Winning one of the biggest honours in the world of football is one of the most distinguished moments in the lives of any player.
If it is possible, it is even more important for the captain. Virgil van Dijk will forever be the face of this success.
Virgil van Dijk and Arne Slot
Saturday 23rd February 2013, Liverpool sit in eighth place in the Premier League table, after thrashing Swansea City 5-0 to go above the Jacks the previous week.
A young centre-back called Virgil van Dijk is playing in his second and final season at FC Groningen. He will move to Glasgow Celtic the following summer.
In the 69th minute, with scores level at 0-0, PEC Zwolle manager Art Langeler decides to roll the dice and bring on experience in midfield.
He opts for 34-year-old midfielder Arne Slot, in his final year as a professional footballer before moving onto PEC Zwolle’s youth coaching staff that summer.
FC Groningen went on to win the game thanks to a stoppage time Michael de Leeuw winner.
Little did Slot and van Dijk know that they would work together as head coach and captain to win Liverpool’s 20th Premier League title twelve years later.
Van Dijk’s intervening years
After departing Groningen, van Dijk spent the following years developing his game, formerly at Celtic and then at Southampton.
After making it clear that he wanted to join the Reds, van Dijk signed for Liverpool in January 2018 and never looked back.
Many including Gary Neville scoffed at the fee, and Liverpool’s faith in him has long since been proved correct.
He has won every honour possible at Liverpool, and has been a key part of every bit of success the club has had.
Everything that Liverpool could have possibly envisioned in their wildest dreams before he signed for the club has achieved.
Van Dijk has also become a true leader in the Liverpool dressing room, assuming the captaincy after Jordan Henderson’s departure in 2023.
He lifted the League Cup as Liverpool captain in 2024, that was Klopp’s moment as much as his, but this one will belong to Virgil.
Van Dijk has put his own stamp on the captaincy, which is no small feat in itself, and for that he deserves immense credit.
The Slot Era
After Arne Slot took the reins last summer, it has been clear that Virgil van Dijk is a huge part of his plans.
Van Dijk was offered a new two-year contract this season, and two more years of van Dijk is one of the best things that could conceivably happen to Liverpool Football Club.
He has also shown how keen he is for Liverpool to strengthen in the summer, the captain wants more, and Liverpool I'm sure will add game-changing players this summer, like van Dijk has been.
The Dutchman celebrated it with a huge stoppage time winner against West Ham United, at a time when Liverpool’s title pursuit had gone a little nervy.
That sums it up, at a time when Liverpool needed them most, the captain appeared and led from the front.
This is Virgil van Dijk’s Premier League title and this is his moment as well as ours, to revel in it and enjoy it.
The face of Liverpool’s 2024/25 Premier League season is deservedly Virgil van Dijk.