored a goal that would prove to be the winner. A goal that will end Click to continue reading...

Obviously the true bargains won't be known for some time, but there were a few transfers which caught the eye before the participants had even put on their new shirt. Eliminating loans made sure somebody has actually bought up the entire contract this summer, and everyone of these guys happened to come in at under [. Click to continue reading...

Valencia's David Silva scored first but a nine-man Real Madrid rallied to beat Valencia 4-2 and lift the Spanish Supercup 6-5 on aggregate on Sunday.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, Sergio Ramos, Ruben De La Red and Gonzalo Higuain scored for Madrid, Rafael van der Vaart found himself on the sidelines in the 39th minute and Ruud van Nistelrooy joined him there in the 73rd.

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(First half highlights above, second half after the jump.) It was "only" the Super Cup, but it's impossible not to think of this as a demoralizing, crushing blow for Valencia, and as a warning served to the rest of La Liga from Real Madrid. Yes, they've won the last two titles, but this was an absolutely [. Click to continue reading...

(Pardon the mess on the photos, spilled some garbage on them this morning.) This is one of today's Shocking! News! Stories!. That's Dimitar Berbatov at an airport signing a jersey. Guess what club it is...yup, you guessed it. I wonder if this would've made the press were it any other jersey but Manchester United. Click to continue reading...

Is it just me, or has this transfer window just been punch yourself in the head awful? There are less than two weeks to go until the end of August and so far... almost nothing has happened. Robbie Keane has gone to Liverpool. Ronaldinho made his bargain move to Milan, and Rafael van der Vaart [...] Click to continue reading...

With the start of a very exciting Bundesliga season upon us, Goal.com previews two teams daily as a part of our build-up.

Next up Hamburg who have to cope with the loss of Rafael van der Vaart... Click to continue reading...

The Olympics took center stage this week, not just on the world stage, but also in our blogs... Our Bremen blogger Brian looked at Diego's Olympic club vs country saga from all possible angles. (Werder Offside) Replace Diego with Rafinha and then our new Schalke blogger Jon basically did what Brian did. Click to continue reading...

Now that Rafael van der Vaart has been sold to Real Madrid, Hamburger SV is shopping for an attacking player to fill the gap. Both the Hamburg press and Kicker report that the two main candidates are Spartak Moscow striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and Heerenveen's attacking midfielder Michael Bradley (currently in China playing for the US Olympic team). Click to continue reading...

Bundesliga outfit Hamburg are reportedly unwilling to match £16m valuation of Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt.

With captain Steven Gerrard injured, the Reds, who have earlier failed in four separate bids for Aston Villa's £18m-rated experienced centre-midfielder Gareth Barry, are looking keen to raise funds to make a successful move for the England international, but their effort to sell the Holland international, Kuyt has reportedly come to naught.

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Robinho's move to Chelsea appears to be back on after they tabled a £19.7m bid for the Brazillian striker. Robinho is said, by his agent, to be keen on a move away from the Bernabau after Madrid attempted to use the 24 year old as a make weight in a deal to bring Ronaldo to Madrid. Robinho's agent is quoted as saying "What matters for Robinho is to leave the club and play for Scolari at Chelsea. Click to continue reading...

Hamburg, looking to regroup after suffering the loss of Rafael van der Vaart to Real Madrid, enquired about one of Liverpool's squad players, but were scared off by Rafa Benitez's ridiculous valuation. Are YOU Nike's Most Wanted? As Anfield co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are still refusing to bail Rafa out . Click to continue reading...

It seems to be the new trend, managers publicly declaring who they want to buy. Luciano Spalletti's comments that Roma were looking at buying Yossi Benayoun quickly made their way to the British media and, with the Gareth Barry deal still pending, it didn't take long for the two stories to be linked to get to a 'Benayoun to be sold to fund Barry deal' scenario. Click to continue reading...

Bundesliga Talk present their selection of this summer's best transfers in the Bundesliga - ironically written by a former Bundesliga Offside blogger, who joined Bundesliga Talk on a free transfer this summer. Damn you Bosman! (Bundesliga Talk) 101 Great Goals pick their favorite Bundesliga signings as well. Click to continue reading...

Rafael van der Vaart was officially unveiled as Real Madrid's newest player yesterday in a presentation the Santiago Bernabéu. As pictured above (photo courtesy of Real Madrid's official website), he was introduced by Real's President Ramón Calderón and President of Honor Alfredo Di Stéfano.Rafael van der Vaart is only 25-years old but has been playing [. Click to continue reading...

Dutch  playmaker, Rafael van der Vaart, has joined Real Madrid from Hamburg. What does this have to do with Ronaldo, you ask. Well, just hours after Van der Vaart's move was sealed, Ferguson said: "The matter is closed now." "He [Ronaldo] is a Manchester United player, it's finished. He is going to play here, believe me. Click to continue reading...

Interesting comment from Ramon Calderon after Real Madrid signed Rafael van der Vaart from Hamburg. "Rafael van der Vaart is a player of great quality, vision and talent," Calderon said when the midfielder was unveiled at the Bernabeu. "We are certain that he will be a player who will help us complement the already very strong squad [. Click to continue reading...

The La Liga champions are only getting better. Real Madrid have announced the signing of Hamburg SV's Rafael van der Vaart. The transfer fee for the deal is around 13 million euro. Van der Vaart is expected to sign a 5 year contract with the team, and is to be presented to the public on August 5th. Click to continue reading...

It's finally official, Rafael van der Vaart the Netherlands midfielder and Hamburg's captain is on his way to Real Madrid pending the results of a medical. The Bundesliga's own version of the Ronaldo affair has come an end. Although the clubs themselves have not released the details regarding the transfer fee, reports in [. Click to continue reading...

The endless transfer rumors do my head in. Honestly, haven't they gotten out of hand the past few years? From Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham's hilarious annoyance of a few years ago to Cristiano Ronaldo's supposed slavery this summer, haven't we had enough? (Common thread here? Real Madrid ... hmm .

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Hamburg - Rafael van der Vaart wechselt vom HSV zum spanischen Rekordmeister Real Madrid. Beide Vereine einigten sich am Montag (04.08.08) auf den Transfer des 25-jährigen Niederländers. Van der Vaart bestritt für den HSV von 2005 bis 2008 insgesamt 74 Bundesligaspiele und erzielte dabei 29 Tore. "Der HSV und Rafael hatten gemeinsam drei sehr erfolgreiche Jahre. Click to continue reading...

From Rafael Van Der Vaart's official site:

Dear fans,

Last night everything came together, and I am now moving to Real Madrid.

As everybody might know I have always wanted to move to Spain, because I have a strong bond with that country. Now I'm going to play for Real Madrid. Click to continue reading...

The HAMBURG Captain & Dutch International midfielder RAFAEL VAN DER VAART has confirmed his transfer to REAL MADRID via his personal web site. The 25 year old will be presented... Read all the news, results, details & comments in English on Spanish Football & Sports Click to continue reading...

Footballtoyou is back after a near two year break. The site is being relaunched and will once again become a great place for football news, football debate, football chat, football gossip, football videos and all sorts of football stuff. With it's comeback comes the news that Real Madrid have signed leading european and creative midfielder Rafael Van Der Vaart. Click to continue reading...

Sembra - notizia di pochi minuti fa- che Rafael Van Der Vaart abbia chiuso l'accordo con il Real Madrid per un contratto quinquennale. All'Amburgo vanno 13 milioni di euro. Che dire ora? Altra debacle della truppa Secco-Blanc-Cobolli Gigli? Arriverà qualcuno di classe per dare ordine al centrocampo?

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Auf dem Sprung nach Spanien war Rafael van der Vaart ja schon 2007. Nun ist er wirklich weg. Der Holländer wechselt zu Real Madrid und unterschreibt dort einen Fünf-Jahres-Vertrag. Der HSV erhält ein Trostpflaster in Höhe von 13 Millionen Euro. Es ist ein herber Verlust für den ewigen Bundesligisten - und auch für die Bundesliga. Click to continue reading...

Secondo quanto riferisce oggi il quotidiano spagnolo 'Marca' questo sarà il giorno di Rafael Van der Vaart dall'Amburgo ai merengues. L'olandese vestirà di 'blanco' per le prossime 5 stagioni per 10 mln di euro.

Da Calciomercato.com





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Real Madrid 2-1 Hamburg The Emirates tournament got under way with Real Madrid facing Martin Jol's Hamburg, arguably the weakest of the four teams. Real Madrid defeated Hamburg 2-1 in the Emirates Cup on Saturday. It was a match overshadowed by the impending transfer of Rafael van der Vaart from Hamburg to Real Madrid. Click to continue reading...