Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi surprised quite a few fans when he selected center back Micky van de Ven as his new captain, and whlie the Dutch international will have a lot to prove as a leader after Spurs fans were left with a bad taste in their mouths from Cristian Romero's failed reign, expectations just got significantly lower for him.
That's because with Van de Ven unavailable for the first Matchday of the 2026/27, Tottenham laid an egg against local rivals Brentford at the Gtech Stadium, losing 3-0. Van de Ven's Dutch national teammate Jan Paul van Hecke was awful in his Tottenham debut, but he was far from the only culprit as the entire defense seemed to flounder until both Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi got their acts together in the second half with an improved midfield in front of them.
Tottenham lacked any cohesion on the pitch, and while it is a new team that is still evolving with new faces in the summer and a different philosophy under Roberto De Zerbi, it was jarring to see how disjointed they were.
Micky van de Ven can prove why he is captain
A few players were not that terrible for Tottenham Hotspur, but any time you lose 3-0, it is a collective failure for everyone associated with the result. And that's why the only real winner is the No. 1 captain who was not a part of it at all.
Micky van de Ven should be ready for Tottenham on Matchday 2 of the Premier League next weekend against Newcastle United, and that is a great opponent for the Dutch center back to assert himself as a leader and show that he is the one improving Tottenham and is ready to step into that role that Roberto De Zerbi has given him.
There are still quite a few Tottenham fans who associate the failures of last season before De Zerbi arrived just as much with Van de Ven as they do his center back partner Cristian Romero. With how poorly Spurs played against Brentford without him, Van de Ven has a golden opportunity to take credit for a better performance against Newcastle. And he can also help out Jan Paul van Hecke, whom he will presumably start next to, and help his national team center back partner rise to the occasion and respond vs. the Magpies next weekend. Tottenham cannot accept anything less than three points then.
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