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Virgil van Dijk was reasonably satisfied with the 1-1 draw against Germany. For a long spell, the Netherlands looked set to start the Xavi era with defeat, but a late burst from Ruben van Bommel rescued a point. Van Dijk believes it could be a very important one.
"I think we deserved at least a point today," Van Dijk tells NOS. "We played very well in spells. At certain moments when we take risks by pressing, we are sometimes vulnerable, but that is something we can improve. After three days of working together, I think it has been a good match."
Then the captain turns to referee Alejandro Hernández Hernández. "I thought the first one was disallowed far too easily, I don't think Brian (Brobbey, ed.) did anything at all. For their goal, we felt the ball should have been put out of play, because they went back first. In the end it is unfortunate that the ball fell perfectly for them. In the end we take a point, and we will work hard again on the training ground to make sure we take three points in the next match."
Reporter Jeroen Stekelenburg describes Van Dijk as "cautiously satisfied" in his reaction, while the Netherlands were the better side in the second half. "We deserved at least a point. We will analyse it," Van Dijk replies. "Of course we could also have been 2-0 down in the first half, but we take a point and we move on."
As for the bigger picture, Van Dijk feels the result will help. "The result certainly helps confidence and it also confirms the good work we have done over the past three days. But there is still much more in it, the national coach will also point that out. But there is something to build on, so we move on," he concludes.
Later, Gert van 't Hof, Ronald de Boer and Rafael van der Vaart come to the conclusion that Van Dijk comes across as somewhat "humble" in his interview. "Yes, maybe because of the commotion beforehand," says De Boer. "He is thinking: let me not act too crazy for a moment. But they played good football in spells, so he was right to say that."
By contrast, Van Dijk was in a very different mood at Wednesday's press conference. He angrily hit back at the assembled press, accusing them of not appreciating him enough and of judging him differently from others. He also felt it was highly reprehensible that he had been identified as jointly responsible for the tactical plan against Morocco at the World Cup. It turned into a major row.