Thursday, 24th April, 2014
Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk is looking forward to qualifying for the group stage of the Champions League in 2014/15 and is hoping for a better performance by the Hoops in Europe’s premier competition.
The Dutch defender joined Celtic last summer from FC Groningen for a transfer fee of £2.6m and signed a four-year deal with the club.
“It’s going to be tough again but you need to be ready for that when the time comes and we are looking forward to them”, the 22-year-old was quoted as saying by the club’s official site.
Van Dijk believes that a club of Celtic’s stature should compete in the Champions League.
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“We deserve to play in the group stages as we are one of the biggest clubs in the UK and are champions but it’s not that simple.”
The central defender is hoping that Celtic will give a better account of themselves than last season when they were pitted in a group consisting of Barcelona, AC Milan and Ajax, and the Hoops failed to make it to the last 16 of the Champions League.
“You hope it’s going to be much better than what happened this season. When the draw was made and I saw the three clubs, it was an amazing feeling.
“My first season in the Champions League, to play against Barcelona, AC Milan and Ajax was brilliant, I enjoyed it a lot.”
The Dutch defender has made 43 appearances for the Hoops this season in all competitions and has chipped in with four goals.
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