Virgil van Dijk will come face to face with Jurgen Klopp again on Thursday, but this time the two men will be on opposite sides of the touchline.
The Liverpool captain and his former manager will meet at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam as the Netherlands host Germany in the opening round of the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League.
It is a fixture loaded with subplots. Both teams enter a new era under first-time head coaches, and both managers will be looking to make a positive first impression in the dugout.
Klopp takes charge of Germany for the very first time since his appointment in July, ending a two-year absence from coaching that followed his departure from Liverpool in 2024.
Across the touchline, Xavi Hernandez will also be taking his first game in charge of the Oranje, having replaced Ronald Koeman as head coach in August.
Van Dijk, though, has made clear that sentiment will only stretch so far once kick-off arrives.
According to Sky Germany, Van Dijk said he is looking forward to seeing Klopp again, but that he hopes the Netherlands can spoil his old manager’s first match in charge of Germany.
“It will be nice to see him again,” the Liverpool centre-back said. “But hopefully we will make sure that he loses his first game as Germany head coach.”
Van Dijk played under Klopp at Liverpool for six years, a partnership that delivered the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League title in 2020.
Klopp left Anfield in 2024 after nearly a decade at the club, later working as Red Bull’s global head of football before returning to coaching with Germany this summer on a contract running through the 2030 World Cup.
Xavi struck an equally confident tone ahead of his own bow.
“I can feel the rivalry,” the Spaniard said on the eve of the match, describing the clash with Germany as the ideal starting point for his new project with the Dutch national team.
Xavi replaced Koeman after the Dutchman departed following the Netherlands’ round-of-32 exit to Morocco at the 2026 World Cup.
The 46-year-old signed a deal through 2030 and becomes the first foreign coach to take charge of the Dutch men’s team since Ernst Happel in 1978.
Klopp arrives at his first match with a squad still finding its feet. He named a 44-man group for his opening camp earlier this month, split into two separate squads across Germany’s four Nations League fixtures this window.
Support DaveOCKOP and enjoy the site completely ad-free. You’ll get an uninterrupted browsing experience while helping us continue to deliver the latest Liverpool news, breaking stories and exclusives. Go ad-free today.