Get In Scholesy
Full Member
Real signed him and benched him him, lasted 2 seasons at a top club, then muddled around mid table clubs the rest of his career where he had most of his highlights as a player.Van der Vaart was a star in the Netherlands, was a star for Hamburg (why do you think Real signed him?) and at Spurs he had a good period as well. He also won over 100 caps for the Dutch NT. "shit player with a purple patch" indeed...
I won't pretend to be a close follower of Ligue 1 or Payet, but I remember him posting some ridiculous numbers for Lille and for OM, before joining West Ham, where I guess he gained most of his fame. After his return to France he also played his part in OM's EL final run.
Even for The Oranje, he had two decent tournaments and was largely ineffective throughout major tournaments.
Relatively the same tune with Payet, decent at mid table clubs, but hardly done anything to be integral to a cup or league winning side.
But to your point I might be sounding harsh, I just never saw the hype these players had around them, nor was it warranted imo.