With Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur set to meet in the Champions League quarter-finals, it is safe to assume that Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo will receive the bulk of the attention as the tie approaches. After all, Mourinho is attempting to win the competition with a third different club, while Ronaldo will play a competitive game in England for the first time since leaving Manchester United in 2009.

Plus, Los Blancos have reached the last eight for the first time since 2004 – and a potential semi-final against Barcelona, who play Shakhtar Donetsk, has already set the pulses racing. There are so many intriguing subplots in the air that Ricardo Carvalho’s return to London may go unnoticed.

But it is a former Real Madrid man who might yet have the last laugh. Rafael van der Vaart moved to the Spanish capital in 2008 and spent two seasons at the Bernabeu. It seemed as though the former Ajax schemer had finally landed at a club that matched his undoubted talent but, despite some fine displays, he failed to hold down a first team spot. When Mourinho took charge last summer, the Dutchman was deemed surplus to requirements, prompting an £8M move to Harry Redknapp’s Spurs in September.

 

Now Van der Vaart and Mourinho will come face-to-face again, with the Dutchman no doubt eager to prove his quality against those who have replaced him, including the likes of Angel di Maria and Mesut Ozil. However, the Holland international insists there are no hard feelings, admitting he cannot wait to play in Madrid again. He does not have long to wait – the first leg will be played at the Bernabeu on 5th April.

“I had hoped this would happen because it will be fantastic to go back to Madrid,” Van der Vaart commented soon after the draw. “I have a lot of friends there and it will be great to see them all.

“It’s a big game, first leg away which is good for us, so I’m happy. I played there for two years and had a great time there, so it’s a dream to be going back.”

Van der Vaart has been an instant hit at White Hart Lane, adapting seamlessly to the faster Premier League tempo and providing the creative spark centrally to complement the jet-heeled duo of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon on the flanks. His big match experience, which includes a brief cameo in last summer’s World Cup final, has ensured that Tottenham have stayed on track domestically despite the wear and tear of their European adventure. Meanwhile, Mourinho’s Real Madrid trail Barcelona in La Liga’s title race, with the Clasico on home soil still to come.

The Dutchman’s duel with the Spaniards’ defensive midfielder Sami Khedira, a Mourinho summer signing whose stock rose dramatically with a series of fine displays for Germany during the 2010 World Cup, could swing the tie one way or the other, particularly in the first leg when Spurs will rely on swift and incisive counter attacks to cut through a Real Madrid defence that is far from impenetrable. If the tie remains in the balance heading back to a rocking White Hart Lane, all bets are off.

These two games are sure to be emotional for Van der Vaart as he faces his former team-mates, but if Spurs are to keep their stunning European run alive, the Dutchman will need to produce the biggest performances of his career.

Elsewhere, the glamour quarter-final tie pits Manchester United against Chelsea in an all-English clash that neither team probably wanted. It does though give Sir Alex Ferguson the chance to avenge two Champions League defeats at the hands of Carlo Ancelotti while the Italian was in charge of AC Milan.

The two teams will meet three times in the final six weeks of the season and, with Wayne Rooney returning to form for United and Frank Lampard finally injury-free for the Blues, the stage is set for 180 minutes of pulsating action. The winner will face either Inter Milan or Schalke in the last four.

Yet Real Madrid and Spurs must command the lion’s share of the attention. For Redknapp’s side, it is the tie which finally confirms their arrival in European football’s big time, while for the Spaniards, a tenth Champions League victory is an obsession that grips the Bernabeu.