{"id":263360,"date":"2025-11-05T02:55:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T02:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/263360\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T02:55:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T02:55:09","slug":"micky-van-de-ven-and-a-goal-like-no-other-it-was-messi-transformed-into-a-centre-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/263360\/","title":{"rendered":"Micky van de Ven and a goal like no other: \u2018It was Messi transformed into a centre-back\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Destiny Udogie\u2019s reaction said it all.<\/p>\n

When a footballer scores a wonder goal and a team-mate raises both hands to their head in disbelief, it\u2019s normally done after the goal. Udogie did it when his fellow Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven was still 40 yards from his target and with the goalkeeper still to beat against Copenhagen in the Champions League<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yes, the Dutch international defender did something absolutely incredible on Tuesday night. And possibly unprecedented.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to recall a solo goal being scored in that manner. Heck, Tottenham\u2019s South Korean international Son Heung-min \u2014 now with Los Angeles FC \u2014 scored an eerily similar goal in the same stadium, from the same side of the pitch to the other, against Burnley a few years ago, That stunning solo goal in 2019 won the Puskas Award, given by FIFA, world football\u2019s governing body, to the scorer of the best goal of the year.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also easy to recall special goals being scored by centre-backs. In English football, Vincent Kompany\u2019s long-range beauty for Manchester City against Leicester City, Phil Jagielka\u2019s thunderbolt for Everton in the Merseyside derby at Anfield, and Philippe Albert\u2019s exquisite dink over Peter Schmeichel for Newcastle United in the mid-1990s all spring to mind.<\/p>\n

But a solo goal being scored by a centre-back? One that involved beating four players with an electric combination of pace, power, control, strength, brute force, elegance and a finish to match, having run from one penalty area to the other in the space of 10 utterly unforgettable seconds?<\/p>\n

Nope. No way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like Lionel Messi transformed into a centreback,\u201d as his head coach Thomas Frank put it.<\/p>\n

UK readers watch here:<\/p>\n

OH MY WORD MICKY VAN DE VEN \ud83e\udd2f<\/p>\n

Incredible goal by the Spurs centre half, as he runs the full length of the pitch before a fantastic finish past Kotarsi \u2013 INCREDIBLE GOAL!<\/p>\n

Watch live on @tntsports<\/a> & @discoveryplusUK<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/txG6v8s8jH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

U.S. readers watch here:<\/p>\n

Micky van de Ven runs the length of the pitch with a sensational solo run and goal that leaves Copenhagen’s defenders in the dust! \ud83e\udd2f\ud83d\udca8 pic.twitter.com\/NASPHGlhiA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 CBS Sports Golazo \u26bd\ufe0f (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

But how, exactly, did he do it?<\/p>\n

It was Tottenham substitute Joao Palhinha who won the ball for Van de Ven and became the answer to a future quiz question: who provided the assist for one of the greatest goals ever scored by a centre-back?<\/p>\n

I mean, come on, it defies logic, science and common sense.\u00a0This is where the goal starts from.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

This is like the famous picture of Diego Maradona against Belgium from the 1982 World Cup: surrounded by players, with seemingly no path to pick through.<\/p>\n

Van de Ven\u2019s answer was simply to put his head down and steam forward at an absurd pace.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Yep, he\u2019ll just take two touches, stride forward with the balance of a trapeze artist and just keep on running.<\/p>\n

In fact, his balance through the 10-second 80-yard dash is probably the most impressive trait\u2026 to utilise that brawn, while running at that pace, and to just keep ploughing through like a graceful bulldozer, is otherworldly.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Udogie (top left) now knows what\u2019s coming; he\u2019s probably seen it happen in training.<\/p>\n

Randal Kolo Muani (to Van de Ven\u2019s right) is surely not expecting a pass, although he does have a previous for mad solo assists, like the one he provided for Brennan Johnson at Manchester United after a 50-yard dash down the left flank.<\/p>\n

But no, of course he goes for goal. It would have been a crime against football not to.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

The finish, considering he\u2019s just run 80 yards at full tilt, is remarkably composed, spotting a gap at the keeper\u2019s near post and placing it with gusto, rather than crashing his laces through it.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Throughout the 10 seconds, the cries from the Tottenham crowd sound like roars of encouragement and celebration, but from the tempo and pitch they basically read like subtitles: \u201cGo on Micky, go on lad, yeah, oh that\u2019s ridiculous, he can\u2019t, surely not\u2026 GO ON MICKY ohhhhhhh my goodness!!\u201d<\/p>\n

Slack-jawed disbelief, writ large across 50,000 people.<\/p>\n

Van de Ven had been cast as a villain for his petulant reaction to Frank<\/a> following last Saturday\u2019s 1-0 defeat by Chelsea, which he apologised for. Well, all is forgiven now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started dribbling and thought I thought that I would see if they would catch up and they didn\u2019t,\u201d he told TNT Sports. \u201cI saw the space more and more, and then at one point I thought: \u2018OK I\u2019m through now, I\u2019ll go for goal now\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably they were (worried about my hamstrings). I\u2019m feeling good. I felt amazing in the sprint. I felt like I could keep going and going, and I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who\u2019d have thought Spurs versus Copenhagen would have yielded a true \u2018I was there\u2019 moment?<\/p>\n

A unique goal from a unique footballer.<\/p>\n