Tottenham’s Rafael van der Vaart wants to avoid Barcelona in Champions League draw

Rafael van der Vaart celebrates his opener in Spurs’ 3-1 win over Inter (Getty Images)

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Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has expressed his delight at reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League, though the club’s fans were more preoccupied with enjoying the capitulation of their local rivals.

“The club had never even played in the Champions League before and now we’ve made it to the quarter-finals at the expense of Milan. That’s just amazing,” Van der Vaart was quoted as saying by NUsport.

“However, it seemed as if the fans were enjoying the elimination of Arsenal even more than our own success.”

The Dutch international then looked ahead to today’s draw and pointed out that he’d rather steer clear of Spanish champions Barcelona.

He said: “I don’t really care who we meet in the next round as long as it’s not Barcelona. Their attacking style of play and superb combination football could be a problem.”

Van der Vaart also quickly discussed Spurs’ Premier League results and expressed his frustration that the London side sit only fifth in the table at the moment.

“We only have ourselves to blame,” he added. “We would have been third in the table if we had beaten Blackpool and Wolves. It was pretty frustrating that I missed those games due to injury.”