Virgil van Dijk

Virgil van Dijk
Van Dijk lining up for the Netherlands in 2016
Personal information
Full name Virgil van Dijk[1]
Date of birth (1991-07-08) 8 July 1991[2]
Place of birth Breda, Netherlands
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[3]
Playing position Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Liverpool
Number 4
Youth career
2009–2010 Willem II
2010–2011 Groningen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2013 Groningen 62 (7)
2013–2015 Celtic 76 (9)
2015–2018 Southampton 67 (4)
2018– Liverpool 22 (0)
National team‡
2011 Netherlands U19 1 (0)
2011–2013 Netherlands U21 3 (0)
2015– Netherlands 22 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:21, 7 October 2018 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:59, 13 October 2018 (UTC)

Virgil van Dijk (Dutch pronunciation: [vɑn ˈdɛik]; born 8 July 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Premier League club Liverpool and captains the Dutch national team.

After beginning his career with Groningen, he 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, also winning the Scottish League Cup in the latter. In September 2015, he joined Southampton. He joined Liverpool in January 2018 for £75 million, a world record transfer fee for a defender.[4] Van Dijk was involved in reaching the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final during his first spring at Liverpool.

Van Dijk made his international debut for the Netherlands in 2015 and became captain of his country in 2018.

Club career

Groningen

Van Dijk was born in Breda to a Dutch father and Surinamese mother.[5] He started his career with Willem II before transferring to Groningen in 2010 on a free transfer after just one season. He made his professional debut for Groningen coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute for Petter Andersson during the 4–2 victory against ADO Den Haag on 1 May 2011.[6] During the 2011–12 season, Van Dijk made 23 league appearances for the Eredivisie team, scoring his first professional goal during the 6–0 victory against Feyenoord on 30 October 2011.[7][8] He scored his second professional goal for Groningen on 22 January 2012 against Heracles Almelo in a 2–1 victory before scoring again the following week during a 4–1 defeat to FC Twente. Van Dijk scored his first goal of the season on 7 October 2012, in a 2–2 draw with Feyenoord.[9] He also scored in the reverse fixture against Feyenoord, on 23 December, in a 1–2 defeat.[10]

Celtic

2013–14 season

On 21 June 2013, Van Dijk signed with Celtic for a fee of around £2.6 million, on a four-year deal including a 10% selling-on fee for Groningen.[11] He made his debut on 17 August, replacing Efe Ambrose for the final 13 minutes of a 2–0 Scottish Premiership win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie Stadium.[12] A week later, he made his first start, in a 2–2 draw with Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Celtic Park.[13] On 9 November, Van Dijk scored his first Celtic goals, heading one in each half of a 4–1 win against Ross County.[14] After a solo run, he scored within five minutes the only goal of a victory over St Johnstone on 26 December.[15]

Van Dijk scored again on 26 January 2014, in a 4–0 win versus Hibernian for Celtic's 11th consecutive league win.[16] On 25 February, he was sent off after 13 minutes of an eventual 2–1 loss at Aberdeen, for a professional foul on Peter Pawlett; it was Celtic's first defeat of the season.[17] 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.[18] He was one of three Celtic players named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year.[19]

Van Dijk playing for Celtic in 2015.

2014–15 season

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.[20] His first goal of the Premiership season came on 9 November, finishing from Stefan Johansen's last-minute corner for a 2–1 win at Aberdeen.[21] 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.[22] Four days after that, his sixth goal of the season was enough for victory in a home match against Glasgow neighbours Partick Thistle.[23]

Van Dijk was again on target on 21 January 2015, opening a 4–0 home win over Motherwell.[24] On 26 February, he was sent off in the 36th minute against Inter Milan for a foul on Mauro Icardi, as Celtic lost 1–0 on the night, 4–3 on aggregate in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League.[25] He was again sent off on 8 March in the Cup quarter-final away to Dundee United at Tannadice Park, receiving a red card after eleven minutes for a confrontation with Calum Butcher.[26] His suspension for the following week's Scottish League Cup Final was overturned on appeal, as was that of Paul Paton, who was sent off when mistaken for Butcher.[27] Van Dijk played the full 90 minutes of the final at Hampden Park, which Celtic won 2–0.[28] 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.[29]

On 19 April, Celtic contested the Cup semi-final against Inverness at Hampden, and Van Dijk opened the scoring with a free kick. After the dismissal of goalkeeper Craig Gordon, Celtic fell 3–2, ending their chance of a treble.[30] Three days later, again from a free kick, he confirmed a 2–1 win away to Dundee.[31] His team again won the league, and Van Dijk was included in the league's Team of the Season for the second consecutive campaign.[32]

Van Dijk was reportedly "considering his future" in Glasgow after Celtic were knocked out of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League in the qualifying rounds to Malmö of Sweden.[33]

Southampton

On 1 September 2015, Van Dijk signed a five-year contract with Premier League club Southampton for a reported £13 million transfer fee.[34][35]

2015–16 season

He made his debut for Southampton on 12 September in a 0–0 draw against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.[36] 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.[37] On 7 May 2016, Van Dijk signed a new six-year contract with the Saints.[38]

2016–17 season

On 22 January 2017, he was named team captain of Southampton, after the departure of José Fonte.[39] On the same day, he suffered an ankle injury against Leicester City.[40] This ruled him out of the 2017 EFL Cup Final, which Southampton lost to Manchester United at Wembley Stadium.[41]

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.[42][43][44] On 7 August 2017, Van Dijk handed in a transfer request to Southampton and released a statement along with it, emphasising his wish to join a different club in the transfer window.[45]

2017–18 season

Van Dijk remained with Southampton for the start of the 2017–18 season and made his first appearance since being injured in January, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 victory at Crystal Palace on 26 September.[46] He made what turned out to be his final appearance for Southampton on 13 December 2017, in a 4–1 home defeat to Leicester.[47] It was also his last appearance in any of Southampton's matchday squads, as he was omitted from the squad for the rest of his tenure at the club in light of speculation surrounding his future.[48]

Liverpool

On 27 December 2017, it was announced that Van Dijk would join Liverpool when the winter transfer window opened on 1 January 2018[49][50] for a reported fee of £75 million.[4] Former club Celtic would receive 10% of Van Dijk's transfer fee, due to a sell-on clause placed in his Southampton contract.[4][51] Southampton claimed the undisclosed transfer fee would constitute a world record fee in football for a defender.[50]

2017–18 season

He made his debut for Liverpool on 5 January in the third round of the FA Cup and scored the winning goal with a late header in a 2–1 victory against local rivals Everton.[52] In doing so, he became the first player since Bill White in 1901 to score on his debut in the Merseyside derby.[53] Van Dijk and Dejan Lovren built a strong partnership at the heart of Liverpool's defence, with the Dutchman being credited for improving Liverpool's previous defensive issues.[54][55][56]

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.[57] Van Dijk played 22 games in all competitions in his first season with the club, scoring 1 goal.[58]

2018–19 season

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.[59][60] Van Dijk received the Liverpool Standard Chartered Player of the Month award for his performances in August.[61]

International career

Van Dijk made his full international debut for Netherlands on 10 October 2015, in a 2–1 victory away from home against Kazakhstan in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier.[62]

He was awarded the captaincy of his country by manager Ronald Koeman on 22 March 2018,[63] and his first match as captain was a 1–0 home friendly defeat by England the next day.[64] On 26 March, he scored his first international goal to conclude a 3–0 win over European champions Portugal at the Stade de Genève.[65] On 13 October, he scored in a 3–0 win over 2014 World Cup champions Germany in the UEFA Nations League.[66]

Style of play

Van Dijk is a 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.[67]

Neil McGuinness, senior scout at Celtic when Van Dijk was signed, called him "everything you would want if you could create a profile of the ideal central defender", praising him as a "very smooth ball-playing defender" who possesses aerial prowess, skills from dead ball situations, and "strong leadership qualities", while commenting that since his move to England, he is "more tactically aware now [...] his anticipation and timing has improved and he is a lot more of an all-rounder".[67] McGuinness believes Van Dijk's "biggest problem" is that he "can switch off when the game is comfortable".[67]

Career statistics

Club

As of matches played 7 October 2018
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Groningen 2010–11[68] Eredivisie 5200——52
2011–12[68] Eredivisie 23310——243
2012–13[68] Eredivisie 34230——372
Total 62740——667
Celtic 2013–14[69] Scottish Premiership 36520108[lower-alpha 3]0475
2014–15[70] Scottish Premiership 354544014[lower-alpha 4]25810
2015–16[36] Scottish Premiership 50——5[lower-alpha 3]0100
Total 769745027211515
Southampton 2015–16[36] Premier League 3431030—383
2016–17[71] Premier League 21111206[lower-alpha 5]2304
2017–18[72] Premier League 120—00—120
Total 674215062807
Liverpool 2017–18[72] Premier League 14021—6[lower-alpha 3]0221
2018–19[73] Premier League 8000002[lower-alpha 3]0100
Total 220210080321
Career total 2272015610041429330
  1. ↑ Appearances in KNVB Cup, Scottish Cup and FA Cup
  2. ↑ Appearances in Scottish League Cup and League Cup/EFL Cup
  3. 1 2 3 4 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. ↑ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight in UEFA Europa League
  5. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 13 October 2018[74]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Netherlands 201530
201690
201740
201862
Total222

International goals

As of match played on 13 October 2018. Netherlands score listed first, score column indicates score after each Van Dijk goal.[74]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 26 March 2018Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland18 Portugal3–03–0Friendly
2 13 October 2018Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands22 Germany1–03–02018–19 UEFA Nations League A

Honours

Celtic

Liverpool

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Squads for 2016/17 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "Virgil Van Dijk". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  3. ↑ "Virgil van Dijk". Southampton F.C. Archived from the original on 11 March 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Virgil van Dijk: Liverpool to sign Southampton defender for world record £75m". BBC Sport. 27 December 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "News". Celtic F.C. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "ADO Den Haag VS. Groningen 2–4". Soccerway. Perform group. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "Virgil van Dijk One of the Finest Centre-Backs in the Premier League". Soccer Box.
  8. ↑ "Wedstrijd: FC Groningen – Feyenoord". FCUpdate.nl.
  9. ↑ "Groningen vs. Feyenoord - 7 October 2012 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  10. ↑ "Feyenoord vs. Groningen - 23 December 2012 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  11. ↑ "Virgil van Dijk: Dutch defender joins Celtic". BBC Sport. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  12. ↑ Murray, Keir (17 August 2013). "Aberdeen 0–2 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  13. ↑ "Celtic 2–2 Inverness CT". BBC Sport. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  14. ↑ Conaghan, Martin (9 November 2013). "Ross County 1–4 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  15. ↑ Campbell, Andy (26 December 2013). "St Johnstone 0–1 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  16. ↑ Murray, Keir (26 January 2014). "Hibernian 0–4 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  17. ↑ Southwick, Andrew (25 February 2014). "Aberdeen 2–1 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  18. ↑ Burns, Cheri (7 May 2014). "St Johnstone 3–3 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  19. 1 2 "Celtic and Dundee United trios in SPFL Premiership team of year". BBC Sport. 18 April 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  20. ↑ Burrows, Ben (22 July 2014). "Celtic 4–0 KR Reykjavik: Hoops ease into next Champions League round in comfortable fashion". Daily Mirror. London. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  21. ↑ Moffat, Colin (9 November 2014). "Aberdeen 1–2 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  22. ↑ Southwick, Andrew (30 November 2014). "Heart of Midlothian 0–4 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  23. ↑ Wilson, Richard (4 December 2014). "Celtic 1–0 Partick Thistle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  24. ↑ Moffat, Colin (21 January 2015). "Celtic 4–0 Motherwell". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  25. ↑ Swan, Craig (26 February 2015). "Inter 1 Celtic 0 (4–3 agg): Late strike finishes off battling ten-man Celtic and ends their Europa League run". Daily Record. Glasgow. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  26. ↑ Murray, Keir (8 March 2015). "Dundee United 1–1 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  27. ↑ "Van Dijk and Paton cleared to play in League Cup final". BBC Sport. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  28. 1 2 Wilson, Richard (15 March 2015). "Dundee United 0–2 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  29. ↑ "Celtic 4–0 Dundee United". BBC Sport. 18 March 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  30. ↑ Lindsay, Clive (19 April 2015). "Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3–2 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  31. ↑ Southwick, Andrew (22 April 2015). "Celtic 1–2 Dundee". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018. }
  32. 1 2 Kyle, Gregor (1 May 2015). "The SPFL dream team: PFA Scotland announce their teams of the year". Daily Record. Glasgow. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  33. ↑ "Virgil van Dijk: Celtic defender considers future after defeat". BBC Sport. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  34. ↑ "Saints complete deadline-day deal for van Dijk". Southampton F.C. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  35. ↑ "Virgil van Dijk: Southampton sign Celtic defender for £13m". BBC Sport. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  36. 1 2 3 "Games played by Virgil van Dijk in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  37. ↑ Chowdhury, Saj (26 August 2015). "Southampton 3–1 Swansea City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  38. ↑ "Virgil van Dijk: Dutch defender signs new six-year deal at Southampton". BBC Sport. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  39. ↑ "Puel confirms Saints' new captains". Southampton F.C. 22 January 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  40. ↑ Charles, Andy (2 February 2017). "Southampton's Virgil van Dijk out for at least two months with ankle injury". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  41. ↑ McNulty, Phil (26 February 2017). "Manchester United 3–2 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  42. ↑ "Virgil van Dijk: Liverpool apologise & end interest in Southampton defender". BBC Sport. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  43. ↑ McNulty, Phil (5 June 2017). "Virgil van Dijk: Southampton defender keen on Liverpool move". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  44. ↑ "Virgin van Dijk: Southampton to report Liverpool over approach". BBC Sport. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  45. ↑ "Virgil van Dijk: Southampton defender hands in transfer request". BBC Sport. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  46. ↑ Reddy, Luke (16 September 2017). "Crystal Palace 1–0 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  47. ↑ McNulty, Phil (13 December 2017). "Southampton 1–4 Leicester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  48. ↑ De Menezes, Jack (26 December 2017). "Virgil van Dijk left out of Southampton squad as Mauricio Pellegrino refuses to draw on Manchester City interest". The Independent. London. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  49. ↑ "Liverpool agree deal to sign Virgil van Dijk". Liverpool F.C. 27 December 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  50. 1 2 "Van Dijk deal agreed". Southampton F.C. 27 December 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  51. ↑ Gilbert, Peter (8 June 2017). "Virgil van Dijk transfer would land Celtic bumper windfall". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  52. ↑ McNulty, Phil (5 January 2018). "Liverpool 2–1 Everton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  53. ↑ Doyle, Ian (6 January 2018). "How Virgil van Dijk keeps on creating Liverpool history – and the remarkable numbers behind derby triumph". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  54. ↑ Robinson, Neil (22 May 2018). "Van Dijk has made me a better player, says Liverpool's Lovren". Reuters. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  55. ↑ Hunter, Andy (9 April 2018). "Virgil van Dijk brings calm and collective spirit to Liverpool's defence". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 Jun 2018.
  56. ↑ Maddock, David (19 March 2018). "How dominant Virgil van Dijk has redefined Liverpool's defence". Mirror. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  57. ↑ "UEFA Champions League - Real Madrid-Liverpool". UEFA. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  58. ↑ "Netherlands - V. van Dijk - Profile". soccerway. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  59. ↑ "Crystal Palace 0-2 Liverpool: James Milner and Sadio Mane score as Reds move to six points". BBC Sport. 2018-08-20. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  60. ↑ "Crystal Palace 0-2 Liverpool: James Milner and Sadio Mane see off 10-man Eagles". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  61. ↑ "Virgil van Dijk named Standard Chartered Player of the Month". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  62. ↑ "Successful Saturday for Saints stars". Southampton F.C. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  63. ↑ Karell, Daniel (22 March 2018). "Van Dijk named new Netherlands captain". soccer.nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  64. ↑ McNulty, Phil (23 March 2018). "Netherlands 0–1 England". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  65. ↑ "Soccer - Portugal suffer first-half collapse in 3-0 loss to Dutch". Reuters. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  66. ↑ "Netherlands 3-0 Germany: Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum score for hosts". BBC Sport. 2018-10-13. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  67. 1 2 3 "Virgil van Dijk 'can be a great' as Liverpool agree to pay £75m for defender". BBC Sport. 27 December 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  68. 1 2 3 "V. Van Dijk". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  69. ↑ "Games played by Virgil van Dijk in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  70. ↑ "Games played by Virgil van Dijk in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  71. ↑ "Games played by Virgil van Dijk in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  72. 1 2 "Games played by Virgil van Dijk in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  73. ↑ "Games played by Virgil van Dijk in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  74. 1 2 "Van Dijk, Virgil". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  75. ↑ "Virgil van Dijk". Eurosport. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  76. ↑ McNulty, Phil (26 May 2018). "Real Madrid 3–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  77. ↑ "UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season". UEFA. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  78. ↑ "Van Dijk the big winner at Saints' Player Awards". Southampton F.C. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  79. ↑ "World 11: The Reserve Team for 2017-18". FIFPro.org. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
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