Nando Rafael

Position         : Forward

Date of birth : 10 January, 1984

Team              : Hertha Berlin (Germany)

Nationality     : Angola

Notes              : Rafael left his native Angola after both of his parents died in the civil war. He was an illegal immigrant to Holland at the age of eight. Rafael joined the Ajax youth team and became a prolific goalscorer, with twenty goals in twenty-three games in 2001/02. He was finally awarded an Angolan passport after spending ten years with no legal status in Holland. However the legal dispute would lead Rafael to move to Hertha Berlin after being refused a Dutch work permit. This was a big loss to Ajax as he had been seen as the "new Patrick Kluivert".

LAST UPDATED: 9 August, 2003

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