Ahead of Liverpool's first Premier League match of the new season, captain Virgil Van Dijk was interviewed by Men in Blazers host Roger Bennett at the club's training ground. He discussed Liverpool's new season, his leadership role, the departures of Salah and Robertson, and his experience playing under new manager Andoni Iraola. Below is the first part of this exclusive interview.

Read more:

Host: Great to have Virgil Van Dijk back.

Van Dijk: How are you?

I'm well. Virgil, I have to tell you—the last time I was here, I shook your hand, and for days afterwards, everyone who shook my hand thought I smelled amazing. That was your cologne.

Yes, I just try to present myself well.

A new season is about to start. This is your tenth season at Liverpool, and your first under new manager Andoni Iraola. If you had to describe Iraola's training sessions in one word, what would you say?

Football. High-intensity football. Yes, it's great. There's a lot of content in training, lots of sessions, tactical work, and small-sided games. Yes, it feels really good.

What's his core philosophy? What themes does he emphasize with this intense style of football?

His intention is very clear—to win matches. Not just on weekends, but clearly every day in training as well, to bring that high intensity, maintain fitness, keep running, and also enjoy it.

I want to talk about the season ahead, but first I need to address last season. It didn't go as you expected, and you faced challenges beyond football. Now that you've had time to process it, what have you learned? What has it taught you?

I think the main point is that we had a very difficult season to accept. It didn't meet the standards of Liverpool's players or the club itself. Obviously, in life, you can't always be perfect, you can't always be on top. But what matters is how you react, and that's on us. It depends on our daily efforts now. We're starting fresh. Everything is open, four competitions are waiting for us, and that's exciting. So that's what we'll focus on entirely, and we have to perform much better than last year.

It's hard to believe this is your 13th Premier League season. Such rich experience. Do you still learn as much each season as when you were starting out? Or does it start to feel like a few drops of rain in a vast ocean?

That's a great analogy. But no, I'm definitely still learning. Every year is different. Football keeps evolving. You play with different players and face different opponents. You're always learning and adapting. But ultimately, what matters is performing your abilities consistently. It's been a great journey so far.

The entire league is undergoing remarkable changes right now, especially here. This is your first season without the legendary Mohamed Salah. Mo's impact on the pitch is unique, and his influence off it is similarly transformative. Since you returned this summer, do you feel Mo's absence? Or is football moving too fast to dwell on emotions—forcing you to focus on the present and keep moving forward?

Nothing lasts forever. Obviously, you mentioned Mo, and he deserves to be mentioned, because I don't think we can replace a player the way he contributed to the club. In my opinion, that's actually a good thing. But the same applies to Robertson. Clearly, we had some very important players who formed the foundation of our success, and that's life. You have to keep moving forward, adapt, and others have to step up.

You mentioned Robertson, Mo... Ibrahima Konate has also left. Team unity, connections, and leadership in the dressing room. As you enter a new season, do you feel the leadership burden has increased? Or do you see others in the squad stepping up to fill those gaps?

It's still very early in the season, but the reality is that you have to carry it. You can't avoid responsibility, and you shouldn't want to. So it's up to others to step up.

Who do you think will step up?

I don't think it's good to name individuals. I think you'll see it happen throughout the season. Let's see how it unfolds. It depends on players who clearly know they need to step up.

I want to talk about the defence. Ibrahima Konate, your partner for most of the past five years, has left, and you're building new understanding with fresh faces. Jeremy Sargent, 21 years old, and Ronald Araújo. You mentioned that partnership between centre-backs requires time, training, and lots of chemistry. You noted that Jeremy's English is better, but you're building defensive partnership with both through intuition. Can you talk about how you're connecting with these two partners and what differences you notice between them at this point?

Coincidentally, I've only had about five days of systematic training with them. But in any job or profession, when you work with new colleagues, it takes time. You need time to get to know each other, especially on the pitch, to understand each other's strengths and weaknesses that we need to compensate for. Ultimately, what matters is winning matches, hopefully by keeping more clean sheets. Obviously, as the last line of defence alongside the goalkeeper, we play a crucial role in that. But I've said for years that it doesn't just depend on our defence—it's how we defend as a team. The better we defend from the front, the easier it becomes for the back line. So yes, we'll keep working.

How long does it take to build that chemistry?

Hopefully next week. But that's not how it works—it requires consistency. The two players you just mentioned simply need to stay fit, stay healthy, keep improving, and keep learning what's necessary to play every three or four days, especially from late September onwards. You have to embrace it, enjoy it—that's my advice to them. Enjoy the pressure, because we all face pressure, and that's a good thing. And they showed very positive signs in the last 45 minutes, which was excellent. But now we need to do that consistently over the next 10 to 15 matches, and beyond.

I want to talk about you. You're 35 years old, you're still young, and you're still sitting here completely messing with me. But you entered the Premier League at 24. LeBron James talked about a growth mindset—how as he ages, he studies each season how to develop his strengths and improve weaknesses as his body changes, relying more on emotional intelligence and experience rather than the explosive athleticism of his early career. Do you feel your playing style has changed as you've aged in this league?

Yes, I can say that as a centre-back, my personal opinion is that you get better with time and experience. In our position, once you make a mistake, you're punished immediately—either by conceding or giving the opponent a big chance. So you try to learn from those moments, and also learn how to handle the good moments when you win, how to deal with the team, how to deal with setbacks—unfortunately whether that's losing a final or suffering an injury, etc. So you have to absorb all of that. I think my playing style has changed significantly over the years. That's something I really enjoy.

Website AF đã ra mắt! Xem tin tức đầy đủ, bình luận, chi tiết trận đấu và thống kê trên máy tính. Truy cập: www.allfootballapp.com