Virgil van Dijk on family, Jurgen Klopp’s final trophy and being a Wembley hero

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk sat down for an interview before Sunday’s Carabao Cup final as he opened up on his home lift, Wembley memories of last season and what it means to be skipper

Virgil van Dijk may be aiming to be the star of the show at Wembley in front of 90,000 fans again on Sunday.

But he prepared for the big moment by sitting among a few dozen proud parents watching another member of the Van Dijk family taking centre stage.

The Liverpool captain didn’t spend his Thursday night this week poring over videos of Newcastle striker Alexander Isak ahead of the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.

Instead, the match winner from the Reds’ win over Chelsea in the same game last season was at a school play production of the film Fantastic Mr Fox which his daughter Jadi was starring in after a recovery session in the pool with his son. Which may be quite fitting given he will be looking to deny the Magpies’ fox in the box tomorrow at Wembley.

“She was really good, so I was really proud of her,” said Van Dijk. “I came back in the evening and she had to finish a science project, and me and my wife helped her a little bit with it.

“But funny enough, with the play, there were also more kids from our team there. So Wata Endo, his son was also playing a good role, so it was nice to see each other there. It was good.

“My daughter was actually the mother of the fox, I think, of the foxes. And I remember Wata was a rat. But he did very well. I came home, had a good sleep, and now we are fully focused.”

But Van Dijk’s insight into his day off puts life into perspective. Tuesday was Champions League heartache against PSG, Sunday is a huge cup final. In between, life goes on.

“For me personally, I’m also a normal father, husband, man, and I like to do normal things as well,” he said. “And when you’ve been seen as normal as well, and obviously it’s difficult, but going to school is a nice thing. You go to school, obviously some of the kids are looking up, thinking, like, what are you doing here?

“The most important thing in life is my kids and my wife’s life. So yeah, these things are definitely important, but they fully understand as well when it’s time to fully focus on the task ahead.”

The task ahead is keeping Isak quiet. Van Dijk knows what he has to do defensively but last season he was also a threat in the other box.

Van Dijk headed in the winner in the 118th minute of last year’s League Cup final against Chelsea. The clip of the goal has been sent to him more than a few times. Some of it is to point out corner taker Kostas Tsimikas’ bizarre celebration but the moment is special for the Dutchman as he lifted the trophy with former boss Jurgen Klopp. It would turn out to be the final trophy of the German’s tenure at the club.

“Obviously I’ve seen it maybe a little bit more than I would normally because friends have been sending me it because of Kostas,” said Van Dijk. “Kostas was celebrating on me, and I don’t know what he’s thinking, but he was very excited because his corner was outstanding, amazing.

“But, yeah, listen, I think just the whole moment, when you touch it, you know it’s going in, and then you see all the fans. You know there’s not going to be equalised anymore, because the time is just too short. For me personally, my kids, my wife, my friends, my family, everyone, the fans, it was special.

“I would not forget that easily, and I shouldn’t forget it, because it’s still a special moment and a good thing. Obviously for me to be the winner that night was the icing on the cake, but I just wanted to lift the trophy with Jurgen, that was the main target, to get my first trophy and lift it together with Jurgen.

“I was happy that I could do it.”

Now for the first trophy with new boss Arne Slot. Van Dijk can join an illustrious list of Liverpool captains who have lifted more than one trophy if the Reds win on Sunday.

If they don’t, he still looks set to join an even more exclusive club and lift a league title in May. Liverpool are 15 points clear at the top of the Premier League table as they close in on their 20th title and just their second in 35 years.

“To be in a position now where I’m the captain of Liverpool Football Club, but also of Holland, these things I would have never imagined when I was younger,” he added.

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