Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven makes admission to his solo wonder goal vs FC Copenhagen in the Champions League
Tottenham Hotspur were lambasted by media and the fans following their grim defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League. The lack of fight and spirit was inexcusable in the game, as Thomas Frank’s side served three points to the platter for Chelsea.
Thomas Frank wanted a rousing response from his boys to the Blues’ defeat when FC Copenhagen visited the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a Champions League fixture last week, and he got one. Spurs smashed FC Copenhagen 4-0 at home following goals from Brennan Johnson, Wilson Odobert, Micky van de Ven and Joao Palhinha.
Micky van de Ven hogged the limelight for his wonder solo goal on that night. With Tottenham leading 2-0 but down to 10 men and coming under pressure from opponents Copenhagen, the centre-back picked up a loose ball just outside the D-box. He kept his head down and started sprinting with the ball, beating one, two, three players, squeezing past a couple near the halfway line and overtaking another Copenhagen man to get through on goal, before coolly slotting past goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski.
Micky van de Ven makes admission on his wonder goal vs FC Copenhagen
Van de Ven’s incredible goal received praise from different corners of the world. TNT Sports pundit Owen Hargreaves felt it was “one of the best goals to be scored ever”, while former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara compared the goal to club legend Gareth Bale’s famous strike against Inter Milan.
Explaining his goal, the 24-year-old defender confessed that he just “kept going” after that game. Van de Ven was close to replicating something similar on Thursday during the Netherlands vs Poland World Cup qualifier. In the 17th minute, he won the ball back deep in his own half, setting off for another mazy run that saw him dodge multiple challenges before eventually winning a free kick in the final third.
When asked after the game if he thought he could replicate his classic solo effort from the Copenhagen game, Van den Ven said (h/t GOAL).
“That would have been nice, wouldn’t it? I have to say: at one point, when that guy made that sliding tackle, I thought: ‘I can keep going.’ But it was difficult to maintain that pace. A better goal than the last one will be tough.
“A better goal than the last one will be tough. It went viral. It was chaos. It exploded. I got it sent to me by all sorts of people, which was quite nice.”
Indeed, it was a scarcely believable goal from Van de Ven against Copenhagen, one that had left the Tottenham fanbase buzzing. He has the knack for going on mazy runs with the ball at his feet, which speaks volumes about the Dutch star’s supreme ability, confidence, agility and body balance. And he is in a great moment since the start of the campaign, taking his game to the next level under Frank.
With six goals already for Spurs this term, Van de Ven has also started contributing handsomely in attack. With the best portion of his career still to play, no one knows whether we would see another Van de Ven spectacle, but given his ability to produce special things, we’d not be surprised if he comes up with such an effort again.