Today he is the Champions League winner and is about to win the Premier League title. However, eight years ago Virgil van Dijk was still fighting for his life.
- Virgil van Dijk is one of the best players in the world.
- In 2012 he fought a dangerous illness.
- Today he is on the verge of winning a historic Premier League * title with Liverpool FC.
Munich - At the age of 20 he wrestled with death, today he is the reigning Champions League * winner . Virgil van Dijk is undisputedly one of the best central defenders in the world, giving Jürgen Klopps Liverpool the necessary stability on the defensive to regain the Premier League for the first time in 30 years - the restart has finally been decided.
"He is an absolute world class player who has the pace you need, who has what sets him apart: the physicality, the eye for the duel, the responsiveness, the game intelligence," said Klopp last summer compared to the kicker . However: "Neck slaps in the game still have too much influence on him."
Virgil van Dijk: In 2012 he had to draw up a will
If you are always inclined to agree with the German success coach with his charismatic statements, the point with the neck strikes causes surprise - van Dijk should be very familiar with this, if you read through his illness history at the beginning of his career in Holland.
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As the British Daily Mail reports, the 28-year-old had to draw up a will in 2012 because he was struggling with death due to several serious illnesses. A year after his professional debut for Groningen , his mother had to drive him to the hospital to get a shocking diagnosis.
Virgil van Dijk: "My life was in danger"
The talent at that time was operated on with an appendix fracture , appendicitis and a kidney infection - today he remembers: “The only thing I could see were tubes that looked out of me. My body was broken and there was nothing I could do. At such a moment, the worst thoughts go through your head. My life was in danger. "
He would have discussed all scenarios with his mother and prayed to God. "Then I had to sign papers. It was a kind of testament. If I had died, part of my money would have gone to my mother. Of course nobody wanted to talk about it back then, but we had to do it. It could have been over. "
Finally it went on. Van Dijk survived this neck blow, made a career in international football and made the final breakthrough at Liverpool FC after intermediate steps with Celtic Glasgow and FC Southampton . A CL game of the "Reds" is, according to a study, suspected of being responsible for some corona deaths.
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Rubric list image: © AFP / PAUL ELLIS
