Former Holland midfielder Rafael van der Vaart's first taste of competitive darts ended with a second-round defeat in the British Darts Organisation-ranked Denmark Open.
The 36-year-old won his first game of the competition on Saturday morning, beating Thomas Andersen 4-2 in Esbjerg, where he ended his football career last year.
But Van Der Vaart could not get past Mogens Christensen as he suffered a comprehensive 4-0 loss.
He will return on Sunday to take on former World Cup runner-up Per Laursen in the Denmark Masters.
'A fun morning at the #DenmarkOpen,' wrote Van der Vaart on Instagram alongside a picture of himself in action. 'Really looking forward to my next match tomorrow! #letsplaydarts'
Van der Vaart first made waves in the darting world in January when the 36-year-old played alongside Michael van Gerwen at the Promi-Darts World Championship in Germany.
The Dutch pair reached the final of the celebrity pro-am event, where they were defeated by Max Hopp and actor Jimi Blue Ochsenknecht.
Van der Vaart retired from football in November, which ended a career that saw him win two Eredivisie titles with Ajax.
After starting off his career at Ajax, Van der Vaart donned the colours of Hamburg, Real Madrid, Tottenham, Real Betis, FC Midtjylland and Esbjerg.