How Virgil van Dijk became the best

In a series of interviews with those who have worked closely with the player at Groningen, Celtic and Southampton, Adam Bate explores the story of how Virgil van Dijk rose to the top of the game, including...

• His growing pains at Groningen and what he needed to change
• His first training session at Celtic and the impression he made
• His impact at Southampton where he quickly picked up the pace
• His rise at Liverpool and the prospect of becoming a club legend
• It might yet prove to be the defining moment in the Premier League season. Tottenham had two players bearing down on just one defender, but that one defender was Virgil van Dijk.
  He waited and waited, cutting off the angle that would have allowed Moussa Sissoko to pass to Heung-Min Son. The positioning was perfect, staying just close enough to force Sissoko onto his weaker left foot, and Van Dijk got his reward when the midfielder blazed over.
  The Dutchman looked to have saved his team one point but when Toby Alderweireld put the ball through his own net in the last minute, Liverpool somehow left Anfield with three.
  Season defining, perhaps, but also season epitomising. Van Dijk arrived at Liverpool as the world’s most expensive defender but now he is being recognised as the world’s best too.
  One statistic sums it up. Van Dijk is the only defender in the Premier League to have made more than a dozen appearances this season who is yet to be dribbled past by his opponent.
  And he has not missed a single game.