Orange surprise Van den Berg climbed out of deep valley before reporting to Zeist

Van den Berg replaces Van Dijk in his Netherlands debut after battling mental health struggles and a serious ankle injury during his Liverpool years.

Sepp van den Berg has been called up to the Netherlands squad for the first time, replacing Virgil van Dijk. The Brentford defender's selection is a poignant moment: seven years ago, Van Dijk helped welcome the then-17-year-old to Liverpool after his transfer from PEC Zwolle, ensuring Van den Berg felt at home and learning from one of the world's best defenders.

But Van den Berg's journey to this point was far from straightforward. After making his Liverpool debut in the League Cup, he struggled to break through and was relegated to the reserves. Isolated in England, living alone without family support, his confidence crumbled.

"I had no one to talk to," he recalled. "I didn't want to train, and after training I'd go straight home and stare at the walls." Only when his mother noticed his distress during a video call did he begin opening up about his feelings.

In 2022, a loan move to Schalke 04 offered fresh hope—until a catastrophic ankle injury in his fourth Bundesliga game left him sidelined for six months. "It was a horror injury," Van den Berg said. "My ankle doubled over, dislocated, and all my ligaments tore."

The psychological toll was severe; watching football triggered trauma from the injury. Recovery came slowly, but proximity to family during his rehabilitation proved crucial. After another loan spell at Mainz 05, his Liverpool contract ended.