Virgil van Dijk Reminds Journalist That Press Conferences Require Questions
Clip: Facebook
Virgil van Dijk became increasingly unimpressed with the Dutch media during a tense press conference ahead of the Netherlands’ Nations League match against Germany.
The captain rejected reports that he had proposed using five defenders against Morocco at the World Cup and criticised claims that he and former manager Ronald Koeman had “destroyed Dutch football.”
De Telegraaf journalist Valentijn Driessen then informed Van Dijk that he appeared grumpy and was “normally quite a nice bloke.”
“Sometimes things need to be said,” Van Dijk replied. “I can’t just keep listening to that whining all the time.”
Driessen accused him of being curt and encouraged him to respond more openly, prompting Van Dijk to identify a small procedural issue with the exchange.
“This isn’t a conversation here,” he said. “You just have to ask a question at the press conference.”
When Driessen suggested that Van Dijk should confront the journalists responsible for spreading the reports, the Liverpool defender asked: “Aren’t I talking to them now then?”
The press officer eventually intervened and invited somebody else to ask a question.
Van Dijk had arrived to discuss the beginning of a new era under Netherlands manager Xavi Hernández. He instead spent part of the morning explaining the fundamental difference between a question and an observation.
