Virgil van Dijk is proudly the captain of both Liverpool and the Netherlands but his credentials as not just a leader but a player too, have been highly called into question by one journalist in his home nation.
Speaking on Today Inside (via voetbalzone.nl), Johan Derksen said (translated): “I’m getting very tired of that captain of the Netherlands. If there is a lack of performance, he uses all kinds of clichés to explain what went wrong.
“Can he still handle the level? No, he’s on his last legs. I never thought of him as a star. He looks good, but I don’t think he’s a very good defender. He was only strong in the air.”
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The 74-year-old certainly didn’t hold back with his comments on our No.4 and he seems to have a history of being rather outspoken with his controversial opinions, so it’s likely we don’t need to take much notice of the above.
It seems like the former player has somewhat of an agenda against the man who is the reigning FIFA best defender in world football, something which clearly shows that he is a ‘very good defender’.
At 32-years-old, it’s likely that our centre-half is on a decline from his impervious best but he’s far from over the hill and the promotion from Jurgen Klopp to become our skipper shows this.
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To be a top player in today’s game, you have to be used to media scrutiny and it’s likely the former Southampton man will either not even see these comments or take very little notice to them.
Let’s hope it has little impact on our skipper’s confidence and that he comes back to Merseyside ready to get right back into action, once his suspension comes to an end.
For sure not as Quick as he once was but great defenders can read the game far better than your average defender Paul Mc Garth comes to mind form is fickle class is forever