Tottenham is not illusions about the importance of the Europa League final of next week, in which Micky Van de Ven admits that they “need” the trophy.
Spurs went for 17 years without lifting much silverware since winning the EFL cup under Juande Ramos in 2008.
Since then they have lost three further EFL Cup-Finales and the 2019 Champions League Pronze versus Liverpool, ending as Premier League-Tweede in 2016-17.
Next Wednesday they will go to Bilbao to be confronted opposite Manchester United in their sixth major European final, after they have defeated Bodo/Glimt 5-1 in the semi-final.
And while Van de Ven knows that the price of Champions League football is crucial for a team that is in 17th place in its own country, he says that the trophy itself is what fans want.
“Of course it is nice that you will play Champions League next year, but we have to win the trophy,” he said TNT Sports.
“The fans say:” We have not won a trophy for a long time “and we want to be the group to give them something special to celebrate. We are the boys who want to change that.”
Go to work on Hotspur way
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About the history of the two most important European competitions – the European Cup/Champions League and the UEFA Cup/Europa League – there have been 19 finals with two teams from the same country.
This will be the sixth between two English clubs – more than any other country – and the first since Chelsea defeated Manchester City in the Champions League in 2021.
Spurs have already beaten three times this season – twice in the Premier League and once in the EFL Cup. They are the first team to win three separate games against the Red Devils in one campaign in all competitions since Chelsea in 2012-13.
But Van de Ven does not believe that those results will have the final and say: “I would not say it is an advantage. Those were games in the past.
“This is a last and everything can happen in a final. We have won three times against them, hopefully we can do the same for the final.”
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– UEFA Europa League (@europaleague) May 13, 2025
The future of Ange Postecoglou as Tottenham Boss is uncertain, regardless of the result of the next Wednesday, but Van de Ven believes that the Australian deserves the honor because he has taken them so far.
“The Gaffer made sure we always stayed together. It was a difficult season, everyone doubted us, now we have proven that they were wrong – we reached the final,” he added.
“The Gaffer believes every time, again and again in us, and you can see that.
“We are a sleek group from the field and on the field and we want to ensure that we can bring this trophy home.”