Over the past few weeks, Liverpool have found plenty of reasons to be anxious. Perched precariously at the top of the Premier League table with the EFL final in view, the bombshell news of Jurgen Klopp's end-of-season exit has rocked Anfield. There is much to do, job vacancies – no, job existential voids – to fill. But there is a reason Liverpool fans always sing that their captain, Virgil van Dijk, is “calm as you like”. When the father of four, Ballon d’Or runner-up and Netherlands national sweetheart answers our call, he’s anything but shaken.
Sat in Liverpool’s training centre, we're Zooming with van Dijk as part of his latest campaign as an ambassador for Heineken, “Cheers to the Real Hardcore Fans”, alongside Jill Scott MBE. The campaign wants to redefine what it means to be a diehard football supporter, deconstruct negative stereotypes and encourage inclusivity and diversity.
“What we want to achieve is to not have a cliched hardcore fan in your mind anymore," Virgil tells me. "I’ve come across so many fans around the world, not even just Liverpool, and it’s not a man or a student that gives everything to go to all the games. It’s older people too; kids, women, everyone of all different ages. It’s nice to be representative of this change in attitude.”
It's important that a respected figure like van Dijk, born and bred in Holland to an Afro-Surinamese mother, has entered the discussion. “The historic negative connotations are something we need to remove from the game – no one is born a racist. I think the key things to make change are education and communicating with each other."
The fact that Virgil remains at the top of his game is a testament to his level-headedness and, it turns out over the course of our conversation, willingness to be vulnerable. We spoke to the Premier League legend about the key to keeping so composed, as well as his life outside of football, from fashion to Game of Thrones binges.
Esquire: Sport is as much about mentality as physicality. Do you practice any mindfulness methods?
Virgil van Dijk: Mental health is a very difficult issue and really it’s not spoken about enough, still. It’s difficult to express your struggles and to discuss it with others and personally, in my own experience, not speaking about is the big thing that won’t help you get over it.
We live in this era where a lot of things are on social media, and you see so many “perfect” things. It’s very problematic, and well, life isn't perfect. But when you're young, it's quite difficult to see this. There are multiple things that you can do in order to get your mental health better, different techniques. But it starts, in my opinion, with opening up and speaking to maybe one person that you trust the most.
Do you speak a lot with the team and your family?
My wife is very important in that manner, because obviously we speak every day. And she knows exactly what I go through and what I went through. The players are very important to Liverpool on the pitch, but behind the scenes I call them “a team behind the team”. They’re like my other little family too because they know exactly what you go through as well. You have to get the right people around you, right? You can’t just have the “yes” people – you have to get people that really have the best interest in you. You learn that over time. It's very important to have the right people around you and that's when you really can open up.
Taking a sharp turn: wash bag essentials. What's the top item in yours?
That’s the first time I’ve had that question you know. I use baby oil for everything. My face and the rest needs it, otherwise we’re getting dry and we don’t want that. Since I was a little kid my mum used it on me and I’ve kept that going until today.
I mean, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it…
Exactly. Oh and obviously deodorant, very important. Toothbrush, elastic bands… I’ve got loads of stuff in there. I’m prepared.
You’ve just walked off the pitch, what snack are you reaching for?
Weirdly enough, straight after the game I'm normally not very hungry. I’ll eat some grapes, that’s it really. If you don't have a midweek game after the weekend, I’ll have a bit of a cheat day and treat myself – cookies are a bit of a weakness. And then it’s back on full focus and training and drinking lots of water with lemon.
Very humble, very simple food, Virgil.
Well listen – it sounds cliché but at the end of the day your body is a car, right? You have to listen to it and make sure you put the right fuel in.
Speaking of cars, what are you listening to when you’re driving to the game to hype you up?
It's usually an Afrobeats song. The last couple of weeks it has been Holy Ghost by Omah Lay. It puts me in the mood. I like Afrobeats because of the joy that it brings – you feel like you're in the sun, in nice weather [he sarcastically gestures towards a grey Merseyside sky behind him]. The artists in Africa are doing an amazing job – the popularity of that genre is growing like crazy.
I’ll add that to my workout playlist. If you’re not behind the wheel and on the coach with the team, what is your favourite show to zone out to?
One of my all time favourites is Prison Break, especially the first two seasons. Unbelievable. I remember it so clearly to this day and the first time I saw it I binge watched it like mad. Californication is up there, so is Entourage. Those two are very easy watching, so when we are travelling, this type of thing is ideal to wind down with. And obviously you can't forget Game of Thrones. So I gave you four TV shows now, and I still can’t pick a favourite! Ah – and there’s Martin, with Martin Lawrence. It’s a real old school sitcom programme. I love that one.
Moving away from the TV and over to the watch box: what timepieces are you reaching for?
I'm a big fan of Royal Oak Openworkeds. I love my blue ceramic Royal Oak, that's a very special one, and I had a black ceramic Perpetual Calendar before the Ballon d'Or. Francois, “the big boss”, is no longer at Audemars Piguet but he was very nice to me and Ilaria the new CEO seems amazing. I’ve got a great relationship with AP and I’m really blessed with the collection I have.
And now to the wardrobe – talk us through your everyday style
My wife is the one that is out buying the “stuff” for me. I don’t like shopping – she is the one that’s responsible for my style. I'm a big fan of Bottega and Acne though. I don’t like it when you see the brand names so much – I try to be more subtle. When you’re younger, you want to wear the logos – I won’t name them – but you want to wear something flashy because you just want to express yourself. I’ve grown up, and I'm six foot four so, I’m thankful that I can wear quite a lot of stuff without it looking silly, you know. I do like fashion. It feels good when you know you look good.
Do you have any style regrets? Is there a picture you look back on and think “Oh my god, I really wish I never wore that”?
Always! And if you don't have that, obviously you're not being very realistic! If I think back to a picture, there is a very well known photo on social media where I wore green clogs for an interview back in Holland.
Yeah… I think I know the one
Yep, you’ve probably seen it I know, I know. I mean... this. Was. Outrageous. And back then I did not think I’d be where I am today. These pictures are here forever. During Christmas, we did an appearance for Vista, a printing company and they put that picture of me on a cup. I still have it in the dressing room. It’s brilliant.
You’ll maybe say yourself but: who do you think is the best dressed player in the squad?
Well yeah, you have to back yourself! But that’s not the question. I’ll name a couple. I really like Kostas Tsimikas’ style, and Konate’s style. Those two do a good job.
And do you have a best dressed player of all time?
You see loads of players nowadays that get style recognition a little bit more, but I think the NBA sees a lot more fashion and is better dressed than football. Obviously the players are allowed to go to games in their own clothes – they can do whatever they want, which is cool.
Okay, so you can only wear one trainer for the rest of your life. What would it be?
That’s a difficult one. I love my Nikes. A couple of years ago the Low Dunks were hot and nowadays it’s more about the Vomero, for example. The Travis Scott ones of course are very nice too. I just like trainers and how they put the finishing touch to an outfit. I can’t say just one trainer that would get the job for the rest of my life, but Nike has plenty of trainers, so let’s go for them.
And if you went into management, style-wise, would you go the Klopp sportswear route or would you be suited and booted on the side lines?
It would probably be something comfortable for me. Maybe a turtleneck or something. A turtleneck’s always nice. I don’t think I’d be in a tracksuit or if I am, it has to be a very, very good one. My style always evolves really and I like to switch it up. But then again, maybe in my mind I would think, Oh, yeah, we won this game – so why would you change your outfit the next game? I don't know. Thinking about it now though, I don’t think I will be a head coach. But we’ll see, you can't predict the future.
On that note, are you superstitious? If you have a bad game, and you're wearing a specific pair of boots, do you switch them out?
No, not really. When things go well, I wouldn’t say it’s because of a pair of boots. I think it is quite extreme to change boots because at the end of the day, that’s our tool. If you prepare yourself in a certain way, eat a certain thing, change the way you score a hat-trick, you might think, Oh, next game, I’ll do that again. I think with boots you know, for a game you don't want to wear brand new boots or a very old boot you’ve worn before when you’ve played successfully. Regardless of boots or outfit or whatever: you just have to show your quality and value, no matter what.
Heineken's “Cheers to the Real Hardcore Fans” campaign kicks off with a global competition to find the world’s most dedicated football fans with an opportunity to attend the UEFA Champions League Final up for grabs. You can apply here.
