Van der Vaart off to a winning start in darts career

Rafael van der Vaart made a winning start to his professional darts career at the Denmark Open on Saturday.

Former Real Madrid and Tottenham playmaker Van der Vaart retired from football in 2018 following a brief spell at Danish club Esbjerg, outlining his intention to take up darts professionally.

And, having joined the British Darts Association (BDO) circuit in April, the 36-year-old made his debut at the Denmark Open, coincidentally held in Esbjerg.

The former Netherlands international got his pro career off to a victorious start, beating Thomas Andersen 4-2 in the first round.

A fun morning at the #DenmarkOpen 
Really looking forward to my next match tomorrow!  #letsplaydarts https://t.co/hrdtyLPnlT pic.twitter.com/qwuzZe2Jc5

— Rafael van der Vaart (@rafvdvaart) May 4, 2019

A 4-0 defeat to Mogens Christensen in the second round followed, but Van der Vaart will take part in the Denmark Masters on Sunday.

“A fun morning at the Denmark Open,” Van der Vaart tweeted. “Really looking forward to my next match tomorrow!”