*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:44, 21 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:27, 26 March 2024 (UTC)
Van Dijk represented the Netherlands at
under-19 and
under-21 levels. He made his senior international debut for the Netherlands in 2015 and assumed full
captaincy of the national team in March 2018. The following year, Van Dijk captained the Netherlands to the
final of the inaugural
UEFA Nations League, where they finished runners-up. He also represented the side at the
2022 FIFA World Cup.
Early life
Virgil van Dijk[11] was born on 8 July 1991[12] in
Breda to a
Dutch father, Ron van Dijk, and an
Afro-Surinamese mother, Hellen Chin Fo Sieeuw.[13] He has a younger brother and sister, who are two and ten years younger than him respectively.[14][15] He grew up in Kesteren, in the Haagse Beemden district of Breda.[16][17] His father left the family when he was 11 years old. Van Dijk first lived with his father for a while before making the choice to go back to live with his mother, after which his father broke off contact.[14][18]
Growing up he would play football wherever he could – on the streets, in concrete cages, and eventually Saturday morning matches.[19][20][21] He started playing football in the youth team at WDS'19 before joining
Willem II at the age of 8.[22] He combined his time playing at the Willem II academy with a part-time job as a dishwasher as a teenager.[23][24] He said "I didn't have a contract at that time. I wasn't thinking I had no future in the game, but I also knew I had to work, to try to make money."[25]
Having previously and unsuccessfully featured as a right-back, Van Dijk was shifted into a central defensive position in 2008, aged 17, after he grew in height by around 18 centimetres.[23][24] Despite the positional shift and Van Dijk's physical growth, Willem II's reserve manager at the time
Edwin Hermans believed he had "too many limitations" which prevented him from breaking into the first team.[24] The club therefore did not want to offer him a contract.[26] He left for FC Groningen at the age of 19 in 2010, on a free transfer, after being scouted by former Dutch international
Martin Koeman, who was working for
FC Groningen at the time.[23][24]
Club career
Groningen
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.[24] He made his professional debut for the club on 1 May 2011, coming on as a 72nd-minute
substitute for
Petter Andersson during a 4–2 victory against
ADO Den Haag.[27] On 29 May, and against the same opposition, he made his first start for Groningen and scored his first professional goals, netting twice in a 5–1 win in a
UEFA Europa League play-off match.[24]
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.[28][29] He suffered a personal setback during the campaign, however, as soon after his 20th birthday he was admitted to hospital with advanced appendicitis,
peritonitis and kidney poisoning.[30] The ailments were previously not recognized by the medical staff of FC Groningen and the local hospital.[22] He had an urgent lifesaving operation. He spent 13 days in hospital, lost nearly two and a half stones and could not walk for 10 days.[31][32] As he had been close to dying as a result of the medical emergency the hospital had even gone so far as to ask him to sign a "sort of
will" in the event of his passing.[24][33]
It took Van Dijk a few months to fully recover. In the summer of 2012 he returned and joined the selection again.[34] Despite the fact that the club had a changeable season, Van Dijk, who played in the center of defense together with veteran
Kees Kwakman, excelled.[35]
In the summer of 2013, Van Dijk was a candidate to strengthen
PSV's defense, but the club ultimately opted for
Jeffrey Bruma as the new central defender.[36] A transfer to
Brighton & Hove Albion FC or
FK Krasnodar, both of which wanted to meet the asking price of FC Groningen director Hans Nijland, were rejected by Van Dijk himself.[37] Van Dijk, who actually preferred a transfer to a Dutch top club, contacted
Marc Overmars himself via director Nijland and his agent to discuss a possible transfer to
AFC Ajax.[38][39] However, the club, which was on the market for a new central defender at the time, decided not to accept Van Dijk's advances and eventually signed
Mike van der Hoorn from
FC Utrecht.[24][40]
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.[41] 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.[42] A week later, he made his first start, in a 2–2 draw with
Inverness Caledonian Thistle at
Celtic Park.[43] On 9 November, Van Dijk scored his first Celtic goals, heading one in each half of a 4–1 win against
Ross County.[44] After a solo run, he scored the only goal of a victory over
St Johnstone on 26 December.[45]
Van Dijk scored again on 26 January 2014, in a 4–0 win versus
Hibernian for Celtic's 11th consecutive league win.[46] 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.[47] 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.[48] He was one of three Celtic players named in the
PFA Scotland Team of the Year.[49] Van Dijk was nominated for the
PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year award,[50] but lost out to fellow Celtic player
Kris Commons.[51]
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.[52] 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.[53] 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.[54] Four days after that, his sixth goal of the season was enough for victory in a home match against
Glasgow neighbours
Partick Thistle.[55]
Van Dijk was again on target on 21 January 2015, opening a 4–0 home win over
Motherwell.[56] 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.[57] 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.[58] 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.[59] Van Dijk played the full 90 minutes of the final at
Hampden Park, which Celtic won 2–0.[60] 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.[61]
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.[62] Three days later, again from a free kick, he confirmed a 2–1 win away to
Dundee.[63] His team again won the league, and Van Dijk was included in the league's Team of the Season for the second consecutive campaign.[64] He was again shortlisted for the PFA Scotland Players' Player award,[65] but lost out to another teammate, this time Stefan Johansen.[66]
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.[67]
Southampton
2015–16 season
On 1 September 2015, the last day of the transfer window, Van Dijk signed a five-year contract with
Premier League club
Southampton, managed by
Ronald Koeman, for a reported £13 million transfer fee.[68][69] Fellow Premier League clubs
Sunderland,
Newcastle and
Arsenal were also reportedly interested in the last hours of the transfer window.[70][71][72] The transfer made him the most expensive Dutch defender since
Jaap Stam, who went from
Manchester United to
Lazio in 2001 for more than €25 million.[73]
He made his debut for Southampton on 12 September in a 0–0 draw against
West Bromwich Albion at
The Hawthorns.[74] 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.[75] He was named player of the year by both his teammates and Southampton fans, for his first season.[76][77] On 7 May 2016, Van Dijk signed a new six-year contract with the Saints.[78]
After a successful
2016–17 season at Southampton, Van Dijk was subject to interest from top English clubs with
Chelsea,
Manchester City and
Liverpool, reportedly interested.[82][83] The latter of which apologised to Southampton for an illegal approach for the player after he had reportedly made clear his interest in a move to Liverpool.[84][85][86] 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.[87]
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.[88] He made what turned out to be his final appearance for Southampton on 13 December 2017, in a 4–1 home defeat to Leicester.[89] 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.[90]
Liverpool
2017–18 season
On 27 December 2017, it was announced that Van Dijk would join Liverpool when the winter transfer window opened on 1 January 2018[91][92] for a reported fee of £75 million.[8] Former club Celtic would receive 10% of Van Dijk's transfer fee, due to a sell-on clause placed in his Southampton contract.[8][93] Southampton claimed the undisclosed transfer fee would constitute a world record fee in football for a defender.[92]
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.[94] In doing so, he became the first player since
Bill White in 1901 to score on his debut in the
Merseyside derby.[95] 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.[96][97][98] 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 3–1.[99] Van Dijk played 22 games in all competitions in his first season with the club, scoring once.[100]
2018–19 season
Van Dijk received the
Liverpool Player of the Month award for his performances in August.[101] On 2 December, Van Dijk was awarded an assist for the winning goal in a derby match against city rivals Everton. Liverpool won 1–0 thanks to Divock Origi's 96th-minute goal, set up by a Van Dijk volley and a subsequent error from Everton goalkeeper
Jordan Pickford.[102] The Dutchman was ultimately awarded the
PFA Player of the Month for November 2018.[103] On 21 December, Van Dijk scored his first goal in the Premier League for Liverpool in a 2–0 away win against
Wolverhampton Wanderers.[104] The Dutchman continued his impressive form in the 2018–19 season by winning the Premier League Player of the Month prize for December 2018.[105]
In August 2019, Van Dijk won the
UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award. On 2 September 2019, he was shortlisted in the final three of the best FIFA football awards.[112] On 23 September 2019, he was voted runner-up in
The Best FIFA Men's Player and into the FIFA
FIFpro Men's World 11.[113][114][115] In October 2019, Van Dijk was shortlisted as one in 30 football players for the
Ballon d'Or.[116] At the event in December, he finished runner-up behind
Lionel Messi.[117] The edition of the award was controversial in that while many believed that Messi was the justified winner of the award, many others believed that Van Dijk had been unfairly overlooked,[118][119] with teammate
Fabinho stating that “People always notice strikers more than defenders, but he should have won when you consider what he did individually and how he helped the team win the
Champions League”.[120] 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.[121][122]
Van Dijk received further recognition following the turn of the year, when he was named in the 2019
UEFA Team of the Year.[123] 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.[124][125] Over the course of the 2019–20 domestic campaign, Van Dijk started and completed every minute for Liverpool.[126] Liverpool won the Premier League title in the
2019–20 season, their first top-flight title in 30 years.[127]
2020–21 season
On 12 September 2020, Van Dijk scored a headed goal against
Leeds United on the opening day of the new season.[128] On 17 October, he was substituted in the sixth minute of the
Merseyside derby after a challenge from
Everton goalkeeper
Jordan Pickford.[129] On the following day, it was announced that he had suffered an
ACL injury in his right knee and would undergo surgery.[130] Van Dijk was expected to be out from six to twelve months.[131] On 30 October it was announced that the surgery on his injuries had been successful.[132] Dutch national team coach
Frank de Boer had hoped that Van Dijk would be able to make his return before
UEFA Euro 2020,[133] Van Dijk however decided that he should continue his rehabilitation so he could start the next season fully fit.[134]
2021–22 season
Van Dijk made his first appearance in over nine months on 29 July 2021, coming on as a second-half substitute in a pre-season friendly against
Hertha BSC.[135] On 13 August 2021, Van Dijk signed a new four-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2025.[136] His first goal for Liverpool in over 14 months came against his former club Southampton, when he hit a volley from a corner.[137]
On 27 February 2022, Van Dijk helped Liverpool win the
2021–22 EFL Cup, scoring his
penalty in the
shoot-out over Chelsea after a goalless draw in normal time.[138]
His performances during the
2021–22 season earned him a place in the Premier League PFA Team of the Year.[139] Van Dijk earned a runners-up medal in the
2021–22 UEFA Champions League,[140] losing the final to Real Madrid, and was selected as part of the
Team of the Season.[141] Liverpool narrowly missed out on the chance to achieve a historic quadruple, coming second in the
Premier League and the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League but winning both the
EFL Cup and the
FA Cup.[142]
2022–23 season
On 29 October 2022, Liverpool lost 2–1 at home to
Leeds United which was Van Dijk's first home defeat at
Anfield in the Premier League after 70 games since joining the club in January 2018.[143] Van Dijk was criticised for a number of performances in the
2022–23 season[144][145] but soon regained his authoritative defensive traits with a performance against
Brentford which led to him being voted Man of the Match by users of
BBC Sport.[146] At the end of the
2022–23 season, Liverpool narrowly missed out on UEFA Champions League qualification.[147]
2023–24 season
On 31 July 2023, following the departure of
Jordan Henderson, Van Dijk was named as Liverpool's new captain.[148] On 27 August, Van Dijk was given his first Liverpool red card following a foul on
Newcastle United's
Alexander Isak.[149] Initially, Van Dijk refused to leave the pitch and swore at referee
John Brooks.[150] Van Dijk was handed a one-match ban for the contentious red card, but was given an additional game ban after he admitted to acting in an 'improper manner' towards a match official. He was also fined £100,000 for his use of abusive words.[151][152] On 25 February 2024, he won his first trophy as Liverpool captain and also scored the only goal from a header in extra time of a 1–0 victory over Chelsea in the
EFL Cup final.[153] In the process, he was adjudged the man of the match and won the
Alan Hardaker Trophy for the second time in his career, making him the fourth person to do so, along with
John Terry,
Vincent Kompany and
Ben Foster.[154]
International career
On 12 May 2010, Van Dijk made his debut for the
Netherlands U19 in a friendly against South Korea U19.[155] Then on 14 November 2011, Van Dijk made his debut for the
Netherlands U21 in a qualifying match against Scotland U21 and played a further two friendlies for the team.[156]
Van Dijk was selected for the senior team three times in 2014, but did not make his debut that year.[157][18] 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.[158] Three days later, Van Dijk also played in the lost home game against the
Czech Republic (2-3) and he and the Dutch national team missed out on final qualification for the
2016 European Championship in France.[159][160] Due to an injury, he missed half of the qualifying matches played in 2016 and 2017 for the
2018 World Cup. The Netherlands failed to qualify for the World Cup.[161][162]
He was awarded the captaincy of his country by manager Ronald Koeman on 22 March 2018,[163] and his first match as captain was a 1–0 home friendly defeat by
England the next day.[164] On 26 March, he scored his first international goal to conclude a 3–0 win over European champions
Portugal at the
Stade de Genève.[165] On 13 October, he scored in a 3–0 win over
2014 World Cup champions
Germany in the
UEFA Nations League.[166] More importantly, he scored the
equaliser in the next match with Germany, after assistant coach Dwight Lodeweges sent him a small paper note during a break, with the request to play forward in the last minutes of the game. The goal enabled the Netherlands to win the group phase of the Nations League.[167] He later captained his country to the
final which they lost 1–0 against Portugal.[168]
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.[169]
In November 2022, Van Dijk was announced as the Dutch captain for the
2022 FIFA World Cup. He led his team to the top of the group stage with wins over
Senegal and hosts
Qatar.[170][171] Van Dijk then led his team to the quarter finals where they lost on penalties to
Argentina who later won the tournament.[172]
Style of play
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.[173][5][174] He is gifted with pace,[175] good technique, and an eye for goal, and is an effective
set-piece taker. 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."[176]
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".[174] McGuinness believes Van Dijk's "biggest problem" is that he "can switch off when the game is comfortable".[174] 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."[177] Dario Pergolizzi also described Van Dijk as a good marker in 2019.[178]
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 [the attacker]. 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."[179]
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."[5] In 2020,
Vincent Kompany called Van Dijk the best centre-back to ever appear in the Premier League, claiming the Liverpool "before Van Dijk and the other after him, it's a completely different setup".[3] In 2022,
Erling Haaland named Van Dijk the best defender he has played against, calling him "fast, strong and 'bad' smart", as well as praising his timing.[180] In 2023,
Ben Foster claimed that Van Dijk was the "best defender that has ever lived" during his pre-injury run with Liverpool.[4]
Sponsorship
Van Dijk features as the cover star of the champions edition of
EA Sports'
FIFA video game FIFA 20.[181] He is endorsed by sportswear company
Nike.[182]
Personal life
Van Dijk commonly uses only his first name on the kit. According to his uncle Steven, this is because of a
family feud with his father who abandoned his family during Virgil's childhood.[183] Van Dijk has said on the matter that "Nobody really knows the reason. What exactly happened is private and I won't tell the media. It's nobody's business. But my father is no longer in my life."[184][185]
Van Dijk met his wife Rike Nooitgedagt when he was 20 and they have been married since the summer of 2017.[186][187] The couple's first child was born 2014, they now have four children.[188][189]
Van Dijk has
Chinese ancestry. Hellen Chin Fo Sieeuw, his mother, is of part-Chinese descent. The Chinese surname 'Chin Fo Sieeuw' derives from the given name of his maternal great-grandfather, Chin Fo Sieeuw (陈火秀), who emigrated from
Guangdong to
Suriname around 1920.[190]
Career statistics
Club
As of match played 21 April 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
^Pergolizzi, Dario (28 March 2019).
"L'affare van Dijk". Ultimo Uomo (in Italian).
Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
^"IFFHS MEN'S WORLD TEAM 2022". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. 11 January 2023.
Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.