Van Dijk Explains Decision to Continue Netherlands Career Ahead of Germany Clash
Virgil van Dijk reveals why he decided to continue his international career with the Netherlands ahead of the clash against Germany under Jurgen Klopp.
Virgil van Dijk, the captain of the Netherlands national team and Liverpool, recently considered whether to continue for another campaign with the Oranje or whether at age 35 it was time to end his international career. Today (Wednesday), at a press conference ahead of the match against Germany—which will be the debut game for national team coaches Xavi Hernandez and Jurgen Klopp—he revealed what drove his decision to continue.
"I needed a proper vacation with my family, and then I had an important conversation with the coach. After 10 seconds I already knew I could continue. It was simply a very good conversation," van Dijk said.
When asked what Xavi said to him that convinced him so quickly, he replied: "He told me I am Virgil van Dijk. It is a matter of trust and appreciation and the ability to be important for the team. Physically there is no doubt, but I also want to continue enjoying myself and feel the appreciation, and it is definitely there."
Van Dijk, who could reach 100 caps in the upcoming international window, added: "It makes me happy just to think about it, but ultimately that was not the deciding factor. I made the decision after resting, spending time with my family, talking to the people closest to me, and finally talking to the coach."
Van Dijk also addressed the last World Cup, where the Netherlands was eliminated by Morocco right after the group stage. "We were not good enough. That is clear. In hindsight it is of course easy to say what we should have done differently, but we failed at the World Cup. That is a fact."
The match against Germany will also provide van Dijk with a reunion with Jurgen Klopp, his former manager at Liverpool. "It is great to meet him again," he said. "He was a very important person in my career, along with Ronald Koeman. I managed to talk to him during the World Cup after a training session in Dallas. It will be nice to see him again tomorrow, but I hope we can make sure he loses his first game as coach of the German national team."
