Rafa reveals Italy desire

Tottenham midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has revealed he wants to play in the Italian Serie A at some point in his career.

Spurs man has 'good feeling' about Italian top flight

Tottenham midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has revealed he wants to play in the Italian Serie A at some point in his career. Van der Vaart has been linked with a move away from White Hart Lane this summer, with Juventus, Inter Milan and Roma among the Italian sides previously thought to have the Dutchman on their radar. The 29-year-old, who is also reportedly being targeting by Bundesliga club Schalke, played down speculation surrounding his future earlier this week, insisting he is happy at Spurs. But the Netherlands international, who has already played in the Dutch, German, Spanish and English top flights, says Serie A is an attractive prospect.

Good feeling

He told Dutch Playboy magazine: "I would like to play in Italy once. Much has been said about the Serie A not being attractive, but I have a good feeling about it." Van der Vaart hopes he can continue to be involved in football when his playing days eventually end. He added: "I would like to become a person somewhere between a coach and technical director. "Helping players, talking to them - just name it. A squad is very big nowadays and because of that players don't always get attention. Sometimes players who are out of favour are treated like garbage."