Regarded as one of the best central defenders in Europe, Micky, 25, who joined us from VfL Wolfsburg in August, 2023, is already up to 96 appearances in all competitions, a UEFA Europa League winner and captained the team to safety in the crucial final six matches of last season.
Micky sat down with SPURSPLAY presenter Ben Haines to talk us through a special day, his love of the club – and the future…
Ben: Tell us, why is today special? Does it feel different?
Micky: “Today is a special day, obviously, because I signed a new contract. So, yeah, really buzzing about that, really happy about that. I won't say it's a different feeling, because it feels like home, so it's just like extending, extending like home. So, this is just a normal feeling, I would say, but the feelings I have are obviously the trust from the club I get, the trust from the gaffer I get, and the trust I have in the club is something really special, and it's something that gives a special feeling for knowing I can stay here for many more years. I'm now just enjoying everything, and it's just a beautiful day for me and also for my family.”
We all look from the outside and don't get a good idea of what life is like here on the inside. So, how are things at the moment? How do you feel?
Micky: “It's really good. I'm enjoying it, especially with the new gaffer coming in and his way of football and his way of playing. Also with the new signings coming in who are all top guys and top players, especially. So, yeah, I'm really enjoying it. I have a good relationship with the gaffer. We speak a lot, especially also last season and maybe this season it's going to happen as well. I think so. I have a good relationship with the gaffer.”
I remember when you first walked in here, you were wide-eyed, you were nervous, you were trying to settle. It feels like you are so totally calm here now…
Micky: “Yeah, settled in perfectly. It feels like home. I enjoy going to the training ground every day. I enjoy being around the guys and the staff and everyone who works here. So, yeah, I really enjoy being here and I'm just all settled in now.”
Naturally, the question that everyone would want to know the answer to is what makes this the right place for you? What's the vision that's helped you see that your future belongs here?
Micky: “I’ve always loved Spurs. Like, since the first day I stepped in here, I always enjoyed being here. I love the club. I love the fans. I love the stadium. So, I love everything here. I think I developed also really well here, played a lot of games and hopefully many more to follow. I think also with the new gaffer now coming in, you see the direction the club wants to go in. I'm really excited what that's going to be and I just want to be a part of it.”
Did you expect it to happen so quick? I feel like you came in, you signed, and suddenly you're just this massive part of the club. Did you expect that to happen that quickly?
Micky: “No. Obviously, when you come from a different club, you just hope you settle in well at a big club like Spurs and in the Premier League. But it went quite quickly and I played a lot of games from day one. Since then, I just have a special relationship with the club. I think I was more like a young boy when I came in, not really experienced in life. Obviously, I lived by myself for two years, but not really experienced and I think that's totally different now. I'm more like a man, I would say.”
Are you a leader now?
Micky: “Yeah, more a leader than I was, for sure.”
So how does that happen? Where did that come from?
Micky: “I think also how you feel on the team, like feeling safe, feeling good around the boys, have the trust in myself that I can show the guys and that the guys will listen to me and I will also listen to the guys. So, yeah, that's something that builds day by day. Obviously, how you feel between the team and in the group.”
Roberto described you as one of the best defenders in the league. Where's the level that you go to now? What's next for you?
Micky: “Personally, I just want to keep playing well, stay fit. I want to help the team with everything I can help them with. Obviously, I want to win more with this club. There's always room to improve. So, for sure, there are things I can improve - work hard every day, listen to the people who understand it, who know what they're talking about. I think they can help me and develop every day over and over again.”
Can you tell me what the future looks like in your mind? Like, how do you see these next few years?
Micky: “Hopefully successful years, healthy years, I think that's most important. With a lot of joy, hopefully for the fans as well.”
Tell me about your connection with the fans, because this is the start of a new journey for you, but also, I guess, the start of a new journey with them as well and a great opportunity to continue that bond that you have...
Micky: “Yeah, I think I have a great relationship with the fans. I always will work 100% for this club and I care about every single thing, like where we were last season and everything that happened to the club. I love the fans and especially how you see they stand behind us for the difficult times we had last season. Hopefully we can build on that and make some beautiful memories together.”
You're one of the lucky ones - you get these moments at the end of games where the fans sing your song, that feeling of standing there, walking towards that south stand, it just must make you feel like you can do anything…
Micky: “Yeah, every time when that happens, it just gets a smile on my face. It's a massive thing when so many people are singing your name. That's a really special feeling, and not only for me, but also for my family in the stadium as well. So, yeah, that's always an unbelievable feeling when they do that.”
The idea of your folks sitting there being like, ‘that's our boy’, or your sister being like, ‘oh, that's my brother that they're singing about’. What's the experience like for them?
Micky: “Yeah, they always film it, every time, over and over again. They never get tired of it, they always film it. I don't know how they are, obviously, because I'm not there, but probably they're standing there with a smile on their face.”
You mentioned this has kind of become home. How's life away from football? Do you feel settled away from it?
Micky: “Yeah, I love the city. I really enjoy living here. My family comes over often because they like the city as well. So, yeah, I just settled in well. I love the city, I love where I live, and the people around me. Yeah, it's just all settled in really well.”
How do you want to grow as a person away from football?
Micky: “I just want to be as I am. Obviously, I want to be more mature, I want to be more like a leader, and also outside of the pitch, that's something you take with you, what you learn also inside of the football club. But, yeah, I just want to stay healthy and just enjoy life outside of football as well, with my family, with my friends, and with everyone, which is what I love to do.”
In terms of the season now, we're right on the cusp of everything starting. You look around and you think, the manager's brilliant, there's this lovely atmosphere within the group at the moment. It feels like this team has everything it needs. Does it feel like that for you as a player?
Micky: “Yeah, there's a different atmosphere. Everybody's positive, everybody knows, especially also with the players who come in, the quality players who come in, the quality of the gaffer, what I think he showed also the last couple of games last season. The atmosphere is really good and now it's on us to show on the pitch that the atmosphere outside of the pitch is also really good.”
