roja vs. oranje

The radio talk show program El Larguero spoke to Rafa van der Vaart’s mother Lolita last night.  To those of you who are new to the game, Rafa’s mother is Spanish (from Chiclana in Cádiz, Andalucía) and his father Ramón, despite his name, is Dutch.  Therefore, there should be some interesting things going on in that family come Sunday, when the Netherlands faces Spain in the World Cup final!

Here’s what we find out about the family: Ramón and Lolita met at a disco in the Netherlands (though they didn’t dance because Lolita says her husband does not dance) where Lolita’s parents were living, and got married 2-3 years later.  Rafa was born in the Netherlands.  For a while, they lived in a big caravan.  Ramón played football, so Rafa learned from him, and Ramón is now Rafa’s representative.  Ramón and Lolita have another son, Fernando, who is 21 years old.  This summer’s plans:  they’ll head to South Africa on Saturday to watch the World Cup final, as well as spend some time in Chiclana.  We also find out that Rafa and Sylvie like Spanish food.

José Ramón de la Morena, the presenter of the show, jokes about how “if Rafa were born in Spain, he could be champions of the world on Sunday.”  As the interview concludes, he says to Lolita, “I hope everything goes well for you and you get everything you want, after Sunday.”

Lolita also says of Rafa, “va a seguir en Madrid” (he’s going to continue in Madrid).

Have a listen here!