Virgil van Dijk mightn’t be appreciated by a variety of pundits from his homeland, but he certainly is by his Netherlands teammates and coach.
The Liverpool captain turns 33 today, and to mark the occasion, he was serenaded by a birthday song from the rest of the Oranje squad as they gear up for their Euro 2024 semi-final against England on Wednesday night.
Our number 4 was also presented with a gift by Dutch boss Ronald Koeman, who remarked that they’d hoped to still be in the tournament by this date, a sentiment which was echoed by the Reds centre-back.
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Van Dijk then smiled a sheepish grin as his teammates burst into a chorus to celebrate the occasion, with the 33-year-old no doubt appreciative of the gesture from his fellow countrymen.
Could there be a belated birthday present to come at roughly 10pm BST in Berlin next Sunday…the one that he’d want above anything else this week?
You can view the Dutch squad singing to Van Dijk below, via @OnsOranje on X:
Celebrating captain's birthday on #EURO2024! 🧡🎉#NothingLikeOranje | @VirgilvDijk pic.twitter.com/a5cmuKh4Hq
— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) July 8, 2024