This season is the first time Virgil van Dijk is captaining Liverpool following the departure of Jordan Henderson. The role isn’t necessarily new for the Liverpool defender – he’s been the captain of the Netherlands for several years now.
However, it is one he has fulfilled with distinction so far – proving Jurgen Klopp made the best possible decision in the summer to name him as captain.
Van Dijk commands respect, and he’s led the team by example this season. Wearing the captain’s armband seems to have elevated his game to another level as well with the Dutchman getting back to his peak level.
On top of that, it seems like he is already teaching others about the role, including Dominik Szoboszlai.
Dominik Szoboszlai on Virgil van Dijk
Like Van Dijk, Liverpool’s 23-year-old midfielder is also a captain at international level. Szoboszlai was given the armband for Hungary back in 2022 at just 21-years-old upon the retirement of Adam Szalai.
Recently, he’s been speaking to Nemzeti Sport, where he revealed how he learned from previous Hungarian international captains about how to fulfil the role. But Szoboszlai also revealed he’s been learning from Van Dijk at Liverpool as well.
“Yes, you can learn from everyone,” Szoboszlai said in response to the question whether he has tried to learn from his previous captains including Virgil van Dijk.
“I have a very good relationship with Sala [Adam Szalai], we talked a lot, he became my friend shortly after I joined the team, and I think he stood his ground very well in this role. We became close to each other, and I learned a lot from him as a person. But I also talked a lot with “Bazsi” [Balazs Dzsudzsak]. He often had a difficult task when he had to stand up after defeats and failures and take responsibility for something that was not necessarily his fault. I appreciate it if someone can do this. Virgil van Dijk has now, at the beginning of this season, become the captain of the Liverpool team. Everyone has a lot of confidence in him. Of course, it’s worth learning something from everyone.”
Szoboszlai then added that he also wants to set his own example in the role.
“I want to be myself in this role, to follow my own path, not to imitate someone else. This task comes with responsibility. I no longer have to take responsibility only for myself. I really hope that I can be undefeated for a long time as the captain of the Hungarian national team.”
It’s nice to see that Szoboszlai is picking up a few things from Van Dijk this season. He’s clearly been a fantastic leader for his country, and perhaps one day in the future he could get that responsibility at Liverpool as well.
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