Virgil van Dijk says Louis van Gaal’s cancer battle is firing up the Dutch.
Liverpool ’s skipper and his team-mates have been moved by the 71-year-old’s fight and says it has inspired them ‘to go that extra yard.’ Van Gaal made public his illness seven months ago and since then he has undergone 25 separate courses of treatment to cure cancer in his prostate.
But he appeared in rude health as the Dutch prepared to face Senegal and was his usual irascible, bombastic but good-natured self after his side wrapped up a 2-0 victory.
Asked afterwards what effect it had on the squad, Van Dijk said: “We’re all human beings and when the news came out, it was a shock for us. It was tough - but it was important we showed our support.
“He’s a very strong man - outspoken - but we wanted to be there for him. It’s not easy to deal with a situation like this but he’s doing so fantastically.
“He’s our manager and we will fight for him regardless. But he’s also a great human being, very direct and we will definitely got that extra yard knowing it’s his last World Cup.
“And he’s now got the most wins of any Holland manager. I think he should be very proud of that and hopefully there are many more to come.”
Late strikes from Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen enabled the Oranje to squeeze past the reigning Afcon champions. Van Dijk’s defensive partner, Nathan Ake, backed up his team-mates claims and said that the clarity Van Gaal brought was helping the squad.
He said: “The manager is great for us. We haven’t lost yet under him, we’re on a great run. We know where we are as a team. Everyone knows where they stand.
“He’s on to us. He gives us a lot of motivation and belief. I think that’s the most important work he does. He knows us, trusts us and we trust him - at the moment it’s all clicking into place.
“It’s hard not to be inspired by him. We’re tight anyway but whether you’re on the bench or in the team you know what he wants from you. And everyone wants to fight for him.”
It wasn’t a vintage display from Van Gaal’s side but they did enough against Senegal to suggest that they could be a side that will grow into the competition.
Ake said: “We know we don’t have maybe the best players in the whole tournament but we have a very good squad. You could see that even though we didn’t play well, we still had the fight and hunger to make sure we won - hopefully we will go far.”
