Secrets behind Virgil van Dijk’s rise to the top
Battling shock illness and ditching junk food was...
At the age of 18, a gangly central defender made the 160- mile journey from the Dutch town of Breda up to the north and Groningen.
For Virgil van Dijk, it was a leap into the unknown, but it was also the act of a young footballer fearing the game may leave him behind.
‘this was 2010,’ says Groningen director hans Nijland. ‘he was not a professional at his previous club Willem. he was an amateur and did not get the contract. One of our scouts spotted him in an academy match. We rolled the dice.
‘A tiny contract, maybe 81,500 a month. We put him up in an apartment, but he had no car in the first year. he cycled to training. honestly, I don’t know what would have happened if we had not taken him.’
For Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp, the relief must be palpable. Van
Dijk became the world’s most expensive central defender in January 2018 when he signed in a £75million transfer from Southampton. the Dutchman has transformed Liverpool from pretenders to contenders. he has brought collective and individual strength.
Consider these statistics. Since Van Dijk signed for Liverpool, his team have played 48 Premier League matches, lost only four and conceded just 32 goals.
Remarkably, not one player has successfully dribbled past Van Dijk this season. Newcastle’s Mikel Merino was the last to do so in March 2018.
the 27-year-old is the bookmakers’ favourite to be the first defender since John terry in 2005 to be crowned PFA Player of the Year. Voting closed yesterday, with Van Dijk’s Liverpool top of the Premier League table.
It seems extraordinary, therefore, that Van Dijk’s suitability for highlevel football has been shrouded in doubt for much of his career.
Willem were not the only club to underestimate his talent. After two seasons at Groningen, Van Dijk moved to Celtic in a £2.8m transfer.
‘they were the only club in for him,’ says Nijland. ‘We met Celtic in the hilton hotel in Amsterdam. We hoped for £5m, but there was no auction. Ajax’s Marc Overmars called me and asked “Who is better to sign out of Mike van der hoorn or Van Dijk?” to me it was clear.’
Ajax did not heed his words. they replaced the Atletico Madridbound toby Alderweireld with Van der hoorn, who now plays for Swansea in the Championship.
even at Celtic, not everybody was convinced. Scout Neil McGuinness, who first identified Van Dijk, recalls: ‘Virgil had all the tools to be successful. Pace, power, technique, aerial ability and defensive timing one against one, tackling and judgment. he was far from the finished article but had the correct mentality to release his potential.
‘I was keen on him from the start but it was hard to get some people on board at the club. In the end I had to fast-track the player and show him directly to manager Neil Lennon and assistant Johan Mjallby. I had concerns we may lose him if we didn’t act.’
Van Dijk is a private individual and some of those who spoke to
Sportsmail this week requested his permission to do so.
Van Dijk remains extremely close to his mother Ruby, but relations are fractured with his father after the acrimonious break- up of his parents. this is why the name Virgil adorns the back of his jersey.
At Groningen, he started as a substitute in the reserve team. Manager Pieter huistra recalls: ‘the coach worked with him very strictly. It could not be that two of five sessions every week were not at 100 per cent. he became more professional. he left his comfort zone and stepped up.’
his first senior appearances came as an emergency striker. Yet Van Dijk’s most troubling days also came at Groningen when he became seriously unwell. huistra recalls: ‘It looked like flu at the start. then he was rushed to hospital. he was in intensive care.’
After being sent away from one hospital Ruby took her son for a second opinion.
Van Dijk was suffering from appendicitis, inflammation of the stomach and kidney trouble.
Van Dijk recalled: ‘the worst scenarios were whizzing around your head. My mum and I prayed to God.’
the illness altered Van Dijk’s approach to life. Former teammate Kees Kwakman explains: ‘he was a young guy who had never cooked for himself and was now living away from home and maybe eating junk food. the injury was a wake-up call. he thought, “If I really want to do something, I can be a real professional”. his mother came to live with him and he really kicked on.’
After impressing at Celtic, Van Dijk bridged his move to the elite by joining Southampton and Ronald Koeman.
Nijland smiles: ‘ Koeman called me: “hans, you can drink a good glass of wine with your wife because beca we have bought Virgil”. Fant Fantastic! We had a 10 per cent sel sell- on clause at Groningen. F From the Liverpool transfer, w we took another one p per cent.’
At each of his clubs, Van Dijk has always been honest about his ambitions to make a another leap. Kwakman p played alongside him at ce centre half. ‘I just kept thinking, “he is too good for us”. I never saw somebody body go past him in training.
‘Im ‘Impossible. he could not stand losing. Really bad. he was one of the first to say something in the dressing room. the guys accepted it because he is so good and because he wanted to help us. It was about high standards.
‘I was one of the fighters to get Virgil in the national team. When he was at Celtic, I kept tweeting asking why he wasn’t in the Dutch squad. holland were struggling in 2014 and 2015 for central defenders. Nobody in holland is watching Scottish football on television. I am really proud of him.’ Van Dijk told Sportsmail this week: ‘I really am progressing as a player, becoming more mature and getting consistency. Jurgen works with me closely, improving my game. I am playing almost every game and enjoying every bit of it.
‘I feel I am the fittest so far in my career and hopefully I can stay this way. We are on track.’
For Liverpool, who have already lost Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho to Catalonia in recent years, there can only be one fear.
Kwakman recalls: ‘I remember him saying in an interview at Groningen that Barcelona was his dream. If Barcelona have a spare £150m laying around, maybe they can take him!’