Micky van de Ven happy to play ‘painful' part as Ange Postecoglou extends record
Spurs ended a 17-year trophy drought with a 1-0 win over Manchester United in a tense all-English final in Bilbao, which was settled by Brennan Johnson's 42nd-minute close-range finish.
Postecoglou made headlines at the start of the season when he declared that he 'always wins things' in year two of a job – a feat achieved at South Melbourne, Brisbane Roar, Yokohama, Celtic and Australia's under-17, under-20 and senior sides.
😎 pic.twitter.com/Gs0nR2uxLS
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 21, 2025
The bold remark came after a slow start to the Premier League campaign and has been regularly referenced as Tottenham have slid down the table to 17th, but a disciplined display at San Mames ensured Postecoglou succeeded where many high-profile predecessors have failed.
Van de Ven's incredible clearance on the line to thwart Rasmus Hojlund after 68 minutes played its part in securing Spurs a first European trophy in 41 years and only the fourth in their history to keep Postecoglou true to his word.
'The gaffer said this and I think he proved he's done it,' Van de Ven pointed out.
'He won again something in his second year and everyone who was doubting him, everybody that was doubting us, we all proved them wrong this year.
'Of course it was a really tough season. In the league we didn't perform well, it was really poor from us. I can't say anything else but that, but in Europe we did so well.
'To be honest I'm really happy he said he always wins something in his second year. We made sure he can keep saying this. We're happy for him and happy for the team.
'Probably (critics) will continue but I don't care anymore. We proved them wrong. We won a trophy so they can say whatever they want.
'We're here, we're lifting a trophy and have made some history, so of course that's an unbelievable feeling.'
It could have been different had Hojlund scored after Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario spilled Bruno Fernandes' free-kick, but Van de Ven went flying through the air to clear before crashing into the post.
He added: 'I can tell you it was painful!
'The ball came to Hojlund and I was like, 'I need to go to the goalline because if he heads over Vic, that's going to be a goal.'
'I saw the ball coming and to be honest the ball was high and I was like, 'I don't know how I'm gonna do this,' but I just tried everything I could and I saved it.
'It was all worth it because we kept the clean sheet.'
A post shared by Micky van de Ven (@mickyvdven)
While Postecoglou's own future remains uncertain, he did back Tottenham to win further trophies after they 'climbed the mountain' to finally clinch eagerly-awaited silverware.
'Of course we want to build on it,' Van de Ven insisted.
'Every time we played in Europe, we showed our quality, we showed how we can play.
'The gaffer had a big role in this. He kept believing in us, the whole staff kept believing in us. He just made sure we stayed together and as a group we stayed together.
'We kept believing that we could create history with this group and we did it.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
Man Utd beat Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea to sign Southampton prospect
Manchester United have reached an agreement to sign teenager Harley Emsden-James from Southampton, beating a string of Premier League rivals to his signature. The Red Devils have done a deal worth £1m for the 16-year-old talent, although they will go on to pay add-ons and Southampton have negotiated a 20 per cent sell on clause. The centre-back has played up to Under-18 level for the Saints, despite only turning 16 in March this year. There was plenty of competition for the England youth international, with Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham all tracking the youngster. Manchester United have won the race, though, continuing their recent ploy to snap up the most promising young talent in the country. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you. The Red Devils have not only been able to do this from much smaller clubs, but also poaching talent from those of rival stature. Chido Obi and Ayden Heaven both arrived from Arsenal in the last year and have made their debuts in the Manchester United first team. It is very unlikely Emsden James will follow them into the first team in the near future, instead heading into the Under-18 team at Manchester United when he arrives. 18-year-old defender Heaven signed from Arsenal on February 1 and has already made six first team appearances for the Red Devils. It would have been more than that if it were not for a season-disrupting injury and he is likely to be regularly involved next season. Speaking out on why he left the Gunners for a move to Old Trafford, he said: 'The opportunities that the young players have got here in the past. 'I think United had the most minutes given to teenagers last season [2023/24]. That convinced me to come here. More Trending 'And the people and the fans here are quite loving, and I felt that when I was playing. They're so supportive.' Director of football Jason Wilcox has been credited for bringing in a number of talented prospects and Ruben Amorim thanked him for Heaven's arrival. 'I think once again Jason Wilcox is doing a great job bringing Ayden,' Amorim told MUTV in May. 'I think these types of players are what we need. He showed a lot of quality and character after the big injury. We want these types of players.' MORE: Liverpool eyeing move for £100m PSG forward after record Florian Wirtz deal MORE: Tottenham, Aston Villa and Newcastle in race to sign £25m Manchester United star on loan MORE: Newcastle in transfer talks for Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Burnley stars
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
European game generated 38 bln euros in 2023-24 season, study shows
June 11 (Reuters) - Europe's soccer market grew by 8% in terms of revenue in the 2023-24 season to 38 billion euros ($43.46 billion) with England's Premier League generating the most, Deloitte said in a study published on Wednesday. In its Annual Review of Football Finance, Deloitte said the top five leagues -- Premier League, Bundesliga, LaLiga, Serie A and Ligue 1 -- generated 20.4 billion euros in revenue, an increase of 4%. Premier League clubs had the highest revenue of Europe's top leagues at 6.3 billion pounds ($8.50 billion). However, the traditional 'big six' clubs in England's top flight reported lower average revenue growth (3%) than other clubs that were in the Premier League in both the 2023-24 and 2022-23 seasons (11%). The study said the growth was largely driven by expansion of clubs' commercial offerings, which also led to the teams cumulatively generating more than two billion pounds in commercial revenue for the first time. "A focus on stadia development and diversification of commercial revenues led to growth across the European football market in the 2023-24 season," Tim Bridge, lead partner in Deloitte's Sports Business Group, said. "However, clubs and leagues cannot afford to take their eye off the ball as new challenges, including an evolving regulatory landscape and changing fan behaviours, arise. "The pressure is mounting for more clubs to drive additional revenue at the same time as managing rising costs. "More so than ever, leaders and owners must recognise the great responsibility they have of managing these businesses, capturing the historic essence of a football club while honouring its unrivalled role as a community asset for generations to come." Clubs in Europe's 'big five' leagues reported an aggregate operating profit (0.6 billion euros) for a second successive season, while the aggregate wages/revenue ratio fell from 66% to 64%. Clubs in England's Women's Super League (WSL) jointly generated revenue of 65 million pounds in the 2023-24 season, a 34% rise. Each WSL club had a double-digit increase in revenue, while all 12 clubs reported over one million pounds in revenue for the first time, with an average revenue of 5.4 million pounds. "Through developing more robust fan engagement strategies, strong commercial deals and securing central distributions, WSL clubs unlocked a new phase of growth," Deloitte Sports Business group's knowledge and insights lead Jennifer Haskel said. "Plus, as the reporting and attribution of commercial revenue remains inconsistent between clubs, we may be scratching the surface on the value now being generated by the women's game." ($1 = 0.7409 pounds) ($1 = 0.8743 euros)
Spectator
an hour ago
- Spectator
14 June 2025
Gunnar Hallberg is a tall, big-boned Viking of a player, who, three decades ago, decided to cross the North Sea to raid the high-stake bridge clubs of England. He's lived here ever since, and Sweden's loss, it turns out, has been our gain. He's gone on to represent England numerous times in European and world championships (twice winning gold in the Seniors), and is a popular figure who's always willing to lend his time and expertise to lesser players. Now aged 80 (you'd never guess it), he's still going strong, still playing for the England seniors and still a fearsome opponent at the rubber bridge table. You can find him at TGRs in London most weeks, and the game is always more fun when he's in it. This deal cropped up recently; the stakes were £30 (per 100 points): Gunnar's 1NT overcall was a classic psyche: after seeing his partner pass, he pretended to have a strong balanced hand, intending to run to 2♦️ if doubled. It was what happened next that was so unusual: not many players would bid on to 3NT and then pass a double! When his partner bid 2NT over West's 2♥️, however, Gunnar knew he must have seven or eight points. Those points were most likely in the minors. And he surely had length in the minors too, as he hadn't overcalled 2♠️. So over East's 3♥️, he bid 3NT. West, as it happens, was the former England international Robert Sheehan, a superb and solid rubber-bridge player. But Gunnar didn't panic-run. 3NT, he worked out, had as good a chance as 4♦️. And when Robert led the ♠️J, he was soon claiming 11 tricks and +750. Fortune favours the brave, as every Viking knows.
