Micky van de Ven put in a near-perfect performance at the heart of the defence in the Wolves’ first win over the season in Frankfurt. The 21-year-old Dutchman has played every minute thus far this season and has very much carved himself a niche in the VfL starting XI. Ahead of the trip to league leaders Union Berlin, the towering (1.93m) youngster spoke about his aims and the matches against Frankfurt and Union.
Micky van de Ven, as a professional footballer, do you actually count the number of duels you win and your successful passes over the 90 minutes when you’re out on the pitch?
Micky van de Ven: (laughs) “No, not in the slightest!”
In Frankfurt at least, you won every ball you contested and never gave it away to the opposition – you’re perfection personified in both categories with 100 percent…
Micky: “Those stats came as a surprise to me as well. I didn’t necessarily have the feeling during the game that that was the way it was. When I read that, I did think: ‘Wow, not bad!’”
“Go at it 100 percent”
You’re 21 years young, you were named as the stand-out talent in the ‘Keuken Kampioen Divisie’ in the Netherlands and now you’re showing what you’re made of in the Bundesliga with your speed, battling qualities and passing accuracy. Where do you still see potential for improvement?
Micky: “Obviously that was just the one match where I had 100 percent ratings in terms of passes and duels. What would be really great is if I managed to do that in every match. Overall, I can obviously improve in every sector – for example posing more of a threat in front of goal. Fortunately though I’m still young and have plenty to learn.”
Have you set yourself any personal goals?
Micky: “This season, I’d just like to start as many games as possible for VfL. And obviously it’d be a dream if I could make my full international debut at some stage. At the moment I’m still in the Dutch U21 team.”
On Sunday you’re facing surprise leaders Union Berlin. What kind of match are you expecting and what will be the key to getting a result there?
Micky: “It obviously won’t be an easy game. Union have a great fan base and the team’s doing really well at the moment and are really strong in the one-on-ones. If we do what we did last weekend though and don’t back down in those duels, and go at it 100 percent from the off, we can have a good game and hopefully get a result out of it.”
