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Virgil van Dijk was reasonably satisfied with the 1-1 draw against Germany. The Netherlands looked set for a long spell to begin the Xavi era with a defeat, but a late flash 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 told 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 on. After three days of working together, I think it has been a fine match."
Turning to referee Alejandro Hernández Hernández, the captain said: "I thought that first one was disallowed very easily, as far as I'm concerned Brian (Brobbey, ed.) did absolutely nothing. For their goal, we felt the ball should have been put out 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 pitch to make sure we take three points in the next match."
Reporter Jeroen Stekelenburg described Van Dijk's reaction as 'cautiously satisfied', while the Netherlands were the better side in the second half. "We deserved at least a point. We will analyse it," Van Dijk replied. "Of course, we could also have been 2-0 down in the first half, but we take a point and we move on."
"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, and the national coach will point that out as well. But there is something to build on, so we move on," he concluded.
Later, Gert van 't Hof, Ronald de Boer and Rafael van der Vaart agreed that Van Dijk came across as somewhat 'humble' in his interview. "Yes, maybe because of the commotion before that," said 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."
On Wednesday, Van Dijk had been in a very different mood at the press conference. He hit back fiercely at the assembled press, accusing them of not giving him enough appreciation and of judging him differently from others. He also found it highly objectionable that he was identified as jointly responsible for the tactical plan against Morocco at the World Cup. It turned into a major row.