‘Utter Nonsense’—Virgil van Dijk Confronts Journalist Over Shocking World Cup Claim

The Liverpool defender did not hide his emotions.

Virgil van Dijk took the opportunity to respond. | Jeroen van den Berg/Soccrates/Getty Images

Liverpool center back Virgil van Dijk gleefully took the opportunity to challenge a Dutch journalist over what he felt were “completely baseless” claims about his performances at the World Cup.

After the Netherlands’s disappointing round-of-32 exit at the hands of Morocco, Van Dijk was accused by Valentijn Driessen of “betraying” the national team by allegedly forcing a change in formation which did not pay off.

Driessen, who had previously called the defender an “overblown narcissist” with a “dubious reputation,” was among the journalists present for Van Dijk’s press conference before facing Germany this week. Predictably, the Liverpool man was not in the mood for a friendly chat.

“It’s easy to say in hindsight: ‘We should have done this differently’ or ‘We should have done that differently,’” Van Dijk reflected.

“It was also said, of course, that it was my idea to switch to playing with a back five. That is utter nonsense. The fact is we simply failed at the World Cup; those are the hard facts.”

Driessen then accused Van Dijk of taking an abrupt, hostile response to questions. “I’ve never had anything against the media,” Van Dijk stressed, “but when nonsense is being sent out there...

“We didn’t play a good World Cup. It’s not about me. You perform together; you’re a team. Your claim that I destroyed Dutch football after the World Cup ... that sort of thing is completely baseless.”

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Van Dijk Ignores Plea to Retire From International Duty

Van Dijk is not done yet. | Alex Pantling/FIFA/Getty Images

As part of Driessen’s criticism of Van Dijk, he argued the Liverpool defender’s “time is up” and called on him to end his career with the national team. Clearly, the 35-year-old did not listen.

That being said, Van Dijk admitted he did not immediately rule out calling it a day. He sought out new manager Xavi Hernández for talks about his future and quickly realized his career still had plenty of time left to run.

“I needed a holiday with my family, then time to talk with Xavi,” he said. “And after 10 seconds, it was clear I’d carry on.

“What did he say? That I’m Virgil van Dijk!”

He added: “Obviously it was a massive decision. I had to feel the confidence and the combination of respect and joy and everything I wanted. That was the case from the first second, so the conversation didn’t need to be that long. 

“But it was very good, so I am really looking forward to meeting up for the important four games. Let’s make the next two years at least an amazing time.”

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