http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footb...397?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter Jan Vertonghen broke down in tears as he revealed the personal heartbreak that remains the inspiration to his football career. Tottenhamâs new £12million signing was receiving his Footballer of the Year trophy in Holland, an award that acknowledged his brilliant last season with Ajax. Vertonghen, 25, was the Dutch championâs outstanding player and captain. His sensational form paved the way for his move to White Hart Lane. And there wasnât a dry eye in the house when Vertonghenâs mum stepped forward to present Jan with his prize and the player *revealed his heart-breaking past. Vertonghen, born and raised in Belgium, revealed: âI have gone through difficult times. When I was 20, the manager at Ajax decided to loan me to a small club (RKC) and I felt I was not going to make it at the top level. âExactly at that time my dad became *critically ill. I got a call from Belgium and they said it was urgent. I had to get home.â Vertonghenâs father died and he and his two brothers were bereft. Jan went on: âI couldnât care anymore about the football or the club where I was going to play. I said: âWhat the f***!â I agreed to go on loan and leave Ajax. âNobody knew about my private situation. I am not the sort of guy who tells his *manager that his dad is seriously ill. âThere was only one man at Ajax who knew that I was going through absolute hell.ââ Both Vertonghen and his mum cried on the stage in front of 800 guests, who were also wiping away tears. And the player dedicated the golden boot to his late father. âI miss my dad,â he said. âI wish he could see where I am now. I wish he could see I am a player at Tottenham Hotspur, a massive club in the Premier League. He would be so proud and I can only hope he can see things from somewhere above. âIf your dad jumps off a roof and commits suicide, it must be a shock. In our situation it was the opposite. âI was six when his illness was diagnosed. For 14 long years I knew he was going to die. And every day of those 14 years I had to live with those emotions. He was such a great dad, a wonderful bloke. âThere are days where I wonder why I am a catholic. My dad was such a good person. The way he lived his life⦠I find that good people seem to die earlier than bad people. âNow I want to live life to the full. I want to get everything from my career *possible. Nobody will fight harder in the team than me.â Vertonghen is enjoying his new life in London and has tipped Spurs to mount a title challenge this season. He said: âI developed in Amsterdam as a player and a person. I came out of my comfort zone. âThis is why I now love living in London and why I can easily talk to anybody.â
everything I've ever seen or heard from Vertonghen, or about Vertonghen, is 100% positive. He seems like a top bloke. He's going to be a fans favourite very, very quickly i feel.
Verts' more than passing resemblance to Tom Hardy makes me wonder if the Olympic Stadium is going to fall into the ground during tonight's closing ceremony...
His goal against Wales: [video=youtube;DM0Ivf-94tc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM0Ivf-94tc[/video] Somewhat surprisingly, a better view filmed from the stands by a fan: [video=youtube;N12ANPs8i-w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N12ANPs8i-w[/video] Seems like a decent bloke and a real pro.
He reminds me a lot of Luiz in his playing style which frankly worries me and I'd be much happier if he was played in midfield for us. He's still adapting to the league but that's where I feel his game is best suited, he's good on the ball and strikes it well too whilst he doesn't have the physicality to dominate strikers. I like the thought of having a ball playing centre back but I think Kaboul and eventually Caulker can do that. Top guy though, seems really humble and I'm sure he'll do well at the club.
I haven't double checked figures, but first indication is Ajax kept 12 league clean sheets and 4 CL, this would suggest JV wasn't doing too much wrong as captain of the team in defence. I think he needs to be 'in charge' back there, and being the newbie is still feeling his way with his new teammates. He's probably being ordered around by YK and WG so far, and finding himself in positions he wouldn't necessarily have chose himself. I've said before he's comfortable enough with things on the deck, but aerially he's caught out of position a bit too much imo for a top PL defender. He needs to come out of his shell if he's going to be captain material here.
He's barely played, and will obviously be feeling uncomfortable, as they all look a bit out of sync at the moment. As Martin Jol used to say, they need to find their rhythm. Once our back 5 are ---------------Lloris------------------ Walker - Kaboul - Verts - Benny And have worked together for a while with Scotty protecting (and Ade upfront not defoe) we will look alot more solid.
Kaboul's passing is awful at times. From what I've seen of Caulker, he isn't blessed with an amazing passing range either. I think once Verts finds his feet we'll see more solid performances mixed in with his impressive technical ability. On Vertonghen, he seems a really down to earth guy. Not sure why I watched it as it was in Dutch but there's a video on youtube (about 18 months old I think) where it follows him around for a day, he was living in a really small flat, was dressed in casual gear, no designer £700 jumper or anything like that and got his groceries in what looked like the Dutch equivalent of the Co-op and you could just tell he was a really "normal" guy in regards to what I'd expect from an international footballer.
