Virgil van Dijk shares brilliant Celtic throwback ahead of 100th Netherlands cap

The former Hoops defender went on to establish himself among the leading centre-backs of his generation after leaving Parkhead and is now approaching another major milestone in his career.

Intriguingly, the manager who could hand Van Dijk his century of international appearances is Spain and Barcelona legend Xavi, who replaced Ronald Koeman as Netherlands boss last month.

Van Dijk is now Xavi’s captain at international level, but the pair were once opponents at Celtic Park.

The 35-year-old highlighted that history on Instagram by sharing an image of himself challenging Xavi during Celtic’s Champions League meeting with Barcelona in October 2013.

It was the second consecutive season in which the Hoops had been drawn against the Catalan giants, having famously beaten them 2-1 at Parkhead just 11 months earlier.

There was no repeat of that famous result on this occasion, however, as a Celtic side reduced to ten men suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat after Cesc Fabregas headed home the only goal.

The photograph is a reminder of how much has changed since Van Dijk’s early days at the Hoops under Neil Lennon, with the Dutchman going on to enjoy a stellar career at the highest level.