Q&AVirgil van Dijk interview: New contract, the future and his love for everything LFC
Virgil van Dijk is looking forward to leading Liverpool into what he believes will be an extremely bright future in the weeks and years ahead.
The captain extended his iconic Reds career by putting pen to paper on a new contract at the AXA Training Centre on Thursday.
His time as a Liverpool player began in January 2018 and the seven years since have seen him lift seven major honours, make more than 300 appearances and become one of the best defenders in world football.
The No.4, speaking exclusively to Liverpoolfc.com after inking the fresh terms, detailed his belief that many more highlights await.
See the full interview with Van Dijk below...
This news will make millions of Liverpool fans so happy. What about you? How are you feeling right now to get this done?
Very happy, very proud. There are so many emotions obviously that go through my head right now speaking about it. It's a proud feeling, it's a feeling of joy. It's just incredible. The journey I've had so far in my career, to be able to extend it with another two years at this club is amazing and I'm so happy.
It was always Liverpool, wasn't it?
It was always Liverpool. That was the case. It was always in my head, it was always the plan and it was always Liverpool. There wasn't any doubt in my head that this is the place to be for me and my family. I'm one of Liverpool. Someone called me the other day an adopted Scouser – I'm really proud to hear these things, it gives me a great feeling.
You said when you first signed that it felt right. Does it feel more right now than in the first place?
It always felt right. I said it from the first day on that it felt right and I think it showed in the years we have spent together up until now. And obviously more years to come. It is the place for me to be, to spend my best years, be successful with the club as we have been over the years and hopefully the future as well. And I love the city, I love the club, I love the fans. I love my teammates. I love everything that embodies Liverpool and on to many more.
Could this even better the first time when you sat down as a Liverpool player?
I don't know, you don't want to downplay any of them. I think the first moment when I joined the club, there were so many uncertainties in terms of what to expect. Obviously you have expectations – but really, what's going to happen? Not only on the pitch as a football player but definitely in my life. And the expectations that we had have been exceeded and even more. And to be in a position now where I'm the captain, played so many games, won so many games, have also obviously been on the losing side unfortunately – it makes me very proud and very happy. Like I said, it's an absolute privilege to be here and the captain and playing for this club, just to be part of Liverpool and its history as well.
You had these expectations and these dreams, lots of them you've fulfilled already. But now you know what Liverpool is about, now you're the leader, the iconic Liverpool captain…
Yeah, it sounds every time when you say it now… it gives me goosebumps. The actual captaincy, it's massive and there's not many players that can say that. But it is a reality and I'm really blessed and privileged. It's something I really, really don't take for granted and I cherish a lot.
You look almost emotional…
Well, listen, it is an emotional day, not only for myself but for my family as well. My kids are also almost like Scousers, they don't know anything else than Liverpool, especially my two youngest. You live your life away from obviously where I'm from in Holland and you are living a very good life, a blessed life, but we live also that good life because of the people of Liverpool, the club, the fans. So it's a togetherness that I really, really appreciate. It helps me and also is what embodies me as well, that I really love how the club is in general, what it stands for and these principles and values are really important to me and my family as well.
You gave us a little bit of an insight there on what we don't see as football fans sometimes. This isn't just a decision for you, it's a decision for your entire family and your kids and your wife will have a huge influence on that…
One hundred per cent. Obviously the season has been amazing and obviously there is this uncertainty with every day that goes by that you don't sign a new deal. But it's a big credit to my wife. Together we are a team. We have to perform on the highest level but we have to do it together and that's why these decisions are made together, because we need each other. We are very lucky and blessed to be in the position where we are able to say we are going to be here for the next two years.
That's the home team. The team that you're involved with from a football perspective as well, you had this iconic leader that you said in the first place you hoped would make you better. I think it was clear he did. What about this current leader now? How big an influence has he had on you wanting this next chapter to still be here with Liverpool?
Very. We shouldn't skip too quickly [over] what Jürgen [Klopp] obviously did over the years for me and my family, because obviously he gave me the opportunity to be the captain of Liverpool. To make also that next step in terms of responsibility, that I always felt, but to be the captain of Liverpool is a big responsibility and obviously I took it with stride, I really enjoyed it and I don't take any of that for granted. In terms of this season, you're coming in and I knew the manager from playing against him a couple of times but didn't really have a personal relationship with him, so it was always going to be an interesting one, 'Let's see how it goes.' For him as well, of course. I think he has an amazing season so far, in terms of also knowing he didn't have time to really have a proper pre-season.
What really stands out for me is the way he handles good and difficult moments as well, because throughout the season there are difficult moments. Even when we won quite a lot of games there are also moments that you have to manage behind the scenes in terms of how you have to handle certain players if they're not playing, disappointments. And the way he conducts himself, not only him but the staff as well, has really been a good thing to see and also gave me a lot of confidence towards what the next two years could look like. Big credit to him.
It's clear from when you joined that ambition is such a big part of who you are and what drives you every day. In the first days you were talking about the ambition to win trophies. You've won everything since that statement. But presumably that ambition and that greed to win even more just gets bigger, doesn't it?
Yeah, 100 per cent. The thing is, when you go through these successes and you see what it brings, what it means to the people of Liverpool and everyone connected to Liverpool around the world, you want to achieve it again and again and again. That's the motivation. For me, I'm a winner – I want to win every game, I want to try to do everything in my power to win every game ahead of us. That's the goal as well for the next two years, to compete until the very last moment and hopefully be successful.
You've spoken about your love of the club but what about your love of home, Anfield, and in particular that responsibility that you have to lead that team out into that sea of red and white every fortnight…
Anfield is home, like you said, I can't describe it any other way. It feels like home, it is home. I've been very fortunate to be on the winning side quite a bit during my time here over those years. That support is always so crucial, it's always so important – it has to be like that. As players, it's so important to feel that backing, it can help you so much. We've seen it over the years how much it could help but obviously we would love to have it each and every second of the game, and we know obviously sometimes maybe it's too much to ask. It's incredible. It's incredible to be on the pitch when you experience these types of things, and hopefully there's many more to come.
What makes it special is the people. People will have told you about what Scousers are like, what Liverpool fans are like before you joined. Now you know them inside out, what do they mean to you?
A lot, a lot, obviously also a big reason why I wanted to extend for another two years. The people are amazing. Obviously I've made friends over all those years and the values that they possess and what's important in life and the way they go about in general, I think it also connects and something I'm really happy about and I feel like it's important too.
You take this role as captain so seriously. You are this insatiable driver of high standards – stuff that you've learned but stuff that's inherent in you. Those high standards probably have some kind of picture in the back of your mind about what the next phase of Liverpool looks like with you as their leader...
Listen, I think for me personally it's always important to keep learning. You could never stop learning. Over the years I've been at different clubs, been captain of different clubs, have dealt with different captains throughout my playing time so far. You can take from everyone certain things. If I just speak about recently, obviously we had Jordan Henderson, who was obviously the captain for so many years for the club, and he was an amazing captain. Obviously he's still a good friend of mine but I really learned a lot from him on and off the pitch in the way he sets the standard each and every training [session], the way he communicates off the pitch, he's making sure that everyone is on board – and not only the players but the rest of the people connected to the club, whether it's through the training ground. James Milner, obviously in the game for quite a long time, [I] learned so much from him as well.
These two figures, I think, have been very important in the way I captain my team and obviously at the moment how I try to manage the team as well outside of the pitch. It's not easy but you have to do it in your own way. And I think for the time that I've been doing it right now, things have been going well and I want to keep improving, I want to keep making sure that everyone feels comfortable in order to express themselves in the right way because that's very important. Everyone has to be themselves, has to be able to be themselves and don't feel that they are holding themselves back, because it would affect them playing on the pitch as well. So, I do it in my way and I think I can do a pretty good job. You have to keep going.
This new contract is not just about today, it's about tomorrow and how enthused you are about what the future of Liverpool looks like...
One hundred per cent. We still obviously have games to come, games to play. I would definitely encourage everyone that at least comes to Anfield to make it an amazing time towards the end of the season. Hopefully by the time that the season ends we have an amazing party together. There's still work to do and we have to realise it as well. But looking even further than that, I think it's exciting, I think it's exciting for what's coming. Hopefully a very good pre-season and it's going to be a very difficult Premier League season what's waiting for us next year, because everyone will try to improve, will get new additions, like we should as well, and then we have to compete and we have to show our qualities, show our consistency. And on top of that, maybe even more importantly, we have to enjoy it. I will certainly do it because I really realise how privileged and blessed I am to play for Liverpool FC.
That's such a big part of it, isn't it – enjoying it. Because you're caught constantly in the moment of 'win the next game, win the game'...
We're all humans, it's difficult. It's difficult to do that but you have to try to do it. Try to do it and you have to find the right balance in order to do that. So, I will always try to say it but it's still quite difficult to do. But I encourage everyone to try to do it even more.
Some of the experiences have changed your life – parades, trophies, moments, iconic moments. Do you still have a feeling the biggest moment and biggest moments are in front of you?
Yeah, hopefully. You don't want to look too far ahead normally in life – I don't try to do that. But you can't deny, I would lie to you if I say I don't, that you sometimes envision these things. We all know that we came closer, so those visions are getting much more than what it maybe was in January or December. But if that moment would happen, you will probably see on my face how much it means to not only me but to the rest of my family – and obviously the rest of the team and Liverpool as well – but it will mean a lot.
Can we finish on a lot of what you've been talking about here – what you are to the fans, what the fans are to you and what the city is to you as well. How big a motivating factor is, in this final couple of games, that you might get the chance to celebrate it with them when you never had the opportunity last time?
I think obviously we've all seen Mo [Salah] speak quite a bit about it that we deserve it all, and in some ways I fully understand him. And in the other side of it, I think we have a job still to do. But when we do it, we have all the right to celebrate it for how long and how many days, weeks we want – because we should because it's hard work. It will be amazing, I'm pretty sure of that. I don't like to speak too much in the future, like I said, like you already noticed, but I would just encourage everyone that comes to Anfield for the remaining games of the season to wear red, come in red or come with all red, make it a red Anfield because that would look incredible and make as much noise as you can, and then you will enjoy it even more than you already should do, in my opinion.