Virgil van Dijk was born in Breda in 1991. Currently he is the captain of the Dutch National team !
Virgil can come across lacklustre. Lazy even. That was the comment on scouting reports from Ajax scouts, some 15 years ago. Complacent. This was the case then and it’s still the case now.
His biggest strength is also his biggest pitfall. When he does make a mistake, he will hear that he was trying to solve the problem without getting his jersey dirty.
Van Dijk does not throw his energy around but tries to solve problems by positioning smarter and making the right choices. Nothing arrogant about that.
The early years of Virgil van Dijk
We all know Virgil’s story. A lazy right back at Willem II when he was 16 years old. Nothing special . When he turned 17, he suddenly grew another 18 centimeters. And his life changed.
Grads Fuhler, scout of Groningen (now at FC Emmen), saw him play by coincidence. Fuhler was on his way to a game in Belgium and realised Willem II A1 played PSV A1 so he took the Tilburg exit.
A week later, Virgil and mum were on their way to Groningen to sign for the local FC. At Groningen 2, he spent a lot of time on the bench. His coach, Dick Lukkien spent a lot of time on Virgil, who was still complacent.
Lukkien desired more from the player and slowly but surely, Van Dijk started to change his mentality. The Top 3 didn’t see it in him, although Ronald Koeman was keen to sign him for Feyenoord. There was no money though.
Ajax decided to get Mike van der Hoorn from FC Utrecht. At Celtic, he made some crucial steps but it was when Koeman was able to sign him for Southampton that the Oranje captain started to thrive.
Both Lukkien and Koeman are mentioned by Virgil when asked which coaches were instrumental in his career.
In total Virgil van Dijk played 62 games between 2011 and 2013 for Groningen, scoring 7 goals in total.
Virgil at Celtic
On June 21, 2013, Van Dijk joined Celtic for a transfer fee of approximately £2.6 million, signing a four-year contract that included a 10% sell-on fee for Groningen.
He was named to the PFA Scotland Team of the Year and was nominated for the PFA Scotland Players’ Player of the Year, although he lost out to Kris Commons.
In the 2014–15 season, Van Dijk played a crucial role in Celtic’s success.
Van Dijk’s future at Celtic came into question after the club was eliminated from the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds by Malmö of Sweden.
In total Virgil played 76 games for Celtic, scoring 9 goals, between 2013 and 2015.
Southampton
His former manager at Southampton, Ronald Koeman, was key to the move. Other Premier League clubs, including Sunderland, Newcastle, and Arsenal, were also reportedly interested in him during the final hours of the window.
The transfer made Van Dijk the most expensive Dutch defender since Jaap Stam, who moved from Manchester United to Lazio in 2001 for over €25 million.
In January 2017, Van Dijk was appointed Southampton’s captain following José Fonte’s departure. Following a strong 2016–17 season, Van Dijk attracted interest from top English clubs. Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool were reportedly keen on securing his services.
At Southampton Virgil played himself into the spotlight of the top clubs in the Premier League. Step by step, self-made.
Virgil at Liverpool
On December 27, 2017, it was announced that Van Dijk would join Liverpool when the winter transfer window opened on January 1, 2018, for a reported fee of £75 million.
Celtic, his former club, was set to receive 10% of the transfer fee due to a sell-on clause in his Southampton contract. Southampton claimed the undisclosed transfer fee would set a world record for a defender.
When former manager Klopp was asked about the contributions of Van Dijk, in his first season at Liverpool, he answered: “Influential. Very very very influential”.
On December 27, there is a sort of public holiday in Liverpool. The Virgil’s Arrival Day. When he finally came over from Southampton, for 85 million euros. Where the amount is constantly dug up when Maguire makes another mistake, this Virgil transfer fee is simply a foot note.
As Klopp put it: “Thanks to Virgil, we can defend differently. Higher up the pitch. We can make the playing field smaller now.”
When he returned after his injury, the Daily Mail asked him if he was back to normal and he nodded yes. What people didn’t realise, and Virgil was a bit taken aback with that fact, is that he had to literally learn how to walk again!
While his team mates were playing football and had their summer break or the Euros, Virgil was working like a beast, all by himself. He didn’t want to hurry his recovery by focusing on the Euros, knowing how tough it is to get back from this crucial injury.
“Everyone seemed to think it was normal that I got back at my level. As if nothing had happened. Based on my research, being able to get back at your normal level is not something that can be expected.
And I’m not a spring chicken anymore either, so I felt that I could have received a bit more positive feedback than I did, as I started to play in every single game again…”
His colleagues in England did give him the kudos he deserved, by picking him as the only non creative player in the list of nominees for Player of the Year (along side Salah , Mane, C Ronaldo, Kane and De Bruyne).
In August 2019, Van Dijk won the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Award and was shortlisted for The Best FIFA Men’s Player.
On December 21, 2019, Van Dijk helped Liverpool win the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup final against Flamengo, securing the trophy for the first time in the club’s history. Van Dijk was also named in the 2019 UEFA Team of the Year.
His future at Liverpool
Van Dijk (33) has an expiring contract with the current Premier League leader, just like his teammates Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Virgil is in the driver’s seat in terms of negotiating power.
Perhaps Arne Slot has come at exactly the right time for him, Virgil can now distinguish himself even more at Liverpool and as it looks now, they can compete for the prizes together.
Slotball is proving to be a great success story for the time being.
Virgil at Oranje
Virgil van Dijk was called up to the Netherlands senior squad three times in 2014, but he did not make his debut until October 10, 2015, in a 2–1 win over Kazakhstan during a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier.
Just three days later, he played in a 3–2 home loss to the Czech Republic, which confirmed that the Netherlands would not qualify for Euro 2016.
Van Dijk featured in six of the Netherlands’ ten matches during their unsuccessful qualification campaign for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
On March 22, 2018, manager Ronald Koeman appointed Van Dijk as the captain of the Netherlands national team, with Van Dijk leading the team for the first time in a 1–0 friendly defeat against England the following day.
Four days later, on March 26, he scored his first international goal in a 3–0 win over European champions Portugal at the Stade de Genève. Van Dijk continued his impressive form on October 13, scoring in a 3–0 victory over Germany during the group stage of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League.
On November 19, he scored a 91st-minute equalizer in a 2–2 draw away to Germany, securing the Netherlands’ progression to the next stage of the Nations League.
In June 2019, Van Dijk captained the Netherlands in the UEFA Nations League Finals, where they finished as runners-up after a 1–0 defeat to host nation Portugal in the final on June 9.
In May 2021, Van Dijk ruled himself out of participating in the postponed UEFA Euro 2020 to allow sufficient time for recovery following a long-term injury suffered in October 2020.
Van Dijk was named the Netherlands’ captain for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, leading his team to the top of Group A with victories over Senegal and host nation Qatar.
In the quarter-final against Argentina, Van Dijk took the first penalty in the shootout, but his attempt was saved by Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez. The Netherlands were eventually defeated 4–3 in the shootout in Lusail.
Check the personal duels won by Big Virgil.
Virgil was asked during a presser with Oranje and Van Gaal whether he was able to hear any of the commands from the side-line, usually given by Danny Blind at Oranje or Klopp at Liverpool. “No, I am too loud myself, so I can’t hear the coaches yell at me, hahaha”.
And it’s true, Pep Lijnders once said he sits more comfortable if he can hear Van Dijk’s bassoon in the stadium. He is the command centre of the Liverpool build up.
As the CEO of the Liverpool defence, he has ample tasks. After he went from Groningen to Celtic, he was described as a big unit (a wardrobe is the literal translation) with imposing physical qualities. And yes he is tall and yes he can head a ball.
Lijnders always says you need to really run around him if you want to get past him. But he’s not a very physical defender. He’s not like Man United’s Martinez or Mathijs de Ligt who love some Greek Romanian wrestling. With all the space in Virgil’s back, he needs to conduct the defence. And make sure it’s all fine tuned and in sync.
It’s a balancing act, as he himself is usually situation on the halfway line. In the Big Five competitions, there is no team that was able to play the offside as much as Liverpool, last season.
It does fail at times and when it does fail, it looks really amateuristic. But, Klopp wants it like this and if there are mistakes made, it’s just par for the course. Because overall, it will work often very well and it allows every Liverpool player to be part of the attacking flow.
Mind reader van Dijk
Van Dijk is a mind reader. He plays mainly with his brains. He tries to get into the head of the forward and he slows their attack. He won’t “bite” immediately, he will simply slow things down so his mates can track back.
He basically pushes the pause button. He delays his decisions and actions, he pushes the opponent to the sides, with his running pattern and he hardly ever needs a foul or a tackle, even.
He’s strong, very good in the air, relatively fast, technically solid and he oozes confidence.
Best defender in the PL
If you ask English fans who were or are the best defenders ever in the PL, his name is mentioned, alongside players like Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Tony Adams and Nemanja Vidic. Not bad for a player coming from a small Dutch team.
Van Dijk says something interesting in the book “Thou Shall Not Pass: The Anatomy of Football’s Centre-Half”: “I want my opponents to think everything I do is easy for me. Look at Roger Federer. He doesn’t even break a sweat, or so it seems.
Mentally, that will be tough for the opponents. They think Federer doesn’t even need to work hard. I try to do this too.”
The Liverpudlians call him VVD. Superman on Anfield. Mr Cook. With Van Dijk in the team, they hardly ever lose at home.
When Virgil made his first entrance in the Oranje squad, he was in awe of Robben and Kuyt. He was observing them. How they acted, what they ate, how they behaved.
As kid, he wanted to be Ronaldinho and he thought Jaap Stam was two meters tall. The World Cup was millions of miles away from the kid in Breda.
Virgil became his version of Ronaldinho. Now, kids in England and Holland dream of being Virgil van Dijk. In Liverpool, he’s a demi God.
