Virgil van Dijk

I need to be coming off the pitch every game with my voice gone, and that's something I can bring. I am just someone who likes to organise, make sure everything is well organised, because that makes it a lot easier for yourself too.

I have always been very critical of myself and I like the people around me to be critical too.

Why make things difficult? Why have tough times when it's not necessary?

You take every opportunity you have to win a trophy. That is always the goal, and winning makes it a little bit easier the next time.

Scoring goals looks nicer and much more attractive than a last-ditch tackle for younger people.

Winning a trophy is important for your mentality.

Personally, I like to put things in perspective.

It is a strength of mine to not really bother too much when people have their opinions, especially negative opinions.

At 16, I was a slow right-back and wasn't good enough to play centre-back.

I am very hard on myself. I know the slightest loss of concentration, the slightest mistake will be punished. I try to limit it as much as possible.

If you're nervous you think: 'I don't want to make mistakes or give the ball away.' But you limit your own qualities then.

If I watch big games like the Champions League on TV then I'm definitely watching what different centre-backs are doing in certain situations.