Ange Postecoglou and his Tottenham players are using online taunts about their empty trophy cabinet to fuel their quest to win the Europa League.
Spurs arrived in Bilbao on Monday with centre half Micky van de Ven promising the team are ready to banish the club’s unwanted reputation for failure in Wednesday’s final against Manchester United.
‘Everybody knows that when you join Tottenham, you get the words through that you’re not going to win a trophy, and that you will be trophyless the rest of your career,’ said Van de Ven. ‘It’s these people on social media, you know. Banter people that you don’t really take seriously.
‘All the guys that came here were like, “We’re going to change something about this club”. The gaffer and the whole squad, we said, “We’re going to come here and change something”. For us, it’s the job now to make this happen in Bilbao. It will be a big thing.’
Tottenham have not won silverware since the League Cup in 2008, have picked up only three major trophies in more than 40 years and the first British club to claim a European prize have not won in Europe since the UEFA Cup in 1984.
‘We all know we play for a big club,’ said Van de Ven. ‘This club deserves trophies, that’s the truth. If you look at the quality in the squad, we deserve a trophy. It has been a tough season but we can end this perfectly by winning a prize.’
Micky van de Ven pictured departing Tottenham Hotspur’s Enfield training ground on Monday
Later on Monday, Tottenham arrived in Bilbao ahead of this week’s UEFA Europa League final
Van den Ven has made a habit of proving people wrong in his career. As a teenager in his native Netherlands, he was almost released by his first club, Volendam. There was a time when they did not think he had what it takes.
Now, he is a Dutch international, signed by Tottenham for £43million from Wolfsburg in 2023 and arguably their most important player, the key to Postecoglou’s tactical style.
With him and Cristian Romero together again at the back since injury, Spurs have won four and drawn one of their last five ties in the Europa League.
‘That’s crazy to be honest,’ says Van de Ven. ‘There were people who didn’t have the trust in me and now I am standing here in a European final. It’s a beautiful thing. I think I proved them wrong.’
The last time Spurs made it to a European final was 2019, when they roared back to beat Ajax on away goals in Amsterdam in a Champions League semi-final, leaving a young Van de Ven distraught in the stands.
He was an Ajax fan who adored their young central defender Mathijs de Ligt, who now plays for Manchester United.
‘I was not really happy,’ admits Van de Ven. ‘I was in the stadium, and he was playing that game. These are the games I remember most, from the Champions League when Ajax went to the semi-final and the first thing that pops into my head is the game against Tottenham.
‘He was playing unbelievable. When you’re a young kid you’re looking up at him, the captain of Ajax at 18 years old, doing an unbelievable job. Then you think ‘I want to be like him’.’
Van de Ven told reporters that he is ready to end the ‘banter’ around Spurs by winning a trophy
Spurs will win their first European trophy since 1984 if they beat Manchester United in Bilbao
United goalkeeper Andre Onana was in goal for Ajax on that occasion, when Lucas Moura’s hat trick turned the semi-final on its head.
Spurs went on to lose the final against Liverpool in Madrid. Then lost a League Cup final to Manchester City in 2021.
Now they have another shot at glory, and the chance for Postecoglou to continue his record of always winning something in his second season at all the clubs he managed, despite an otherwise awful campaign, featuring many injuries and a record 21 Premier League defeats.
‘We have all been standing behind the gaffer since day one,’ says Van de Ven. ‘He showed his quality, and he brought us to a European final.
‘He’s been getting a lot of doubt from the media, and we see these things, but he proved all you guys wrong and we’re standing in a European final, so hopefully we can lift the trophy. Not only for us, but also for him.’
