Former Southampton striker Shane Long has shared a light-hearted moment from his time playing alongside Virgil van Dijk at St Mary’s.
Long recalled how a training ground prank left the Liverpool captain less than amused.
The duo played together 61 times for Southampton before Van Dijk made his then-world-record transfer to Anfield.
While teammates at the Saints, Long, and Van Dijk formed a solid bond on the pitch, but that didn’t stop Long from pulling a cheeky prank on the towering Dutchman.
Since Van Dijk’s move to Merseyside, the pair have gone head-to-head four times, with Van Dijk’s Liverpool side coming out on top in each encounter, conceding just once to Long.
Despite their competitive meetings, including an international clash in 2016 where Long found the back of the net in a 1-1 draw between the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands, the two share plenty of memories from their Southampton days.
In a podcast interview with former goalkeeper Ben Foster, Long recounted how he capitalized on a rare moment of getting the better of Virgil van Dijk in training.
His playful antics, however, left the typically composed defender fuming.
Long’s story offers a glimpse into the camaraderie and competitive spirit that existed at Southampton, even between two players who would later find themselves on opposite sides of the pitch.
“I played against him for Liverpool and for Holland as well, it was tough because I’d always try go to the other centre-back.” he said.
“You have to (pick the weaker one) but at Liverpool and Holland, there’s not many weak centre-backs.
“He had everything, he was strong as an ox, good in air, there was no real weak point in his game.
“We did play against him at the Aviva in Dublin, he was marking John O’Shea or someone from the corner, the ball broke to me and I scored, tapped it in from a yard.
“As I’m running away, there’s a picture of Virgil on the ground behind me and I’m running away celebrating.
“I got it framed, put it in his place and when he came back he was raging.
“(It was) Just a little joke to say, ‘Virg, you can’t mark me’ no one knew he wasn’t marking me and it was nothing to do with him but I knew I wouldn’t get many more.
“He took it well, at the start he tried to defend himself but he seen the funny side of it.”
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