Two days after Virgil van Dijk and Wataru Endo finished a Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain, paired in the centre of the defence, they were together again. On Tuesday, their attention had been focused on Ousmane Dembele, whose prolific goalscoring return suggests he could be called a fox in the box. On Thursday, their eyes were on another fox and his supporting cast.
“One of my daughters had a play called Fantastic Mr Fox,” said Van Dijk. “So, my daughter was actually the mother of the fox, I think, and I remember the son of Wata was a rat. He did very well.” After that, it was time to help young Jadi van Dijk with her science project.
It was a glimpse into the normality of a distinctly abnormal figure, the colossus who emerged by stealth, the defender still at Groningen a few weeks before his 22nd birthday – who went on to finish runner-up in the Ballon d’Or, and who, at 33, remains one of the finest in the game. He is the £75m man who Liverpool risk losing on a free transfer – the captain who could soon belong in the pantheon of Anfield greats while adapting to life at a new club.
Van Dijk looks as unflappable when confronted by world-class forwards as he is by his uncertain future. When he looks forward to today’s Carabao Cup final against Newcastle, he can look back to last year’s showpiece against Chelsea.
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