Tottenham Hotspur have had quite a few goals which have been etched in the Lilywhites’ memories for a long time, ones that demand a nod in the Puskas Award. You go back to that Gareth Bale goal vs Inter or that rabona from Erik Lamela against Arsenal. And then there is the one from Heung-Min Son, which won the Puskas.
But few expected a centre-back to join that list. And then Dutch centre back Micky van de Ven drifted with the ball along the pitch (67.7 metres) through FC Copenhagen’s midfield and defence before a neat finish in the Lilywhites’ midweek 4-0 Champions League win. And that was so when Tottenham were down to ten.
It’s certainly a goal that is going to go far in this year’s Puskas award; maybe at the moment it does look like the one that could win the thing, given how good it was.
After the goal, we saw former Lilywhites skipper Heung Min Son writing on Instagram to give his say on the goal. The South Korean wrote, “Wow… just wow.”
Van de Ven reveals Son conversation
But the 33-year-old who now plays in the MLS with LAFC also sent in a separate private message to the defender where he gave detailed praise (more of filling in the words to his initial praise). And Van de Ven went on to reveal how Son got in touch with him at full time while speaking about what was said between the pair.
Speaking with TNT Sports via X before the North Londoners’ draw with Manchester United yesterday, the Dutch centre-back said:
“Nah, he texted me as well. He said, unbelievable goal as well. He’s like, it’s unbelievable how you (were able to) make this (much) room and how you finished this goal.”
He also spoke about how he always wanted to score a goal like Son, and while he has had similar runs before, none of those ended up with him scoring one. So how getting one this time was more special. Micky continued:
“And I just said to him, I want to make a similar goal as you, and luckily it happened.
TTLB Opinion
While there is nothing to take away from Van de Ven’s goal, this also shows how Son was a huge figure in the dressing room, and he continues to be a model despite playing away in the United States.
And for VDV, he will surely take a lot of confidence from this one; hopefully, he can get on some similar runs this season.
Which of the two goals do you think was better: the one that won Son that Puskas or this Van de Ven goal against Copenhagen last week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.