Virgil van Dijk has said that a landmark night in Eindhoven will not mark the end of his Netherlands career.
The Liverpool captain had plenty to reflect on. His wife and children travelled from England to watch, and his parents were also at the stadium.
It was also an evening that few had expected a few months ago. The 35-year-old had considered stepping away from international football after the Netherlands’ disappointing World Cup exit this summer.
Instead, Van Dijk made his 100th appearance for the Netherlands on Sunday, captaining the side against Serbia in the UEFA Nations League. He became only the 11th Dutch male player to reach 100 caps.
Before kick-off, he walked onto the pitch with his son. Teun Koopmeiners put the Netherlands ahead in the 31st minute, and Mihajlo Cvetkovic equalised for Serbia four minutes later. Substitute Joshua Zirkzee scored the winner in the 72nd minute.
“I am very grateful. To the group, the staff, the staff members with whom I have worked in the past,” Van Dijk told NOS.
“And in the end, I am most grateful for my family. They were there tonight too. A special evening and a great milestone.”
He said the milestone once felt out of reach.
“It’s something I never dared to dream, it felt way too far away to even think about when I was young,” Van Dijk said.
He added that it will not end there. “For me, it doesn’t stop at 100.”
Van Dijk also acknowledged what injury cost him.
“I missed another year (due to knee injury in 2020) otherwise I might have been able to come close to Wesley Sneijder (134 caps). But I am proud and happy.”
Sneijder leads the Netherlands’ all-time appearance list with 134 caps, while former Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt is eighth on 104. Van Dijk is now one cap away from matching Phillip Cocu, who finished with 101.
Van Dijk made his debut on October 10, 2015, in a 2-1 win away to Kazakhstan. He has been captain since 2018.
Last November, he became the player to captain the Netherlands on the most occasions, and Sunday was the 84th time he has led his country.
His decision to continue followed a conversation with new head coach Xavi. Van Dijk said a brief meeting was enough to convince him to carry on, and Xavi has confirmed he keeps the captaincy.
Van Dijk said he does not plan far ahead.
“You have to take very good care of yourself and do everything you can to be there every time,” he said. “I feel like I’m in a good position now, so I just have to keep going.”
He also addressed how age is discussed in football.
“I understand that people look at age in our sport. When things are going well, they say: ‘Oh how good for your age.’ And otherwise you are an old man,” he said.
“I just have to make sure that I perform as well as possible for the team, on and off the field.”
The result mattered as much as the milestone. “Because you just want to win. Period. You don’t want to end your 100th on a low note,” he said.
He also said he sees room for improvement.
“Of course I’m not going to stop now. Especially when you look at how things are going and what we can do even better. I can have a nice part in that, I think.”
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.