Back in March, it was reported that Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk had made a substantial private donation to help the Dutch national deaf team take part in the Deaflympics.
The defender explained that he and his wife had decided to help out, as there wasn’t enough funding available to allow the squad, who had qualified for the event, to take part.
He was helped by De Telegraaf, who launched a campaign to raise funds, and the Dutch team were eventually able to travel to Brazil to play.
The event ended up being won by Ukraine in a 1-0 victory over France, but the team were very grateful to the Liverpool star for helping them out as much as he did, and gave him a gift via their captain Gertjan-Jan Roelofsen and one of their players, Jelle Threels.
The latter injured himself early on in the tournament, but still wanted to let Van Dijk know what it meant for him to be there, with the pair using De Telegraaf to convey their thanks.
Roelofsen said, relayed by Soccer News: “What Virgil and his wife have done for us is unprecedented. On behalf of all the players, who saw a dream come true in Brazil, we wanted to thank them both with a framed shirt of the other Oranje, our Oranje.”
Threels added: “After all the bad luck in Brazil, this is very nice to experience. Virgil is a champ and has a big heart.”
With the international break now over for the Netherlands following wins over Poland and Belgium, Van Dijk will now return to Liverpool, who will start preparations to face Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton on Saturday.
