Tottenham: Micky van de Ven reveals moment from Europa League final win that fans still thank him for

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·9 September 2025

Tottenham: Micky van de Ven reveals moment from Europa League final win that fans still thank him for

The Dutchman played a vital role in ensuring Tottenham ended their long trophy drought

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Micky van de Ven has revealed Tottenham fans still thank him for his role in the Europa League success last season.

Spurs ended their 17-year wait for silverware by beating Manchester United in Bilbao thanks to a goal from Brennan Johnson, but Van de Ven also had a crucial role to play.

After Guglielmo Vicario fumbled the ball, Rasmus Hojlund's header looked certain to loop into the empty net, only for Van de Ven to get back and produce a stunning acrobatic clearance on his own goal-line to hook the ball away.

In an interview on Spurs' YouTube channel, Van de Van said: "To be honest they keep bringing it up. Every time when I see a Tottenham fan in the city and they walk up to me they're like, 'thank you so much for the clearance' or 'thank you so much for the trophy' and everything.

"That's a nice thing where everybody just keeps reminding you."

Stunning clearance: Micky van de Ven

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Spurs' Bilbao triumph saved a season that was otherwise a disaster, with the club finishing 17th in the Premier League.

However, the campaign ended in triumph, with a trophy parade attended by an estimated 150,000 supporters in north London, and Van de Ven is determined to ensure it was not a one-off.

"For a player when you have the taste of winning a trophy, this feels unbelievable," Van de Ven said. "You just want to do it over again.

"Especially after last season, all the negative things that came into the team and everything. It was a good thing to win something.

"Now everybody had a taste of it and everybody knows how it feels and I think everybody is now triggered to do it over again."

Every time when I see a Tottenham fan in the city and they walk up to me they're like, 'thank you so much for the clearance'

Van de Ven endured a largely frustrating season on a personal level, spending large spells of it on the sidelines with hamstring issues.

When he returned to fitness the Premier League season was effectively a write-off, leaving Ange Postecoglou to keep the centre-back fresh for the European run.

"At one point I knew that I was only going to play the Europa League games," Van de Ven said.

"I didn't play Premier League any more at one point, every time I got rested in the Premier League games.

"At that point, I also spoke with my mum and my dad and my best friends and I was like, 'there's one way to save my season - that's winning the Europa League and bringing silverware to Tottenham'.

"My season was bad and I could only change it around if I win something and I gave this terrible season a positive end. Luckily it happened."