Micky van de Ven has cemented his place at Tottenham Hotspur since joining them from VfL Wolfsburg in August 2023.
The defender spent two years at the Bundesliga side, who signed him from FC Volendam in 2021. Van de Ven is a product of the lower division Dutch club’s youth system.
Van de Ven has made it to the Netherlands squad regularly for more than a year, at least when he’s fit. He’s again been selected for the ongoing international break, and this gave Voetbal Primeur the chance to have a detailed chat with the Tottenham player.
They point things weren’t easy earlier in his career at Volendam. He joined their academy in 2013 and went through their ranks, before getting promoted to the first team in 2019. The centre-back believes he didn’t get enough support at the Dutch club.
“Of course, it very much depends on the people around you. People have to have confidence in you. I didn’t go from U19 to Jong Volendam [U21]. I felt no confidence from the Volendam first-team staff at that time. You sense then that it’s going to be a difficult story,” he said.
“But if people don’t see that… Maybe people see perspective in other players at that time. My pace didn’t stand out either. It wasn’t seen as something that was really a weapon of mine. That was certainly not the case, even though I was very fast then.
“People then thought I was short. I did think of stepping back then to take two steps forward. I never thought about another profession. It was always football. In the end, it worked out well.”
This isn’t the first time the Tottenham player has discussed this topic. In September 2023, he detailed how Wim Jonk’s appointment as Volendam manager in 2019 was crucial in helping him save his career at the Dutch club.
Van de Ven has made 36 appearances for Spurs, of which seven are from this season.
