The story of Virgil van Dijk’s transformation from a pot washer at a Breda restaurant to one of the world’s top defenders is one of perseverance and hard work. Ten years ago, when Van Dijk was seventeen years old, he would ride his bike to the Old Jean restaurant in Breda to work as a pot washer, receiving the minimum pay of four euros per hour.
Van Dijk stayed dedicated to his goals in spite of criticism from Jacques Lips, the owner of the restaurant, who advised him to give up on his ambition of becoming a professional football player.
He has come a long way since and was crowned Player of the Year by his peers Van Dijk had a growth spurt at 16 which saw him shoot up to 6ft 4in
While working at the restaurant, Van Dijk was also part of Willem II’s academy and training hard to pursue his football career. His dedication paid off when he had a growth spurt at the age of 16, reaching an impressive height of 6 feet 4 inches. He used his wages to treat himself and his friends to McDonald’s feasts, but he also invested in driving lessons to improve his commuting options.
He was thankful for his life as a professional football player and for a career in general. Van Dijk has matured for a 22-year-old by learning to appreciate life’s blessings via adversity.
Six years earlier, Willem II was so slow and too big for Celtic that he almost let go of the £2.6 million summer acquisition. When his career at Groningen was allowed to restart after three years, he lost 2.5 stone and ended up spending 12 days in the hospital as a result of a bad intestinal infection. There’s still a visible scar on his lower abdomen.
Pool Boy: After spending time in the hospital in the beginning of his career, Virgil van Dijk is appreciative of his football lifestyle.
His fall on Hogmanay was perfectly understandable given that he is one of the young, emerging defenders in European football right now.
“This New Year’s Eve, I spent the night with my girlfriend until ten o’clock and then I went to church to say some prayers,” he said. I prayed for my family, my partner, and everyone I care about.
went to the hotel to meet the team for our game the next day.
When I was younger, I used to attend church every Sunday; however, as I got older, I stopped. But I believe that on sometimes, prayer has helped me get through some trying situations.
He exposes two scars and lifts his Celtic training shirt when asked to recall the tough times.
One is around three inches long and located on the right side of his abdomen. The other reaches vertically from his belly button to beneath his waist.
“They tried to operate on this one,” he said, pointing to the scar on the right. However, they were unable to do so, so they closed it and shifted their business to this centre.
“It was an amazing surgery.” There was an abscess in my abdomen.
“I was really ill.” The doctors deemed it to be quite dangerous.
I think I shed about 15 kg (33 pounds). My system being poisoned, the abscess almost burst. It was dangerous, so I was in the hospital for twelve days. I’m fortunate that it didn’t blow up.
But I had many drains inserted into my body. It was a worrying time since it seemed to come out of nowhere.
They gave me the wrong kind of medication since they thought it was just a stomach ache.
I had some green stuff in my stomach for two days after that. My stomach turned to mush. When I got back to the medics, they ran a number of pee tests.
“They found nothing, but I was in too much pain to stay home, so the next day I had to go to the hospital.”
“I needed the surgery, they said.”
A difficult time: Van Dijk was quite ill and required surgery to remove an abscess in his abdomen.
Even though he recalls the procedure happening on April 1, it was a major matter for the football player, who was 19 years old, to make his league debut. It goes without saying that the date will always be important. June 23 was also the day he realised he was in no way ready to return.
“When I resumed training, I was awful.” “I had no muscles, no power—nothing,” he said. I did, however, play in every preseason game and recovered over time. It was such a great feeling to be back.
Celtic and Ajax were interested in him in just three years. Frank de Boer retreated, but Neil Lennon moved.
Van Dijk has proven to be the best summer recruit after accepting a £2.6 million contract. Quick, powerful in the air, and an astute watcher of English game reports, he declared on Wednesday that Arsenal and Manchester City are now expressing interest.
Van Dijk responds that he is “flattered” but remains unconvinced. Even before the abscess, he had taught himself to live in the present.
“When I was younger, at 16, I was a little slow at Willem II, and they thought I was too small,” he continued. They played me at right back and almost had me sent off.
“I was sixteen at the time. I found it to be a really dangerous moment because they were talking about sending me away.
“I was one of the weakest players on the team. I wasn’t a very good player. I was small and slow, not very good.
“I didn’t play any video games. They were about to release me.
“But the next season, I gained 20 centimetres in height. I had problems with my knees because of the growth spurt.
“But after I got past it, everything became better. I grabbed hold of the chance Willem presented to me. I became the group’s leader.
More importantly, he resumed playing centre defence, which he had always believed to be his best position. During his teenage years, he participated in every sport available and excelled in each of them. But he had always known that he was a gifted football player.
“I was the kind of boy who could do anything,” he exclaimed. I was good at badminton, basketball, tennis, and swimming.
I could do everything I wanted to do. In order to get ready to become a coach, I then enrolled in a sports trainer course at my high school.As a result, I had to play a lot of sports, which I did for a while.
All sports are enjoyable for me to play, but basketball is my favourite. I’m a huge basketball fan. I don’t think I could have finished it in a competent way.
“Playing football has always been my goal.” When we played at school, I was generally one of the better players in the class.
However, he acknowledges that doubt began to creep into his mind as a result of the growing discomfort at Willem II and the nausea at Groningen.
He shrugged and responded, “I might have gone back to school,” when asked what he would have done if everything had ended suddenly.
“I can no longer fathom the kind of life I would have had if I hadn’t decided to play football.”
It would have been very strange. I am appreciative of what I now have. I get to do what I love, which is why I love my life now.
I get paid to do what I love, too. It is, in fact, a beautiful possession.
“Everything happens for a reason, so maybe this experience was meant to be.”
But I learned a lot from that. I think that as a person, I’ve come a long way.
Van Dijk admits he doesn’t know what he would have done if it weren’t for football.
He’s also a happier one. His work is going well, and he’s finding it easier to acclimatise to Glasgow with the help of his girlfriend, Rike Nooitgedagt.
“I’m happy she came along; having someone here to support you with everything is important,” he remarked. “She works hard at her job and takes time off to relax before travelling to Scotland with me.”
For me, she had to resign from her position as sales manager in Holland. There, she made a big choice, and I respect it.
“She is here, which is really important, and I think that’s the main reason I have settled in so well.”
Fast forward to the present, and Van Dijk has established himself as a world-class defender. In January of the previous year, he made a move to Liverpool from Southampton, becoming the most expensive defender in history at the time. Van Dijk’s performances have been exceptional, earning him accolades such as the PFA Player of the Year and the BBC’s Player of the Year. His impact on the Liverpool team has been significant, as he aims to help the club win their first league title in 29 years.
