{"id":657919,"date":"2025-12-27T13:56:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T13:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/657919\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T13:56:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T13:56:23","slug":"virgil-van-dijks-son-training-with-liverpool-as-he-looks-to-follow-in-footsteps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/657919\/","title":{"rendered":"Virgil van Dijk&#8217;s son training with Liverpool as he looks to follow in footsteps"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Virgil van Dijk\u2019s son has been training at Liverpool as the youngster begins his footballing journey on Merseyside with the hopes he follows in his father&#8217;s footsteps<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766843781_561_0_GettyImages-2251739157.jpg\" alt=\"Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool reacts during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Brighton &amp; Hove Albion\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>Virgil van Dijk has opened up about his son training at Liverpool(Image: Michael Regan\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Virgil van Dijk\u2019s legacy at Liverpool is extending to the next generation after the Liverpool captain reveals his son has been training at the club&#8217;s academy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpool.com\/liverpool-fc-news\/features\/virgil-van-dijk-diogo-jota-33126134\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Van Dijk\u2019s<\/a> standing as an Anfield great was further reinforced as Liverpool sealed the <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpool.com\/all-about\/premier-league\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Premier League<\/a> title in emphatic fashion, sweeping aside Tottenham Hotspur 5\u20131. In May, the Dutchman became the <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpool.com\/liverpool-fc-news\/features\/virgil-van-dijk-alan-hansen-33127242\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">first Reds captain to lift the league championship trophy in front of the club\u2019s supporters<\/a> since <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpool.com\/liverpool-fc-news\/features\/virgil-van-dijk-alan-hansen-33127242\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Alan Hansen<\/a> in 1990, capping one of the most consistent seasons of his career.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">That campaign was rewarded with a new two-year contract and a collection of individual honours, having begun amid uncertainty following <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpool.com\/all-about\/arne-slot\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Arne Slot\u2019s<\/a> appointment as head coach after Jurgen Klopp\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE: <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpool.com\/liverpool-fc-news\/features\/liverpool-vs-wolves-live-build-33127072\" data-tmdatatrack=\"read-more\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"33127072\" data-tmdatatrack-source=\"editorial\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Liverpool vs Wolves LIVE: Build-up from Anfield, Team news, Diogo Jota tributes<\/a>READ MORE: <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpool.com\/liverpool-fc-news\/features\/virgil-van-dijk-social-media-33126567\" data-tmdatatrack=\"read-more\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"33126567\" data-tmdatatrack-source=\"editorial\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Virgil van Dijk opinion is clear on Mohamed Salah&#8217;s advice to young Liverpool players<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">In an interview with the Athletic, <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpool.com\/all-about\/virgil-van-dijk\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Van Dijk<\/a> reflected on the triumph where he also revealed his son had been training at the club. The moment when the final whistle went was incredible&#8221; said the 34-year-old.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;Relief, joy. I always go over to Ali [<a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpool.com\/all-about\/alisson\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Alisson<\/a>] at the end of a game. Nine out of ten times I\u2019m always the first one to go to Ali. At that particular moment I went to him he was with Wata [Wataru Endo] as well and I had a little tear in my eye.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;Then, I\u2019m looking for my mum, my wife, my kids in the stands. It meant so much to them as well because they sacrificed so much for me. My son is actually training at the moment with Liverpool under-fives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;He loves playing football at the house. He\u2019s still very young, so I don\u2019t know if he actually wants to do something with it, but he\u2019s really keen to go and is having a great time. He sings all the songs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;My eldest is 11 and she is absolutely on it, watching games, thinking, \u2018What\u2019s going on with this decision?\u2019 When she has something to say, she\u2019s very passionate. She has that fire in her already. Most of the time it\u2019s like, &#8216;Why did he give a yellow?&#8217; Or, &#8216;You should have scored this one!&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1_GettyImages-2157391125.jpg\" alt=\"Virgil van Dijk\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>Virgil van Dijk&#8217;s son has been training with Liverpool&#8217;s under fives(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Van Dijk also opened up about how he deals with the setbacks on the pitch at home. He added: &#8220;Hopefully we\u2019ve found consistency now, but between the defeat by <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpool.com\/all-about\/crystal-palace-fc\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Crystal Palace<\/a> [in September] to recently there was a lot of noise.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;We\u2019re dealing with a lot of players that have their own minds, they can go in different directions confidence-wise, physically.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;There may be a handful of games that I could have done better in this season, but I don\u2019t want a handful of games that I have to improve. I want to make sure I have my best each and every game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;I need football because it\u2019s something I really love to do. When you have a difficult moment, you will maybe go home and think life is a lot more important than football, in terms of being healthy, being able to do what we do.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;I\u2019m a father of four kids, so I\u2019m going home and I can\u2019t be the grumpy dad. They are looking up to me, and I\u2019m not going to go home and shout at them because I had a bad training session, or we played a bad game and we lost.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Virgil van Dijk\u2019s son has been training at Liverpool as the youngster begins his footballing journey on Merseyside&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":657920,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[51101,748,393,4884,179,763,101,16,15,1465],"class_list":{"0":"post-657919","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-academy","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-liverpool","13":"tag-liverpool-fc","14":"tag-premier-league","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-virgil-van-dijk"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115791881440868000","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=657919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657919\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/657920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=657919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=657919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=657919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}