Virgil van Dijk has provided a rare glimpse into his life away from the pitch as he reflected on a busy summer. The Liverpool FC captain is gearing up for the upcoming Premier League campaign, which gets underway next weekend.
The Reds will take on Newcastle at St James' Park in what will be the first competitive match under new boss, Andoni Iraola. The number four has been a colossal figure at the back since joining from Southampton in 2018. His services will once again be relied upon again the 26/27 season as the centre remains as influential as ever, even as he enters the final year of his contract.
Rare Instagram Update
Van Dijk rarely shares updates from his life away from the pitch but he has taken to Instagram today to post some snaps with his family. The 35-year-old shared pictures with his wife Rike Nooitgedagt and their children in his round-up, which was captioned: "A bit of everything."
In the posts, van Dijk was filmed doing keep-ups at a photoshoot and was cycling on a Lime bike in London. Van Dijk has returned to the squad recharged after a marathon season, which saw him clock up 5,841 minutes prior to the World Cup, where he featured for every minute of the Netherlands run to the last-32 stage.
Extended Break and Training
In an interview earlier this month, van Dijk revealed how he requested to miss the club's pre-season tour of the United States after his three-week, post-World Cup vacation. Instead, the veteran opted to put time in at the club's AXA Training Centre base as he said: "I definitely asked for a good break because I felt like I needed it, not only physically but mentally as well.
He added: "It was a very demanding year from before pre-season started last year until the day I got knocked out of the World Cup so I felt like I needed a good break and I had maybe three days more than Ryan (Gravenberch), Flo (Wirtz) and Alex (Isak)."
"For me it was key I didn’t want to go to America because I didn’t want to get jet lag and after come back from that as well. And I felt like having a couple of extra days at the AXA, doing the testing before the team was there and getting ready for when the team was back to immediately crack on, I felt that was for me personally the best way."
Looking Ahead to New Season
Van Dijk is looking forward to the upcoming campaign and working with Iraola as he paid tribute to former coach, Arne Slot. He said: "It has been absolutely fine [working with Iraola], we had a great conversation in the first week when it got announced and the main thing for him to know is that I am here for him regardless.
"Anything he needs, wants to know, wants me to do for the team or whatever I am here for him and hopefully we will be successful this season and that’s what we want."
"Nothing to take away from Arne and his staff, we had an amazing time together, obviously last year a disappointment. This year we have a new manager who has new ways of preparation."
"So we have to adapt to a new staff, different training methods but I liked working under Arne and I am sure I will like working under the new manager."
After his extended break, he is raring to go for the upcoming season, as he said: "Yes [I'm ready to go again]. Are you going to say I'm 35 years old and I can't do it?"
"At the end of the day, you have to look after yourself. You have to be, I wouldn't say lucky, but you have to do everything in your power."
"That is the bare minimum for me because I feel the responsibility to be ready for each and every game. We play every three days. Between games, at home, at the training ground, you have to do everything in your power to be ready to play again."
"For me, I feel good. I am also a late bloomer so you know, maybe...it is what it is. I feel fine and I want to make all the fans proud all over the world that support us wherever we go, and that is by winning games and by showing what it means to wear the shirt every time, and that is for me the bare minimum anyway, so we keep going."
