The football player who uses his name, not his surname, on his jersey: Who is Virgil van Dijk?

The football player, who was born on July 08, 1991, is 195 cm tall and weighs 92 kilos.

Virgil Van Dijk, captain of the Dutch National Team, which was eliminated by losing 2-1 to England in the EURO 2024 semi-final, after leading 1-0, made a statement after the match.

Expressing his sadness, Van Dijk said, "I have to be here, but I don't know what to say. This is very painful."

Criticizing the referee of the match, the star name said, "After the final whistle of the match, the referee immediately ran inside, this tells a lot." he commented.

Virgil van Dijk (born 8 July 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captains both Premier League club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team. Widely regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation, he is known for his strength, leadership, speed and aerial ability.

Who is Virgil van Dijk?

Virgil van Dijk was born on July 8, 1991 in Breda. He is a Dutch national football player of Surinamese origin who plays as a center-back. He plays for Liverpool, one of the Premier League teams. He is also the captain of the Netherlands national football team. He is considered one of the best defenders in the world. He is known for his strength, leadership, and aerial ability.

CAREER

He started his professional career at the Groningen Club in 2011. He later played for Celtic and Southampton respectively.

He was transferred to Liverpool on January 1, 2018, for 84.65 million euros. He finished 2nd in the 2019 Ballon D'or. He won the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup in Liverpool.

He suffered a major injury as a result of Jordan Pickford's intervention in the Everton match on October 17, 2020.

August 2019

Liverpool's Dutch star Virgil van Dijk won the 2018-2019 season "UEFA Best European Footballer of the Year" award.

Following the UEFA Champions League group draw held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, the award, for which Lionel Messi from Barcelona, ​​Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid, and Virgil van Dijk from Liverpool were nominated, found its owner.

Virgil van Dijk, who left his rivals behind, was chosen as the best football player of the 2018-2019 season in Europe after the voting in which journalists from 55 member countries of UEFA and 80 coaches leading the teams in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League groups in the 2018-2019 season participated.

The Dutch football player, who was transferred from Southampton to Liverpool in 2018, won the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup championships with the English team.

Life story

Virgil van Dijk was born in July 1991, in the city of Breda in the southwest of the Netherlands, as the son of Surinamese mother Hellen and Dutch father Ron.

He had a difficult time as a child. When his father left them at the age of 12, he was left alone with his brother Jordan, sister Jennifer, and his mother. Along with education and football, there was also the problem of making a living. He was looking for a solution to this at a young age, trying to hold on to life with a football. It was as if his dreams were rolling in front of him on the green field, not the ball...

He washed dishes for 4 euros per hour

While Virgil was continuing his football training in the Willem II infrastructure, he was also contributing to the family economy, washing dishes at a local restaurant for four Euros an hour. In an interview years later with restaurant owner Jacques Lips, he said of van Dijk, “He was a good worker. He would scrub the dishes hard and do his job properly. By saying “He was always here, on the two busiest nights of the week,” he was actually telling us that van Dijk was disciplined and respectful not only on the green fields but in all areas of life.

“Virgil was working hard to become a professional football player. I often told him that he should wash more pots and give up his football dream. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that he was transferred to Liverpool for seventy-five million Euros. “Absolutely crazy.” Lips would say in the same interview, realizing how wrong he was...

Van Dijk in Wonderland

Virgil van Dijk was a promising young defender with a bright future when he transferred from Groningen to Celtic at the age of 22. But both Celtic fans and coaches soon realized that he had more than that. He played 37 matches in all competitions in his first season with the green-white jersey, 47 matches in his second season, and 58 matches in his last season. He became indispensable at Celtic Park with his magnificent defensive intelligence, playing ability, football understanding, quickness, and aerial dominance. He won 3 league and 1 cup championships.

The beautiful ending that awaits every talented football player has finally found him and he has now stepped into the Premier League. He was in Wonderland. Southampton paid 15 million Euros to Celtic for him and signed him up. This was the beginning of good times that would end badly for Southampton fans.

After two great seasons with Southampton, in the summer of 2017, he was on the radar of Liverpool, which had been continuing its squad restructuring with Jürgen Klopp for a while. Considering Liverpool's bad center-back history, was van Dijk the man wanted? According to Jürgen Klopp, yes. However, despite Liverpool's unprecedented insistence and effort that summer and the conflict between Southampton management and van Dijk, this transfer could not be concluded. In addition, the Southampton management complained to the Premier League management about Liverpool having a transfer meeting with their player without the club's permission and demanded that Liverpool receive a transfer ban penalty.

Dijk had to wait another four months for this transfer and finally signed for Liverpool in December 2017. One is the giant of football fields and the other is the centuries-old plane tree, the giant community of Liverpool. The story that turned into the love of giants finally had a happy ending. The transfer, which was perhaps going to end at 40-50 million Euros, ended up costing the Reds 85 million Euros as a result of Liverpool's incredible insistence. As you may remember, the Merseyside team financed this transfer by selling Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for 145 million Euros. In fact, considering the current transfer market, don't you think it's even cheap for someone of Van Dijk's quality?

What kind of player is Van Dijk?

Virgil van Dijk appeared on the Anfield turf for the first time against Everton in the FA Cup and scored the winning goal in the last minutes. What a start... He became Kop's darling from the very first match. In a short time, compositions were composed and songs were sung in his name... So, what made Virgil van Dijk indispensable and unchangeable? What was his trademark?

The most important feature that distinguishes Virgil van Dijk from other players is his leadership and composure. The Dutchman, who plays with great self-confidence in the center-back position where mistakes cannot be tolerated, is appreciated by all authorities for his moves that are as easy as pulling butter. Van Dijk, who does not lose control of the air due to his height, is also faster and quicker than expected. We have witnessed this speed many times against very fast players such as Adama Traore and Raheem Sterling. Is it over, no... Van Dijk, who brings his scorer identity to the fore from time to time, is also a very good user of set pieces, although he has not been able to show it yet in Liverpool.

What changed in Liverpool?

The Dutchman is actually one of the names that has the lion's share of Liverpool's leap in class. He is a leader who does not give up and he identifies this very well with the Liverpool identity. He became the darling of the fans and rose to the captaincy of both the Reds and the Dutch National Team, but he never abandoned his modesty. Since its arrival, it has played a leading role in the outstanding performance in the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, and the Premier League this season.

His words about Ballon d'Or 2019 and Messi

He was among the Ballon d'Or candidates, along with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He entered this race with the Champions League championship, UEFA Super Cup victory, and Club World Cup victories, as well as the Premier League Footballer of the Year epaulets. He was the favorite against the Messi-Ronaldo duo, who embargoed the award for years but lost the award to Messi. The last time a defender received this award was in 2006. He could have won the award after Fabio Cannavoro, but he could not do it. According to many people and authorities, van Dijk deserved the award completely and he was treated unfairly, but he still remained modest and said that Lionel Messi deserved the award.

50 matches without a tackle

Virgil van Dijk also holds a very interesting record. The Dutch player holds a record that is very difficult to break by not being tackled in 50 matches in the Premier League. The player who could achieve this after 50 matches was Ivory Coast player Nicolas Pepe, who played for Arsenal in the match played in August 2019.

Why doesn't he use his last name on his jersey?

Contrary to popular belief, Virgil van Dijk carries his name on his back instead of his surname. Virgil van Dijk's uncle Steven explains this in an interview:

“Virgil has accomplished some truly incredible things, considering what happened in his family. His father was not with him for many years, and the real hero of this tale is undoubtedly his mother. You don't take your father's surname off your jersey without a reason. "Virgil is actually clearly saying what he feels with this action."

Virgil van Dijk... A life dedicated to football, from a difficult childhood to dreams. He has already become one of Liverpool's unforgettable football players. What could be his next target? Becoming the best defender ever? Of course…