--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At 16, I was a slow right-back and wasn't…" description: "\"At 16, I was a slow right-back and wasn't good enough to play centre-back.\" — Virgil van Dijk" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/425/virgil-van-dijk-6531_centre_at-16-i-was-a-slow-right-back-and-wasn-t_3030606.jpg" --- # At 16, I was a slow right-back and wasn't good enough to… ![“At 16, I was a slow right-back and wasn't good enough to play centre-back.” quote by Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/425/virgil-van-dijk-6531_centre_at-16-i-was-a-slow-right-back-and-wasn-t_3030606.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/425/virgil-van-dijk-6531_centre_at-16-i-was-a-slow-right-back-and-wasn-t_3030606.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/425/virgil-van-dijk-6531_centre_at-16-i-was-a-slow-right-back-and-wasn-t_3030606.jpg) > “At 16, I was a slow right-back and wasn't good enough to play centre-back.” [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early career limitations in one position led to growth and adaptation into a different role. **In simple terms:** Started slow, adapted later. Key Takeaway Embrace flexibility. Themes career development adaptability growth mindset Mood inspirational reflective Type motivational practical When to use this quote - coaching - training programs - talent scouting Key Concepts sports careers skill transition Questions to Reflect On - What mindset shift enables role change? - How does early struggle shape future success? A Different Perspective Changing positions may face resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [16 Slow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/16-slow-4948682/) [Centre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centre/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-enough/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Slow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow/) [Slow Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow-right-2468364/) [Wasn Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasn-good/) ## Related quotes > [“You can cover a lot of ground going slow when you’re on the right path.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-burgunder/you-can-cover-a-lot-of-ground-going-slow-when-you-re-on-the-right-path/) [Brittany Burgunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-burgunder/) > [I just know as a rookie, a young guy, you see the game totally differently and it could take awhile for it to slow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-lopez/i-just-know-as-a-rookie-a-young-guy-you-see-the-game-totally/) [Robin Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-lopez/) > [Everybody has to think for himself. A right way for a big man may not be a right way for a small man. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/everybody-has-to-think-for-himself-a-right-way-for-a-big-man-may-not/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Was leaving your plan all along, or did you just decide I wasn't good enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/was-leaving-your-plan-all-along-or-did-you-just-decide-i-wasn-t-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I cut my hair. I did that. That wasn't a good decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusev/i-cut-my-hair-i-did-that-that-wasn-t-a-good-decision/) [Rusev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusev/) > [I just always loved comedy and I really wanted to be good at it. And it was heartbreaking, 'cause I started and I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/i-just-always-loved-comedy-and-i-really-wanted-to-be-good-at-it-and/) [Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) > [I wasn't a good student in high school. I mean, I got through it, but unless it had something to do with music, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-trunk/i-wasn-t-a-good-student-in-high-school-i-mean-i-got-through-it-but/) [Eddie Trunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-trunk/) > [I was more of kind (who was better at) building businesses and selling them. That was a big thing for me. I was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-waters/i-was-more-of-kind-who-was-better-at-building-businesses-and-selling/) [Drew Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-waters/) > [“I wasn't good at saying. I was good at writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarryn-fisher/i-wasn-t-good-at-saying-i-was-good-at-writing/) [Tarryn Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarryn-fisher/) > [My childhood, I wouldn't say it was bad. It helped me grow up. I stayed out of trouble. My parents taught me what's wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-westbrook/my-childhood-i-wouldn-t-say-it-was-bad-it-helped-me-grow-up-i-stayed/) [Russell Westbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-westbrook/) > [I tried a robin heart once. It wasn't very good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emilia-clarke/i-tried-a-robin-heart-once-it-wasn-t-very-good/) [Emilia Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emilia-clarke/) > [I have been in movies that I thought I wasn't very good in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/i-have-been-in-movies-that-i-thought-i-wasn-t-very-good-in/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [I was put off by people at school - my cabbage wasn't as good as other people's, you know, so that put me off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcgough/i-was-put-off-by-people-at-school-my-cabbage-wasn-t-as-good-as-other/) [Roger McGough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcgough/) > [I never used to watch MLS before so I had negative views. I thought it wasn't a good standard. When I got here I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-never-used-to-watch-mls-before-so-i-had-negative-views-i-thought-it/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [I had some terrible times - comparatively speaking. I saddled myself with a load of debt, I wasn't liked by a lot of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcintyre/i-had-some-terrible-times-comparatively-speaking-i-saddled-myself/) [Michael McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mcintyre/) ## More by Virgil van Dijk > [When you're 2-0 down after 30 minutes, then you know it's going to be tough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/when-you-re-2-0-down-after-30-minutes-then-you-know-it-s-going-to-be/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [I love to have the pressure of having to win every game, love the pressure of keeping clean sheets every game, no matter if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/i-love-to-have-the-pressure-of-having-to-win-every-game-love-the/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [You have to tell each other the truth, you cannot be nice and happy when we want to achieve so much as a team…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/you-have-to-tell-each-other-the-truth-you-cannot-be-nice-and-happy/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [The main thing is to try to put in your head that we all start from the bottom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/the-main-thing-is-to-try-to-put-in-your-head-that-we-all-start-from/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [All the players in the league, I think, want to play for trophies, want to get trophies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/all-the-players-in-the-league-i-think-want-to-play-for-trophies-want/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [I just enjoying playing for Liverpool, it doesn't really matter who is standing next to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/i-just-enjoying-playing-for-liverpool-it-doesn-t-really-matter-who-is/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [At Liverpool, we are all part of one unit, not just the 11 on the pitch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/at-liverpool-we-are-all-part-of-one-unit-not-just-the-11-on-the-pitch/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [There is always room for improvement in our game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/there-is-always-room-for-improvement-in-our-game/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [Personally, I like to put things in perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/personally-i-like-to-put-things-in-perspective/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [I'm very happy to have already been welcomed into the LFC family, I'm a part of history having won the Champions League and hopefully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/i-m-very-happy-to-have-already-been-welcomed-into-the-lfc-family-i-m/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [I need to be coming off the pitch every game with my voice gone, and that's something I can bring. I am just someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/i-need-to-be-coming-off-the-pitch-every-game-with-my-voice-gone-and/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [I remember starting 'Game of Thrones,' everyone said 'you have to watch it,' but I thought 'it's science fiction, it's not real, it's nothing.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/i-remember-starting-game-of-thrones-everyone-said-you-have-to-watch/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [I know that life is much more than football. We have family and it's all about being happy and healthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/i-know-that-life-is-much-more-than-football-we-have-family-and-it-s/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [The world can be very cruel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/the-world-can-be-very-cruel/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [I just want to be remembered as a fantastic player who gave everything for the team and enjoyed every bit of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/i-just-want-to-be-remembered-as-a-fantastic-player-who-gave/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) [Explore all 99 Virgil van Dijk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) ## More Centre quotes > [“She had gone into herself and was looking for a centre, a pivotal point between what she had been and what she would become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-had-gone-into-herself-and-was-looking-for-a-centre-a-pivotal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Plant flowers in others' gardens and your life becomes a bouquet! Submitted by Lisa Letto, Coordinator, Nutrition Resource and Volunteer Centre, College of Pharmacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/plant-flowers-in-others-gardens-and-your-life-becomes-a-bouquet/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [I don't really like being in the centre of attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-thunburg/i-don-t-really-like-being-in-the-centre-of-attention/) [Greta Thunburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-thunburg/) > [The problem was Le Corbusier was a genius and an enormous artist, but he tried to resolve problems to which there is no solution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/the-problem-was-le-corbusier-was-a-genius-and-an-enormous-artist-but/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [The entire hierarchy of angels can best be described as an endlessly vast sphere of beings, who surround an unknowable centre-point, which is called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-godwin/the-entire-hierarchy-of-angels-can-best-be-described-as-an-endlessly/) [Malcolm Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-godwin/) > [In order to the attaining of all useful knowledge this is most necessary, that we fear God; we are not qualified to profit by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/in-order-to-the-attaining-of-all-useful-knowledge-this-is-most/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [Memory that yearns to join the centre, a limb remembering the body from which it has been severed, like those bamboo thighs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/memory-that-yearns-to-join-the-centre-a-limb-remembering-the-body/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [ \[The Utopia of Rules\] should offer a challenge to us all. Should we just accept this bureaucracy as inevitable? Or is there a way… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-tett/the-utopia-of-rules-should-offer-a-challenge-to-us-all-should-we-just/) [Gillian Tett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-tett/) > [An article on playwrights in the Daily Mail , listed according to Hard Left, Soft Left, Hard Right, Soft Right and Centre. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/an-article-on-playwrights-in-the-daily-mail-listed-according-to-hard/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [A person who is able to be a living centre of peace in today's world and who is able to radiate that peace powerfully,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-assagioli/a-person-who-is-able-to-be-a-living-centre-of-peace-in-today-s-world/) [Roberto Assagioli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-assagioli/) > [There is a book called San Francisco Tape Music Centre:1960s Counterculture and the Avant-Garde and this book describes everything that you want to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/there-is-a-book-called-san-francisco-tape-music-centre-1960s/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [In the humanist ideal, the mainstream is where interesting debate, the generating of new ideas and creativity take place. In rational society this mainstream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ralston-saul/in-the-humanist-ideal-the-mainstream-is-where-interesting-debate-the/) [John Ralston Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ralston-saul/) > [Your country is one of the most notorious centres of trading in endangered species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-philip/your-country-is-one-of-the-most-notorious-centres-of-trading-in/) [Prince Philip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-philip/) > [If you are playing King Lear you are the centre of attention anyway. You don't need to draw attention to yourself. It's all laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/if-you-are-playing-king-lear-you-are-the-centre-of-attention-anyway/) [Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/) [Browse all 761 Centre quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centre/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "At 16, I was a slow right-back and wasn't good enough to play centre-back.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Virgil van Dijk" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/at-16-i-was-a-slow-right-back-and-wasn-t-good-enough-to-play-centre/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Centre" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/at-16-i-was-a-slow-right-back-and-wasn-t-good-enough-to-play-centre/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/425/virgil-van-dijk-6531_centre_at-16-i-was-a-slow-right-back-and-wasn-t_3030606.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/425/virgil-van-dijk-6531_centre_at-16-i-was-a-slow-right-back-and-wasn-t_3030606.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/425/virgil-van-dijk-6531_centre_at-16-i-was-a-slow-right-back-and-wasn-t_3030606.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“At 16, I was a slow right-back and wasn't good enough to play centre-back.” — Virgil van Dijk", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Virgil van Dijk", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "At 16, I was a slow...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/at-16-i-was-a-slow-right-back-and-wasn-t-good-enough-to-play-centre/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/at-16-i-was-a-slow-right-back-and-wasn-t-good-enough-to-play-centre/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```