"[26] Having previously and unsuccessfully featured as a right-back, Van Dijk was shifted into a central defensive position in 2008, aged 17, after he grew in height by around 18 centimetres.

[24][25] Despite the positional shift and Van Dijk's physical growth, Willem II's reserve manager at the time Edwin Hermans believed he had "too many limitations" which prevented him from breaking into the first team.

[24][25] Van Dijk initially struggled to break into Groningen's first team with club staff believing he was "overtired" after extensive playing time with Willem II's academy and reserve sides.

[28] On 29 May, and against the same opposition, he made his first start for Groningen and scored his first professional goals, netting twice in a 5–1 win in a UEFA Europa League play-off match.

[36] In the summer of 2013, Van Dijk was a candidate to strengthen PSV's defense, but the club ultimately opted for Jeffrey Bruma as the new central defender.

[42] He made his debut on 17 August, replacing Efe Ambrose for the final 13 minutes of a 2–0 Scottish Premiership win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie Stadium.

[52] On 22 July 2014, Van Dijk and Teemu Pukki each scored twice in a 4–0 home win over KR in a UEFA Champions League qualifier, putting their team into the next round 5–0 on aggregate.

[54] Three weeks later, Van Dijk scored the first and last goals of Celtic's 4–0 win versus Heart of Midlothian in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.

[57] On 26 February, he was sent off in the 36th minute against Inter Milan for a foul on Mauro Icardi, as Celtic lost 1–0 on the night, 4–3 on aggregate in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League.

[58] He was again sent off on 8 March in the Cup quarter-final away to Dundee United at Tannadice Park, receiving a red card after eleven minutes for a confrontation with Calum Butcher.

[61] On 18 March, Celtic's third consecutive match against Dundee United, Van Dijk scored in the last minute to confirm a 4–0 win in a Cup replay.

[67] Van Dijk was reportedly "considering his future" in Glasgow after Celtic were knocked out of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League in the qualifying rounds to Malmö of Sweden.

[75] Two weeks later, Van Dijk marked his third Premier League appearance with his first goal for the club, which came in the form of a header in the 11th minute to put Southampton in front, following a set-piece from James Ward-Prowse in a 3–1 home win over Swansea City.

[86] Van Dijk remained with Southampton for the start of the 2017–18 season and made his first appearance since being injured in January, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 victory at Crystal Palace on 26 September.

[89] On 27 December 2017, it was announced that Van Dijk would join Liverpool when the winter transfer window opened on 1 January 2018[90][91] for a reported fee of £75 million.

[91] Van Dijk made his debut for Liverpool on 5 January in the third round of the FA Cup and scored the winning goal with a late header in a 2–1 victory against local rivals Everton.

Liverpool won 1–0 thanks to Divock Origi's 96th-minute goal, set up by a Van Dijk volley and a subsequent error from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

[122] On 19 January 2020, Van Dijk scored his first North-West Derby goal against Manchester United in Liverpool's 2–0 win at Anfield in the Premier League.

[136] On 27 February 2022, Van Dijk helped Liverpool win the 2021–22 EFL Cup, scoring his penalty in the shoot-out over Chelsea after a goalless draw in normal time.

[138] Van Dijk earned a runners-up medal in the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League,[139] losing the final to Real Madrid, and was selected as part of the Team of the Season.

[150][151] On 25 February 2024, he won his first trophy as Liverpool captain and also scored the only goal from a header in extra time of a 1–0 victory over Chelsea in the EFL Cup final.

[152] In the process, he was adjudged the man of the match and won the Alan Hardaker Trophy for the second time in his career, making him the fourth person to do so, along with John Terry, Vincent Kompany and Ben Foster.

[162][163] Van Dijk was awarded the captaincy of his country by manager Ronald Koeman on 22 March 2018,[164] leading the team for the first time in a 1–0 home friendly defeat by England the next day.

[171][172] In the quarter-final match against Argentina, Van Dijk took the first kick of the tie-breaking penalty shootout which was saved by Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez as the Dutch were beaten 4–3 in Lusail.

[173] In June 2023, Van Dijk was part of the Netherlands' squad for the 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals, where he captained the team against both Croatia in the semi-final and Italy in the third place play-off.

Regarding his ability, former Celtic teammate Kris Commons commented that Van Dijk was "comfortable on the ball", also noting that "He had good technique and a wonderful right foot.

"[180] Neil McGuinness, senior scout at Celtic when Van Dijk was signed, called him "everything you would want if you could create a profile of the ideal central defender", praising him as a "very smooth ball-playing defender" who possesses aerial prowess, skills from dead ball situations, and "strong leadership qualities", while commenting that since his move to England, he is "more tactically aware now [...] his anticipation and timing has improved and he is a lot more of an all-rounder".

[182] In a 2019 interview with Marca, when Lionel Messi was asked why Van Dijk was so difficult to beat, the Argentine responded: "He is a defender who knows how to judge his timing and wait for the right moment to challenge or jockey [the attacker].

[3] In 2022, Erling Haaland named Van Dijk the best defender he has played against, calling him "fast, strong and 'bad' smart", as well as praising his timing.

[4] In 2024, Van Dijk revealed that while his childhood favorite team used to be Barcelona, his biggest inspiration as a defender was AC Milan's center back Alessandro Nesta.