Micky van de Ven was without doubt the biggest surprise in the pre-selection of the Dutch national team for the World Cup in Qatar. The central defender impresses at VfL Wolfsburg and did not miss a minute this season. In Wolfsburg they are not surprised by the call from national coach Louis van Gaal. Football zone recently went to the city of the Volkswagen group and asked fans and journalists for their opinion about Van de Ven.
By Mart Oude Nijeweeme
Ask fans of Wolfsburg which Dutchman has impressed the most in recent years and they invariably say Wout Weghorst. The desire for the striker can be explained after a look at the rankings. Wolfsburg finished disappointingly eleventh in the Bundesliga last year and is not running at full speed this season either. Niko Kovac’s team remained without a defeat in the last five games, but also managed to win only two. The result of the mixed start to the season are eleven meager points from eleven games.
Nowadays, Dutch honor is upheld by Van de Ven. The defender did not miss a minute this season and in a short time has developed into an undisputed basic player. “Micky has fulfilled a big dream”, says Engelbert Hensel, journalist of the Wolfsburg Allgemeine Zeitung. “He plays regularly, that was always his goal. He also said that last summer. He plays well and is especially notable for his speed. I don’t think he will be deprived of his starting place any time soon.”
It will be a hell of a job for Van de Ven to make it through to the final selection, as the competition in the rear is fierce at the Dutch. “With Virgil van Dijk, Stefan de Vrij, Matthijs de Ligt and Nathan Aké it will be very difficult for me,” Van de Ven admitted before his election in conversation with Football zone. “My advantage is that I am left-footed. I am particularly impressed with Ake. How he is doing at Manchester City, so good. He is so calm, plays everything ahead. He always has a footballing solution. I can certainly enjoy that. In the future I hope to be able to play for the Dutch one day.”
It must have come as a surprise to Van de Ven himself that the personal successes follow each other in rapid succession. Where he was a week ago on the reserve bench a year ago, he is now the first on the scoresheet by Kovac. His place in the pre-selection of the Dutch national team is an absolute icing on the cake. “Last season you could already see how fast he was and how well he adapted,” Hensel continues. “Occasionally he made a mistake, but he is still young. Young players also have to be allowed to make mistakes sometimes.”
Micky van de Ven saw an excellent season at VfL Wolfsburg recently awarded with a place in the pre-selection of the Dutch.
According to Hensel, Wolfsburg’s goal is to return to international level in the foreseeable future. Die Wölfe were active in the Champions League last year, but finished fourth in a group that included Lille OSC, RB Salzburg and Sevilla. “The start of the season is anything but good,” said Hensel. “It was really bad. Gradually, the team begins to adapt to Kovac’s way of playing. The foundation, the commitment, the cohesion. Kovac stands for getting the basics of football in order first. That was a big problem for a long time. It wasn’t that the team wasn’t performing, but it wasn’t consistent enough.”
Wolfsburg is certainly not the only club in Germany that is going through a valley in sport. Tradition clubs such as Schalke 04, Hamburger SV, Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen are also longing for better times. Schalke and Werder managed to quickly return to the highest level after their relegation. This does not apply to HSV. The fact that German football is somewhat disrupted is also proven by 1. FC Union Berlin and SC Freiburg, which catch the eye in a positive way. “One can only hope, as a VfL fan or people who come into the stadium, that it will get better soon. Let’s just say they’re on the right track,” Hensel concludes.