Nathan Ake has claimed that Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk was constantly talking to his teammate’s during Holland’s win over Senegal yesterday.
The Reds defender made his World Cup debut as the Netherlands got off to a winning start in Group B. And speaking to Voetbal International after the game, Manchester City’s Ake said he could always hear van Dijk on the pitch.
“It was a good atmosphere though. Virg has a clear voice, you can hear it!” enthused the 27-year-old.
As captain of a relatively young team, the onus is on van Dijk to be the leader. Having captained Liverpool plenty of times in the past, this is a role the 31-year-old is well used to and performs with aplomb.
Van Dijk making himself heard
Although van Dijk is clearly a dominating vocal presence, he was perhaps given a helping hand yesterday.
That’s because the Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar wasn’t exactly full. As per The Daily Mail, the organisers are actually putting the official attendance at 41,721. In an arena that holds just 40,000, that’s pretty impressive.
For anyone watching the game though, this didn’t look to be the case. In fact, there were empty seats dotted very visibly throughout the stadium.
As a result, the atmosphere did feel a little flat. For such a big occasion, it was a disappointing sight indeed.
Despite the sound of the Senegal fans incessant drumming, it felt like a routine friendly match rather than a crucial World Cup game.
Nevertheless, this may have worked in the Netherlands’ favour. With their captain booming out his commands, they were able to just about nullify the African Champions’ threat.
Hopefully fuller stadiums become the norm as the tournament progresses and more fans begin arriving in Qatar. Still, even with 60 or 70,000 in the stands, you’d bet on still hearing Virgil pumping out his orders.
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