The five best vans to have played in the World Cup!
With the World Cup nearly upon us, we've been wondering about the best vans to have graced the biggest football tournament in the world.
After some serious disagreements and deliberations, we've decided on our top 5!
5. Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Giovanni van Bronckhorst was renowned for being an excellent performer who flourished both on the left-side on midfield and defence, with a club career featuring the likes of Feyenoord, Rangers, Arsenal and Barcelona. His first international cap came in 1996, where he would go on to represent his country a staggering 106 times. Van Bronckhorst represented the Netherlands in two World Cup campaigns, the first of which in 2006 ended for him in the last 16 where he was one of four players sent off in the match! His second World Cup in 2010 would prove to be far more successful, where he captained his team to the World Cup final, scoring what is widely thought of as one of the World Cup's best-ever goals. His team were only defied the winner's trophy by an extra time goal from Andres Iniesta in the final against Spain. A match that would spell Van Bronckhorst's retirement from professional football and the end of an excellent career which spanned 16 years.
4. Ruud van Nistelrooy
Despite a fantastic career which saw Van Nistelrooy almost guarantee goals pretty much wherever he plied his trade and incredibly lucrative spells at giants such as Manchester United and Real Madrid, the prolific striker may have felt his international career could've delivered so much more. Now that may appear a tad unfair on a striker who delivered 35 goals in 70 appearances, however his sole World Cup campaign came in 2006 where he started and was substituted in each of their group matches, scoring once against the Ivory Coast. He was dropped for the last 16 match against Portugal amid reports of a rift with manager Marco Van Basten, which saw them eliminated from the tournament. In 2007 the striker announced his retirement from International football, following various fallings out with Van Basten and despite a return to the national side later that year he never made it to another World Cup.
3. Marco van Basten
Perhaps the greatest player never to score in the World Cup finals, Marco Van Basten enjoyed a glittering career scoring a staggering 218 goals in 280 games for Ajax and AC Milan and 24 goals in 58 appearances for the Netherlands. The Dutch team narrowly missed out on qualification for the World Cup in 1986, which meant Van Basten's debut on the world stage would have to wait until four years later, despite flourishing in their victory in Euro 1988, claiming player of the tournament and scoring that unforgettable volley. His World Cup career was ended shortly in 1990, where the Dutch team exited early after losing to West Germany in the second round, never scoring in the world cup.
2. Edwin van der Saar
This legend of a goalkeeper enjoyed one of the most successful career's ever over a timescale of more than 20 years, his club career featured the likes of Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United, whilst he also enjoyed a staggering 130 caps for the Netherlands. The legend played in two World Cup campaigns in 1998 and 2006. Van der Saar was crucial to his country reaching the semi-finals in 1998 before they were defeated on penalties by Brazil. Prior to their group match against Ivory Coast in the 2006 World Cup, Edwin van der Saar had not conceded a goal in nine competitive matches, he also broke the record for all-time caps in their second round match against Portugal where he captained his country. The goalkeeper came out of international retirement to help his country in the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, keeping clean sheets in the two matches where he deputised.
1. Robin van Persie
A Dutch legend who started a glowing career at Feyenoord, Robin Van Persie's career also did a full circle, as he is currently plying his trade back at the same club. Despite beginning his career as a left winger, Van Persie is best renowned for his performance in attack, which has seen him score over 200 professional goals, in a career where he also represented Arsenal, Manchester United and Fenerbachce. Van Persie has also represented the Netherlands no fewer than 102 times, scoring a phenomenal 50 times and playing in 3 world cups: 2006, 2010 and 2014. He started each of the Netherland's four matches in the 2006 World Cup, scoring once before his team were eliminated in the last 16. Van Persie also started every match in the 2010 World Cup where his team fared far better, only to miss out in the final. Van Persie claimed 1 goal in the tournament and a Man of the Match performance along the way. After leading the scoring charts for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, the Dutchman was handed the captaincy before the tournament finals, a tournament where he thrived, scoring four goals on the way and leading the Dutch to an impressive third place finish.
New vans on finance
So there you have it, the 5 best vans to have played in the World Cup! But how about a real van? Get your new vans direct from Vansdirect, with a huge range of brand new vans in stock and cheap van finance options including van leasing, contract hire and hire purchase. Interested? Call us on 0800 169 69 95 or enquire online and we'll get back to you asap, we also offer cars!