Virgil van Dijk admits it was “very scary” to see Hungary assistant coach Adam Szalai collapse during Holland’s 4-0 UEFA Nations League win on Saturday evening. The game was halted for more than 10 minutes as the 36-year-old received treatment on the pitch, shielded from public view by the players and staff, before being carried away on a stretcher and taken to hospital.
The Hungarian Football Association later issued a statement, saying that Szalai’s condition was “stable and he is conscious”.
“It’s a shock of course,” said the Netherlands and Liverpool skipper. “You see someone lying down. You see someone shaking. Then it’s a bit scary, to be honest.
“At one point it became clear that he was stable. I asked Szoboszlai if he had experienced this before. It turned out that he had. It was very scary to see, but I hope he is doing well and that he can recover well. This is the most important thing now.”
“The Hungarian players had to decide whether they wanted to continue playing,” he added. “I think it shows a lot of strength that they wanted to continue. A lot of respect for that.
“We knew that it would be a difficult match, that the Hungarian team would close down and play on the counter, we also expected that our defence and our attention should be maintained to the maximum.”
