Table of Biography
Dutch goalkeeper Rob van Dijk is a retired football player and a celebrity father. Moreover, Rob van Dijk is best known as the father of Virgil van Dijk who is a Dutch professional football player. Virgil is the captain of the Netherlands national team and plays as a center-back for the Premier League club, Liverpool.
Early Life
Robert van Dijk was born on the 15th of January, 1969, in Voorhout, Netherlands. According to his birth date, he is 53 years old and holds Dutch nationality. Moreover, he has a Germanic ethnicity and his zodiac sign is unknown.
When he was a kid, he never imagined that he would succeed in becoming a professional football player. While he aimed to become a physical education teacher, he primarily loved playing youth football with his friends.
Other than this, there is no other information regarding his parents, siblings, and his academic life. We may assume that he has completed his graduation from a well-known university in the Netherlands.
Robert van Dijk – Net Worth 2023
Ron van Dijk has not disclosed her net worth, sources of income, or salary. Her son Virgil, on the other hand, is worth 30 million pounds. His football team paid him a salary of 220,000 pounds per week and 11.444 million pounds annually.
Awards
Robert van Dijk has not received any awards or honors. Moreover, his son Virgil Van Dijk has earned some awards and honors. He was named the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year in 2019. This player was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year in the same year.
In addition, he won the FIFA FIFPro World XI twice, in 2019 and 2020. Additionally, in 2018, this footballer was named Premier League Player of the Year.
Relationship Status
He married Hellen Fo Sieeuw, who is a Surinamese. Moreover, the couple has three kids, whose names are Jordan van Dijk, Jennifer Fo Sieeuw, and Virgil van Dijk.
Caption: Robert van Dijk coaching his son and other young kids (Source: Sports Brief)
Virgil is a well-known football player. Robert abandons his family when his elder son was just 12 years old. Up until now, the reason for leaving them has been a secret.
Professional Career
Early career
At the local team Foreholte, Robert van Dijk began his playing career as a talented sweeper who “roamed” about the back line. Moreover, he began playing futsal with friends on a team when he was 19 years old.
He made the sacrifice, which was well above what was anticipated because someone had to be the goalkeeper. In addition, he moved positions on the field and became the reserve goalkeeper for the club when van der Sar departed Foreholte for vv Noordwijk.
After one season, he was promoted to the first team. In the main team of Feyenoord, he made his goalkeeping debut just three years after switching positions on the field.
He took over for Dean Gorré in the 59th minute of Vitesse Arnhem’s (2-2) first-division match on December 5, 1992, after starting Ed de Goey was dismissed for a foul in the penalty area.
Two years after making his debut, he experienced his career peak when, on November 30, 1994, he took the place of an injured de Goey in a cup match against Willem II (which ended in a 1-1 draw), and went on to win Man of the Match awards following a penalty shootout.
He had one year left on his Eindhoven contract, but they mutually agreed that he may leave the team on a free transfer.
Signed De Graafschap club
He departed the team on July 9 and signed with De Graafschap. He signed a contract with De Graafschap for two years, but he missed most of the first year because of a knee injury.
It took him months to fully recover after the doctors found extensive cartilage wear. De Graafschap placed 17th overall and was demoted to the second division.
He later went back to RKC in the summer of 2005, where he established himself as the team’s starting midfielder and didn’t miss a game first season. His 2006–07 season was less beneficial, though, as Adrie Koster, the RKC Waalwijk coach, was fired on November 27, 2006, as a result of his team’s poor performance.
He was introduced as SC Heerenveen’s new reserve on January 30, 2007, after Brian Vandenbussche. He played in 15 first-division games during his two years with the team. At the age of 39, he returned to Feyenoord.
After making 18 league appearances, he announced his retirement from football at the end of the season. On August 9, 2011, it was revealed that the player had signed a one-year contract with FC Utrecht.
Virgil van Dijk
Before making his professional debut in May 2011 at another Dutch club, FC Groningen, Virgil Van Dijk started his youth career in 2009 at the academy of Dutch club Willem II.
In the UEFA Europa League Play-off game, he made his first appearance for the team and scored twice in a 5-1 win.
He got hurt during the campaign and was hospitalized for a while. He returned to the field for the team. In addition, he scored seven goals in 62 games across two seasons with the team. He agreed to a £2.6 million, four-year contract with the Scottish team Celtic in June of that year.
Moreover, he made his Scottish Premiership debut for the final 13 minutes as a substitute. He scored his first Celtic goals in a 4-1 victory over Ross County, one in each half. 2014 saw his team win the Scottish Premiership.
After losing to Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League semifinals in 2015, Celtic was eliminated, but he still contributed to their second consecutive league championship.
Joining a premier English club
Caption: Virgil van Dijk playing for Liverpool FC (Source: talkSPORT)
In 2016, Robert van Dijk agreed to a £13 million, five-year deal with Southampton of the Premier League. He also made his club debut against West Bromwich Albion.
In 2015–16, he was also recognized as Southampton’s Player of the Season. He was acquired by the English team Liverpool in January 2018 for a then-record-breaking £75 million for a central defender.
He faced Everton in his club debut. In his debut season, the team advanced to the 2018 UEFA Champions League final but fell to Real Madrid.
He was elected PFA Player of the Year on April 28, 2019, and on June 1, 2019, following Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Tottenham in the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final, he was chosen as UEFA’s final player of the game.
International career
Robert van Dijk made his full international debut for the Netherlands on October 10, 2015, in a 2-1 victory over Kazakhstan on the road in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match.
Manager Ronald Koeman named Virgil the Netherlands’ captain on March 22, 2018. Virgil scored his first goal for his country against the reigning European champions, Portugal.
Body Measurements
Robert van Dijk has green eyes with brown hair color. More than that, there is no other information on his physical characteristics, such as height, weight, and others.
Robert van Dijk – Social Media
Robert van Dijk is not active on any kinds of social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.