It has been a long time since Virgil van Dijk left Celtic but it is clear that he still recognises what his spell at Parkhead did for his career. The Dutchman has gone on to climb the peaks of the footballing mountain, wining every thing that there is to win at club level with Liverpool, including the Champions League and the Premier League. He also came very close to the Ballon d’Or, finishing second behind Lionel Messi.
It is safe to say that not many Celtic fans would have predicted how good Van Dijk would go onto become. Many even consider him as the best defender in the history of the Premier League.
Of course, the likes of John Terry, Nemanja Vidic and a few others might have something to say about that, but there is no doubt that Van Dijk has gone on to become a generation-defining player in his own right.
He does credit his time at Celtic for getting him ready for the bright lights of the Premier League though. While speaking with Gary Neville on The Overlap and as reported by 67 Hail Hail, Van Dijk said about Parkhead spell:
"“Playing Champions League in my first season; Barcelona, AC Milan, played against Ajax the year after in the Europa League. I won two league trophies, I won the cup trophy so all these things and the experience made me ready for the Premier League.“It was just the right path that I took and it definitely helped me and shaped me who I am today because as you know experience is such a big thing especially for defenders, for centre halves and I feel like it only makes you better.”"
Van Dijk gives credit to Celtic for getting him ready for the Premier League
It goes without saying that Celtic did play a big part in Van Dijk’s development. When he arrived in Glasgow, he had had an unremarkable career before that and was playing for FC Groningen in the Netherlands.
At Celtic, he would get the chance to come up against the best of the best in world football during their Champions League and that certainly improved him as a player. At the same time, he got to grips with the pressure of winning titles season after season, and that is a lesson that very few clubs could have taught him.
Ultimately, it is great to see just how much Van Dijk has achieved in football and the fact that he still has fond memories of his time at Celtic.