Podcast 295: Virgil van Dijk: How he Leads his Club and Country

On this week’s episode, WHOOP Founder and CEO Will Ahmed is joined by a very special guest, football sensation Virgil van Dijk.

Virgil is not only the captain of Liverpool, one of the top clubs in the Premier League, but also the captain of the Dutch National Team. Virgil has won a number of championships throughout his professional career including the Scottish League Cup with Celtic, The Champions League Title with Liverpool, and he helped end Liverpool’s 30 year league title drought when they won the Premier League back in 2020. Virgil is widely regarded as one of the most dominant and complete center backs in the world.

Will and Virgil discuss how he got started in football, his calm demeanor, leadership roles and mentality, dealing with injury and adversity, his WHOOP data and health habits, transferring to Liverpool FC, playing for Holland, family life, and some rapid fire questions.

Episode Chapters:

• 2:49 - Starting in football
• 7:13 - Virgil’s calm demeanor
• 10:33 - Breathing exercises
• 11:59 - Leadership roles and mentality
• 13:02 - Dealing with injury and adversity
• 18:27 - Virgil’s WHOOP data and health habits
• 22:08 - Virgil’s playing style on the pitch
• 27:10 - Transferring to Liverpool FC 
• 31:01 - Family life
• 32:46 - Playing for your country
• 35:16 - The mental side of the game
• 38:58 - WHOOP growing in the football space
• 42:51 - Rapid fire questions 

Research Links:

Virgil van Dijk on Instagram