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Virgil van Dijk beat the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to win this year's UEFA Player of the Year. The Dutchman was the superstar for Liverpool last season as they claimed their sixth Champions League title. The Merseyside club's fortunes have had a massive turnaround since van Dijk joined them from Southampton in 2018.
The Dutchman has incredible stats in the Premier League, and there was not one attacker in England who managed to dribble past him until recently.
He's been worth every penny for Liverpool who splashed £75 million and making him the most expensive defender at that time.
Since then, he's won the PFA Player of The Year, the Premier League Player of the Season, the UEFA Player of the year, the UEFA defender of the Year, and is in contention to win the Ballon d'Or. You might know him as the best defender in the league, the difference-maker for Liverpool, but here are five things you might not know about Virgil van Dijk.
#5 His boyhood club was Barcelona
The Dutchman might have been one of the reasons why Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League last season, but it might come as a surprise to you that Van Dijk supported Barcelona as a child.
Barcelona have always had some of the best Dutch players of their generation, like Johann Cruyff, Ronald Koeman, and Frank de Boer, but Van Dijk was instead fascinated by Barca's Brazillian legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.
"I watched Barcelona a lot when I was younger, and not just for the Dutch players. It is a beautiful club", the defender had said in an interview while he was still playing for Scottish side Celtic.
A young Van Dijk was a huge admirer of the Brazilians and their samba style of play. He believes it's because of him trying to copy Ronaldinho in his boyhood days that he became so technically adept with the ball.
#4 He once scored a Messi-Esque goal
The 6ft tall Dutchman is known for his amazing defensive exhibits, but he once scored a wonderful solo goal while he was at Celtic. The center-back picked up the ball in his half, breezed past the entire St Johnston defense and midfield, and slotted the ball in the bottom left corner, scoring the kind of goal we only see from Lionel Messi.
Since moving to Anfield, he's scored some brilliant, and some crucial goals for Liverpool, such as the one against Everton in the Premier League or the one against Bayern in the Champions League. Though the level of opposition he plays against is much higher today, we certainly can't take anything away from his solo effort for the Scottish side.
#3 He nearly died in 2012
Van Dijk was just 20 at that time, playing for FC Groningen, and one of his former coaches revealed that his life almost came to an end after doctors had performed an emergency operation on the Dutchman.
Suffering from appendicitis, peritonitis and a kidney infection, his mum took him to several hospitals before the doctors could perform the decisive operation. Van Dijk reveals it was the darkest time of his life and his career, and he wasn't even sure if he'd live, let alone kick a ball again.
"I still remember lying in that bed," he said. "The only thing I could see were tubes dangling out of me. My body was broken and I couldn't do anything".
Van Dijk even wrote a will for his mum but didn't disclose it publicly. Fortunately, he lived through the pain and the suffering, and since then, he has come a long way and has planted his feet as one of the best defenders of his generation.
#2 He worked as a pot washer at a restaurant
From being a pot washer at a restaurant to one of the biggest names in football, the UEFA Player of The Year has certainly silenced those who said he wouldn't make it.
A 16-year-old boy who only dreamt of making it as a professional footballer, van Dijk worked as a kitchen hand at the Oncle Jean restaurant in the city of Breda where he was born. Restaurant owner Jacques Lips admits he never saw in him the potential to play professional football and encouraged him to spend more time in cleaning dishes, as that way he could earn a few more quids.
“He was a good worker. He would scrub hard and do his job properly", said Lips in an interview. "I would often tell him he should wash more pots and stop trying to become a professional player".
Safe to say, he's been left stunned by what his former employee has gone on to become.
#1 He doesn't wear his dad's name on the back of his shirt
“You don’t take your dad’s name off your shirt without a reason", said his uncle in an interview.
The reason he wears "Virgil" on his shirt is that he didn't want to go by his dad's name, who he has never forgiven.
His dad abandoned his mother at a very young age and they haven't . “The truth is his dad was not around for so many important years and it is his mother who is the real hero of this story", says his uncle.
Even though his dad tried to get in touch later, he and his family didn't want to see him. His mum had to go through immense hardships to make ends meet, and Van Dijk wants to repay her sacrifices.
The defender proudly bears only his first name on his shirt for club and country, and he has reached the light at the end of the tunnel that his mother always believed in.
