Van Dijk Talks About Mentality

The PFA Player of the Year reveals the secret of how to be ‘cool as you like’.

Among Virgil van Dijk’s many, many admirable qualities on the pitch, certainly one of the most impressive is how composed he remains in even the most stressful of situations. His calm presence has been a tent post of Liverpool’s stellar defense since he arrived, helping to guide the Reds to one of their best seasons on record. It also earned van Dijk the PFA Player of the Year award.

In an interview with Unisport, van Dijk talked about how he stays ‘cool as you like.’

“I think in games you need to turn nervous feelings to more excitement anyway, otherwise you’re going to limit your ability to play. You’re going to put it in your head that you don’t want to make mistakes and normally then you’re going to make mistakes.

”So the thing is, when I play games I just want to go out there, show everything that I’ve got and have no regrets after the game. Anyone these days can have their opinions, but not a lot matters to me – other than the people around me, my team and family and friends.”

Van Dijk can have no regrets after hefting the Champions League trophy aloft earlier this month. With any luck, next season he’ll get to add a Premier League trophy to that as well.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com