Virgil van Dijk - Netherlands, Analysis, Facts, Birthday, Transfer news, injury news, Biography, awards, Liverpool, Defender, jersey number,
Virgil van Dijk
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Virgil van Dijk
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Virgil van Dijk is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team.
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After beginning his professional career with Groningen, Van Dijk moved to Celtic in 2013, where he won the Scottish Premiership and was named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year in both of his seasons with the club, also winning the Scottish League Cup in the latter.
With Liverpool, Van Dijk reached back-to-back UEFA Champions League finals in 2018 and 2019, winning the latter.
Van Dijk later won the FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup, and helped end the club's 30-year league title drought by winning the 2019-20 Premier League.
The following year, Van Dijk captained the Netherlands to the final of the inaugural UEFA Nations League, where they finished runners-up.
Van Dijk initially struggled to break into Groningen's first team with club staff believing he was "Overtired" after extensive playing time with Willem II's academy and reserve sides.
During the 2011-12 Eredivisie season, Van Dijk made 23 league appearances for the Eredivisie team, and scored his first regular-season goal during the club's 6-0 victory over Feyenoord on 30 October 2011.
On 9 November, Van Dijk scored his first Celtic goals, heading one in each half of a 4-1 win against Ross County.
Van Dijk scored again on 26 January 2014, in a 4-0 win versus Hibernian for Celtic's 11th consecutive league win.
With Celtic having already won the league, Van Dijk netted again on 7 May to put his team 3-1 up away to St Johnstone, in an eventual 3-3 draw.
On 22 July 2014, Van Dijk and Teemu Pukki each scored twice in a 4-0 home win over KR in a UEFA Champions League qualifier, putting their team into the next round 5-0 on aggregate.
Three weeks later, Van Dijk scored the first and last goals of Celtic's 4-0 win versus Heart of Midlothian in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.
Van Dijk played the full 90 minutes of the final at Hampden Park, which Celtic won 2-0.
On 18 March, Celtic's third consecutive match against Dundee United, Van Dijk scored in the last minute to confirm a 4-0 win in a Cup replay.
His team again won the league, and Van Dijk was included in the league's Team of the Season for the second consecutive campaign.
On 1 September 2015, Van Dijk signed a five-year contract with Premier League club Southampton, managed by Ronald Koeman, for a reported £13 million transfer fee.
Two weeks later, Van Dijk marked his third Premier League appearance with his first goal for the club, which came in the form of a header in the 11th minute to put Southampton in front, following a set-piece from James Ward-Prowse in a 3-1 home win over Swansea City.
On 7 May 2016, Van Dijk signed a new six-year contract with the Saints.
After a successful 2016-17 season at Southampton, Van Dijk was subject to interest from Liverpool, who apologised to Southampton for an illegal approach for the player after having reportedly made clear his interest in a move to Liverpool.
Van Dijk was included in the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season, despite playing just half of the season in the Champions League, with the UEFA Technical Observers saying: "Van Dijk arrived at Anfield and provided composure and stability in the competition's knockout stages." Van Dijk played the full 90 minutes in the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final against Real Madrid, which Liverpool lost 1-3.
Van Dijk played 22 games in all competitions in his first season with the club, scoring once.
On 20 August 2018, Van Dijk was voted man of the match by BBC Sport and Sky Sports for his performance in a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Van Dijk received the Liverpool Player of the Month award for his performances in August.
On 2 December, Van Dijk was awarded an assist for the winning goal in a derby match against city rivals Everton.
On 21 December, Van Dijk scored his first goal in the Premier League for Liverpool in a 2-0 away win against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
On 27 February 2019, Van Dijk scored twice in a 5-0 win against Watford.
Following Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Tottenham in the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final on 1 June, Van Dijk was named UEFA's man of the match.
In August 2019, Van Dijk won UEFA player of the year award.
In October 2019, Van Dijk was shortlisted as one in 30 football players for the Ballon d'Or.
On 21 December 2019, after missing the semi-final of the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup with illness, Van Dijk played in the final against Flamengo with Liverpool winning the trophy for the first time in the club's history.
On 19 January 2020, Van Dijk scored his first North-West Derby goal against Manchester United in Liverpool's 2-0 win at Anfield in the Premier League.
Dutch national team coach Frank de Boer had hoped that Van Dijk would be able to make his return before the 2020 European Football Championship, Van Dijk however decided that he should continue his rehabilitation so he could start the next season fully fit.
Van Dijk made his first appearance in over nine months on 29 July 2021, coming on as a second-half substitute in a preseason friendly against Hertha BSC. On 13 August 2021, Van Dijk signed a new four-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2025.
In May 2021, van Dijk ruled himself out of playing in the postponed UEFA Euro 2020 to have enough time to recover after a long-term injury since October 2020.
Van Dijk is a physically strong, right-footed centre-back, who usually features on the left-hand side of central defence, although he can also play as a right-sided centre-back.
Regarding his ability, former Celtic teammate Kris Commons commented that Van Dijk was "Comfortable on the ball", also noting that "He had good technique and a wonderful right foot. He was good on set-pieces, some of the free-kicks he scored for Celtic are absolute wonders. He could read the game well. He had an aura about him, a confidence, because I think he knew he was good."
In 2018, Steve Douglas of The Globe and Mail described Van Dijk with the following words: "Powerful in the air, measured with the ball at his feet, quick, and with superb positional sense, van Dijk [sic] has it all." Dario Pergolizzi also described Van Dijk as a good marker in 2019.
In a 2019 interview with Marca, when Lionel Messi was asked why Van Dijk was so difficult to beat, the Argentine responded: "He is a defender who knows how to judge his timing and wait for the right moment to challenge or jockey. He is very fast and big, but he has a lot of agility for his height. He is fast because of its [sic] great stride, and he is impressive both in defence and attack because he scores lots of goals." That same year, Paul Merson described Van Dijk as "The best in the world, and I think by a long way, as a defensive centre-half."
Van Dijk features as the cover star of the champions edition of EA Sports' FIFA video game FIFA 20.
According to some sources in China, Van Dijk has Chinese ancestry.
With Liverpool, Van Dijk reached back-to-back UEFA Champions League finals in 2018 and 2019, winning the latter.
Van Dijk later won the FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup, and helped end the club's 30-year league title drought by winning the 2019-20 Premier League.
The following year, Van Dijk captained the Netherlands to the final of the inaugural UEFA Nations League, where they finished runners-up.
Van Dijk initially struggled to break into Groningen's first team with club staff believing he was "Overtired" after extensive playing time with Willem II's academy and reserve sides.
During the 2011-12 Eredivisie season, Van Dijk made 23 league appearances for the Eredivisie team, and scored his first regular-season goal during the club's 6-0 victory over Feyenoord on 30 October 2011.
On 9 November, Van Dijk scored his first Celtic goals, heading one in each half of a 4-1 win against Ross County.
Van Dijk scored again on 26 January 2014, in a 4-0 win versus Hibernian for Celtic's 11th consecutive league win.
With Celtic having already won the league, Van Dijk netted again on 7 May to put his team 3-1 up away to St Johnstone, in an eventual 3-3 draw.
On 22 July 2014, Van Dijk and Teemu Pukki each scored twice in a 4-0 home win over KR in a UEFA Champions League qualifier, putting their team into the next round 5-0 on aggregate.
Three weeks later, Van Dijk scored the first and last goals of Celtic's 4-0 win versus Heart of Midlothian in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.
Van Dijk played the full 90 minutes of the final at Hampden Park, which Celtic won 2-0.
On 18 March, Celtic's third consecutive match against Dundee United, Van Dijk scored in the last minute to confirm a 4-0 win in a Cup replay.
His team again won the league, and Van Dijk was included in the league's Team of the Season for the second consecutive campaign.
On 1 September 2015, Van Dijk signed a five-year contract with Premier League club Southampton, managed by Ronald Koeman, for a reported £13 million transfer fee.
Two weeks later, Van Dijk marked his third Premier League appearance with his first goal for the club, which came in the form of a header in the 11th minute to put Southampton in front, following a set-piece from James Ward-Prowse in a 3-1 home win over Swansea City.
On 7 May 2016, Van Dijk signed a new six-year contract with the Saints.
After a successful 2016-17 season at Southampton, Van Dijk was subject to interest from Liverpool, who apologised to Southampton for an illegal approach for the player after having reportedly made clear his interest in a move to Liverpool.
Van Dijk was included in the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season, despite playing just half of the season in the Champions League, with the UEFA Technical Observers saying: "Van Dijk arrived at Anfield and provided composure and stability in the competition's knockout stages." Van Dijk played the full 90 minutes in the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final against Real Madrid, which Liverpool lost 1-3.
Van Dijk played 22 games in all competitions in his first season with the club, scoring once.
On 20 August 2018, Van Dijk was voted man of the match by BBC Sport and Sky Sports for his performance in a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Van Dijk received the Liverpool Player of the Month award for his performances in August.
On 2 December, Van Dijk was awarded an assist for the winning goal in a derby match against city rivals Everton.
On 21 December, Van Dijk scored his first goal in the Premier League for Liverpool in a 2-0 away win against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
On 27 February 2019, Van Dijk scored twice in a 5-0 win against Watford.
Following Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Tottenham in the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final on 1 June, Van Dijk was named UEFA's man of the match.
In August 2019, Van Dijk won UEFA player of the year award.
In October 2019, Van Dijk was shortlisted as one in 30 football players for the Ballon d'Or.
On 21 December 2019, after missing the semi-final of the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup with illness, Van Dijk played in the final against Flamengo with Liverpool winning the trophy for the first time in the club's history.
On 19 January 2020, Van Dijk scored his first North-West Derby goal against Manchester United in Liverpool's 2-0 win at Anfield in the Premier League.
Dutch national team coach Frank de Boer had hoped that Van Dijk would be able to make his return before the 2020 European Football Championship, Van Dijk however decided that he should continue his rehabilitation so he could start the next season fully fit.
Van Dijk made his first appearance in over nine months on 29 July 2021, coming on as a second-half substitute in a preseason friendly against Hertha BSC. On 13 August 2021, Van Dijk signed a new four-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2025.
In May 2021, van Dijk ruled himself out of playing in the postponed UEFA Euro 2020 to have enough time to recover after a long-term injury since October 2020.
Van Dijk is a physically strong, right-footed centre-back, who usually features on the left-hand side of central defence, although he can also play as a right-sided centre-back.
Regarding his ability, former Celtic teammate Kris Commons commented that Van Dijk was "Comfortable on the ball", also noting that "He had good technique and a wonderful right foot. He was good on set-pieces, some of the free-kicks he scored for Celtic are absolute wonders. He could read the game well. He had an aura about him, a confidence, because I think he knew he was good."
In 2018, Steve Douglas of The Globe and Mail described Van Dijk with the following words: "Powerful in the air, measured with the ball at his feet, quick, and with superb positional sense, van Dijk [sic] has it all." Dario Pergolizzi also described Van Dijk as a good marker in 2019.
In a 2019 interview with Marca, when Lionel Messi was asked why Van Dijk was so difficult to beat, the Argentine responded: "He is a defender who knows how to judge his timing and wait for the right moment to challenge or jockey. He is very fast and big, but he has a lot of agility for his height. He is fast because of its [sic] great stride, and he is impressive both in defence and attack because he scores lots of goals." That same year, Paul Merson described Van Dijk as "The best in the world, and I think by a long way, as a defensive centre-half."
Van Dijk features as the cover star of the champions edition of EA Sports' FIFA video game FIFA 20.
According to some sources in China, Van Dijk has Chinese ancestry.
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