Virgil Van Dijk is a victim of his own success in a sense that for someone who went a whole season without getting dribbled past when he has some shaky moments at the back and he makes some mistakes, it’s easy for people to say that “he’s overrated” “washed” “finished” “not the best defender of all time”, “he’s not a leader” “one season wonder” etc. . From where he was in his career 10 years compared to now is honestly night and day as he went from playing in the Scottish League to being in the conversation with some of the best defenders of our generation and while he doesn’t have the same longevity as the likes of Sergio Ramos Thiago Silva Paolo Maldini etc, it doesn’t change the fact that he was on another level when he was in his peak. It’s true that there’s kinda some recency bias that plays into this, VVD wasn’t just a great player for only one season. The fact that as a center back he was in contention for the Ballon Dor is a testament to how good he was since we live in an era where the attackers mostly get all the praise. He’s such a well rounded defender because of his strength aerial ability composure and his passing range as he’s someone who can body an attacker off the ball play a long range pass and score a goal from a corner kick when heading the ball. That’s just how compete he is.
@@poparrow9416 as much as I hate haaland (I'm a Liverpool fan) now that you mention it that is 100% correct. Virgil is an abnormal defender, there haven't been any like him before or after, now I'm not saying he's clear of some of the greats like Maldini, but what he offers to the modern game of football is unmatched. Similar for haaland, a goalscoring monster, he is abnormal, again you wouldn't say he's better than Messi or ronaldo or many other legends, but what he offers to the game today is unmatched to anything before, and probably after for a while. And as for a season by season, these 2 have set completely abnormal standards. No player is judged on missing a chance as haaland is, or on getting dribbled as van dijk is. They're victims of their own success, but at the end of their career the legacy they leave behind will be huge.
He had one of the highest average ratings in Europe amongst defenders whilst playing at Southampton. He's not fully reliant on his pace. He can also play in a low block. People forget that
The word Rolls Royce genuinely fits him so well. He makes it look so easy. Not just with his defending, but also with the ball at his feet. His passing and vision is brilliant when playing out from the back. Not to mention he is given the responsibility of holding such a high line. A lot of the older defenders could easily get exposed in such a team. In between, it did become annoying as he tried to be a bit too casual whole defending, but he looks to have corrected that approach.
VVD makes me a proud LFC Fan. He is the one of the best defenders of all time and he shouldn’t get such harsh criticism, I believe this season he will prove himself again.
Honestly, the 18/19 season is the best I've seen from a CB in my 25+ years when I seriously started following football. The likes of Terry, Ferdinand, Ramos, Puyol and Maldini have had amazing world class careers, but they have never been as dominant as van Dijk was then. He was a force of nature. No one got passed him and no one could beat him in the air. Attackers were literally shitting themselves when they came up against him. They did everything they could to avoid him. It was pure poetry and a defensive masterclass the whole season. It was honestly a robbery he didn't win the Ballon d'Or. Messi, while he had a fantastic season, he won it because his name was Messi. Put any other name on his numbers and van Dijk would have won it in a landslide. Like I said, I've never seen a CB be that dominant and I honestly doubt I'll ever see that again.
People talk about: fast, strong, good on the ball. But what made Prime Virgil special was how absurdly well balanced he was while moving at speed for a big defender. That meant he could shift direction quickly and use his speed to maximum effect. That excellent balance was not there in the first 12 months he was back from injury. He has recovered a lot of it, but not fully.
He was already seen as an elite defender during his time at Southampton, I mean no team will pay over 75 million for him if he was seen as an average player and at the time when Liverpool paid a lot of money for him, all the talk was about them overpaying for him and him not being worth his price tag. As they say the rest is history because he transformed a backline that was leaking goals for fun into a solid defensive unit and VVD was at the heart of that. He made an immediate impact on the team because he didn’t just help them win the premier league and the champions league in back to back seasons, he did it while being such an important player in their defense and after his arrival, he elevated the team to a different level and he as a player got even better as well. He didn’t put a foot wrong at all and he was consistently putting in 8/10 performances week in week out as he was barely getting dribbled past, he was winning balls during crosses and he was vital to their build play whenever they had possession. In the 2018-19 season which has to be one of the best individual seasons I’ve seen from a defender when Liverpool won the champions league, he won premier league player of the season PFA Player of the Year, UEFA Men’s Player of the Year and was runner up for the Ballon Dor and the following season, he continued his fine vein of form and he helped them win the premier league for the first time in over 3 decades. Not to mention that he has been at Liverpool since 2018, he’s played over 100 games for them at Anfield in the premier league, he is undefeated in 98 games at home and has only lost 2 games at home in 6 years. He was on top of his game and at the time everyone saw VVD as not just the best defender in the world but one of the best players in the world. In recent years since picking up that ACL injury, there’s a feeling that he hasn’t come close to his previous heights and during this period, Liverpool has been up and down where one season, they look like one of the best teams in the world competing for a quadruple while the next season, they’re barely even getting champions league football. At times he has looked good, other times, he has been sloppy at the back and has made some mistakes that he wasn’t usually making when he was in his prime. After the 2022-23 season where the team struggled as a whole and he was far from his best, he was being written off as finished and a player who is well past his best, but based off of his performances last season, he has shown that he’s still one of the best defenders in the world and that’s he’s far from finished. As I said before, because of how high of a bar that he has set, he had a couple of concerning moments, people forget how good he is and while he isn’t the player he was in 2019, he remains an elite defender in 2024 and I think it’s time for people to start putting more respect on his name.
Virg is my goat he is such a good defender and he is very humble and he helped Liverpool with a lot of trophies in my opinion I think he was the best defender in the world at one point
The difference between the so-called greats and VVD, is that he defended at the highest line for many years at liverpool, and its the most demanding and most vulnerable, and he did it at the highest level. Those critics just dont quite get the context.
can't even fathom my Liverpool without VVD. I will be absolutely gutted when the day comes and he leaves. We will never have another CB like him - he is the best we ever had.
Van dijk is in levels of ramos, he fixed whole defence of Liverpool and his strength, pace, defensively and iq of games makes him the leader of Liverpool, i don't get why they criticise virgil van dijk, he's got everything you need as a defender
Not to mention that in 2012 when he played for FC Groningen. Virgil literally almost died due to severe appendicitis combined with a kidney infection and peritonitis. He came so close to dying they had him drawing up his will. So he actually had to rebuild him self twice in his career. Once after (imo) a hospital screw up (they sent him home because, despite showing all the symptoms of an infection they told him nothing was wrong and couldn't find anything) and once after the Pickford assault. I had the pleasure to serve him when i worked in the players lounge at Groningen. He is one of the kindest players I ever met.
bums trying to put down his legacy. the best centerback in the world for 4 years 2018, 2019, 2020, 23-24, and he's still the current best statistically. the greatest of all time in my opinion.
The fact people have the audacity to call Ramos a goat defender and Vandijk washed is insane. Litteraly theres nothing besides goal scoring Ramos is better than Vandijk at
I actually think one of the most understated reasons to his greatness is the rest of the back four and the set-up of the team around him. Yes Allison is world class, but VVD has never had a great CB next to him, let alone another world class one. Ferdinand had Vidic, Terry had Carvalho, Maldini had Nesta and Ramos had Pepe. VVD won the CL with Matip and the PL with Joe Gomez next to him. Insanity. He also has played with the most attacking fullbacks in PL history in Robbo and TAA, so the lack of defensive cover in comparison to others is notable. Again, Ferdinand and Vidic played with Neville and Evra, who were fantastic players, but known for their defensive strengths. Stick Rio or Vidic in a back four of Trent, Gomez and Robbo and no chance they would be nearly as successful.
The fact that Liverpool had such a leaky defense, before his arrival, and when he was out injured from Pickford, shows how important he is, no matter what is being said for Liverpool's defense, its always who is Van Dijk's partner in defense, there is no replacing him, for Liverpool in this current moment, when his contract ends, or if he signs a new contract could be key for Liverpool"s near future
People forget that under Klopp .. Liverpool CBs were left exposed and insane amount of time... And In 21-22 despite the number of counter attack against Liverpool they were #1 in goals allowed... And UES Alisson deserves a lot of credit for that as well
Virgil Van Dyke has set a high bar in his career . As a Passionate Liverpool FC Fan - I believe that their are other Football team players who are not only playing unfairly , Including Ex or retired football players or pundits who are hidden hackers off scene. This kind of envy needs to be exposed more. ! ( You know who you are !).... (I actually caught you on youtube - ' Stop It '.) Virgil Van Dyke YNWA - EVER !. Jamie Carragher I Take My Hat Off To You.................
Nicely done. All the facts presented well, including the two-facedness of the football media! Van Dyk has had a long career where he has failed and has used EVERY act if his failures to improve himself, much that I can say for the ‘naysayers!’ His so-called nonchalantness, is his calm demeanor in the back line. Goodness knows, I would not want an excitable back behind me on the field of play! BRILLIANT REVIEW! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! GO REDSSSS!!!!👌🏾❤️❤️❤️🇹🇹
True. VVD arguably is still the best defender in the world. But that 1 season or I would say 3 seasons, was possibly the best prime any defender in the world ever had including Maldini and Beckenbauer. So, anything else from those seem a step down and alien like. But after this long into his ACL recovery, it seems like for last few months and including this season, he is getting back to that prime levels.
if you think about it he has been at liverpool for nearly 7 years and 5 of those he has been the best cb in the world so longevity isn't the best argument to pull him down
He is the best. He is the complete package. There is nothing he can't do... As for the pundits they are paid enough to say shit all the time so nevermind 😅
By far the best CB in the world, any one who is sending criticism because he has made some mistakes can go F**K them self's, has made us one of the best teams in the world again, i would love to see any player try fill his boots, if he was to leave liverpool you would all be crying for him to come back, to all the critics out there show the man some respect and some dedication as he has shown us for many years.
He is in great condition and I would be happy for him to get another 4 year contract with Liverpool. I think he will head to a sunnier climate next summer 😢
The moment Van Dijk signed for us, I know we are gonna win the league after 30 years of waiting. Everyone knew he was a phenomenon when he played for southampton. It was so lucky of us liverpool fans that he choose us because he loved the club. All the big clubs were after him. City, Utd, Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, everyone. This has never happened before to liverpool especially under the cheapskate owners FSG as we all know he's definitely not offered the best salary as we all can see even today he's only paid 220K as compared to say Varane's 350K. All the criticism he had was because the other clubs couldn't have him especially City and Utd and put a lot of media pressure after he decided to sign for us. Thankfully, that nasty huge price tag media jealous taunt went to Maguire. Talk about Karma as we all know the whole EPL, FA and sky sports are the Utd old boys club. Van Dijk knows about the Utd rivalry runs deep too thats why when he scored that famous header against Utd, the season we won the league, he gave a hard stare at the Utd fans. He knew that winning that match was the turning point in us breaking the corruption of FA. After what he has done for liverpool and as the captain now, its criminal that his contract is still in doubt even though he has fully recovered from his serious injury. Sometimes I feel that no matter what these cnut owners do to us liverpool fans, there will always be an underdog champion rising up thru the ranks. The good guys always finds a way to bring a smile and pride back to the good club. To me he is the best Captain we have ever had and I have supported since '86. The true underdog with a true talent and humbleness and the determination to overcome all sorts of physical, social and mental hardships.
I think another reason he’s underrated compared to someone like Ramos is because his playstyle isn’t as flashy. Van Dijk is calm and elegant with his defending, usually relying on his positional awareness to defend, while Ramos defends with crunching tackles that get the TikTok edits, even if he’s not as consistent.
kongolo wasnt unknown, played for Feyenoord a couple years with some crazy inspector gadget extended legs making great slidings. also van gaal often uses duo' s from the same team since they already know each other well and that dutch team had Janmaat, Martins indi, Vlaar, in defence and the Guzman, Fer, Classie and Wijnaldum on midfield that all previously played for feyenoord
VVD is this era's Alan Hansen both elite defenders and both underrated at times especially Alan Hansen....VVD sign up for at least another 2 years please lol..YNWA
As a Liverpool fan lack of ambition from the ownership whats let down players like vvd, trent, gomez, matip, fab lol that whole klopp era and kloppo himself. Look the way i look at it we shouldve of won ALOT more if we were under ownership that wanted to achieve those things. We was 1st of the table last december with a half broken team and a bunch of babies of the pitch and our owners still didnt see the miracle the manager was doing😂. Thats football though you win some lose some all part of the game maybe one day we'll get owners who dont just want to do well enough to keep some happy.
During the international break, the media was trying to bait him into criticising De Ligt after the poor performances he had put in. When they got a "he needs to do better" soundbite from VVD, every mainstream media channel has put their piece out calling VVD "arrogant" etc. There has also been an agenda from mostly manure fans calling him overrated. Liverpool fans know that this narrative comes from a position of jealousy. We are currently better than them in every metric: players, manager, facilities etc, all on a fraction of their budget. Let them continue to slander Virgil. In reality, we know he is eclipsing all of their former legends, and will easily go down as one of the greats.
@@all.win.007😂there is a reason for that .madrid fucks Liverpool and vandijik every time they meet in UCL from 2018till 2024 i don't even remember how many times we defeated Liverpool 😂chenda pool
He’s respected by us! Always has been and always will be…as mentioned Van Dyke, was almost crippled by Little Hands at Everton…I believe LFC’s board have seriously failed to with Virgil’s future and he could walk away next season for nothing. As a fan, we’ve well had our monies worth ❤ YNWA
When he was at Groningen, Feyenoord was very interested in the player, but they were in a bad financial state, so they couldn't buy him. Koeman has said this himself, he was the coach at that time. There was interest. And ever since he was so good at Celtic, I was flabbergasted that he wasn't being picked for the Dutch national team... He was named the best defender in the Scottish league 3 seasons in a row, I believe... van Gaal really fucked up by not picking him.
I think they call him a fraud because of his performances at the international level a lot of these critics still grade players based off international level they ignore a lot club football. Also Netherlands are fuming and looking for scapegoats to blame for the poor runs but being honest they overate their national team.
Listening to this is good but in my opinion it’s a team game that everyone should play to their strengths and in some matches they don’t for me Virgil is a fantastic player and to only get beat in 2 games in a 100 at home when you play is not a bad thing
The issue with VVD is he had 2 years at the top. And the amount of years of getting dominated by city doesn’t help. Great player but could never be one of the best if you have barely won much in comparisons to the rest. Trophies matters when you retire
I think the fact that a defender became second in the ballon d’or and only losing with 7 votes to Messi. And we all know that Messi wins the ballon d’or when his toe nail breaks. I don’t think there has been a defender as good as Virgil in the period 2018-2020. It’s just the fact that he has had a more difficult start of his career. And after 2020 had a more difficult period where he didn’t shine as much in 2019-2020. But during those years he was still the best defender of the year. And for the people saying that Ramos is a better defender is just wrong. He has had a more prestigious career but will has never and will never reach prime Virgil.
I have no player I hate, except PIGFORD! The guy hold Virgil career and almost ruined it. If not for his injury, Virgil won't be afraid to do tackle when necessary. It definitely still impact him to this day. The crazy part it, PIGFORD didn't even get yellow card, hell it wasn't consider a foul because technical reason. With that logic, PIGFORD would punch someone in the same scenario and it won't be a foul. IT'S FUCKING STUPID!
van dijk was a late bloomer . he became a centreback late in his youth career he didnt make his senior debut till 20 he had to pick up a dish washing job to make ends meet . most of his world class counter parts he is compared to are groomed from as little as 5 to become the next big thing . most guys who overlooked for as long as he was dont end up becoming the best in the world they end up in construction jobs
vd Hoorn over Van Dijk... oof.. Marc.. wtf man? VVD is one of the few defenders that knows how to defend tbh... Most defenders react... VVD anticipates. Most attackers wait for a defender to make a mistake or step in. VVD turns it around... VVD either makes a move to force the attacker to do what VVD wants... or he just waits patiently for the attacker to get nervous. For years I am watching how attackers are being praised... sometimes the attacker is so great and awesome when scoring a goal between 4 defenders. But in all honesty.... most defenders just suck. I played at amateur level and it is piss poor what you are being taught as a defender. Defenders often don't learn to make defensive feints for instance. An attackers needs to pass you, but as a defender you only have to flick the ball away to win the duel. Do that enough times and many attackers will become nervous/anxious.
Oh please. Virgil gets and has gotten plenty of respect over Liverpool's "successful" years. Aura this aura that etc. May as well make a video about water and claim "people don't think water is wet, but I do because I'm a special little flower, and definitely not just lying to pander to delusional Liverpool fans who need a pick me up to maintain the illusion that Liverpool will challenge for the league" (They won't)
He's getting robbed of his place in the top 5 defenders list because no one respects him no one even respects Liverpool player every one says players like vidic and baresi is better and that's not true especially with salah and mane they don't respect them because they say players like Rooney and Henry are in the spotlight even hazard only one other player have more golden boot than salah
Who cares, quality player, great up until that Pickford injury years ago, pulled it half back and still puts A shift in so who cares ? The glory days are half gone, it's about starting new ones with the experience of quality we have such As Salah or Virg, Robbo and Alisson, these players Won't be here in A few seasons and the more we get out of them not only physically but mentally, the better for both
😂😂😂a Liverpool fan says he is underratedly overrated He is like Ederson Walker Jesus Arnold Bad at basic things expected of their position but has a rare Quality . Afraid of getting dribbled
I never backed van Dijk. The top clubs had 3 chances to sign him, and it was just because of Ronald Koeman that van Dijk could make that transfer to Liverpool (which wasn't the top club that it was now). Nobody thought he was good until he reached 27 and there is a reason for that: he's non-chalant and lackluster in his defending. He never even lost that. 1 v 1 is his biggest weakness.
VVD would probably get more respect if the scousers weren't constantly bigging him up as the best CB to ever step on to a football pitch, he's great but calm down
Cracking video this
Virgil Van Dijk is a victim of his own success in a sense that for someone who went a whole season without getting dribbled past when he has some shaky moments at the back and he makes some mistakes, it’s easy for people to say that “he’s overrated” “washed” “finished” “not the best defender of all time”, “he’s not a leader” “one season wonder” etc. . From where he was in his career 10 years compared to now is honestly night and day as he went from playing in the Scottish League to being in the conversation with some of the best defenders of our generation and while he doesn’t have the same longevity as the likes of Sergio Ramos Thiago Silva Paolo Maldini etc, it doesn’t change the fact that he was on another level when he was in his peak. It’s true that there’s kinda some recency bias that plays into this, VVD wasn’t just a great player for only one season. The fact that as a center back he was in contention for the Ballon Dor is a testament to how good he was since we live in an era where the attackers mostly get all the praise. He’s such a well rounded defender because of his strength aerial ability composure and his passing range as he’s someone who can body an attacker off the ball play a long range pass and score a goal from a corner kick when heading the ball. That’s just how compete he is.
Its similiar like Erling Haaland dont you think?
@@poparrow9416 yeah pretty much, both get slandered for even the tiniest mistakes
@@poparrow9416Haaland’s criticism is that he doesn’t show up in big games, not that he is not world class. It’s not unfair to an extent.
@@poparrow9416 as much as I hate haaland (I'm a Liverpool fan) now that you mention it that is 100% correct. Virgil is an abnormal defender, there haven't been any like him before or after, now I'm not saying he's clear of some of the greats like Maldini, but what he offers to the modern game of football is unmatched. Similar for haaland, a goalscoring monster, he is abnormal, again you wouldn't say he's better than Messi or ronaldo or many other legends, but what he offers to the game today is unmatched to anything before, and probably after for a while.
And as for a season by season, these 2 have set completely abnormal standards. No player is judged on missing a chance as haaland is, or on getting dribbled as van dijk is. They're victims of their own success, but at the end of their career the legacy they leave behind will be huge.
He had one of the highest average ratings in Europe amongst defenders whilst playing at Southampton. He's not fully reliant on his pace. He can also play in a low block. People forget that
How does someone see a CB doing good in a high block but not think they can do good in a low block? It's easier to defend in a lower block.
The word Rolls Royce genuinely fits him so well. He makes it look so easy. Not just with his defending, but also with the ball at his feet. His passing and vision is brilliant when playing out from the back. Not to mention he is given the responsibility of holding such a high line. A lot of the older defenders could easily get exposed in such a team. In between, it did become annoying as he tried to be a bit too casual whole defending, but he looks to have corrected that approach.
VVD makes me a proud LFC Fan. He is the one of the best defenders of all time and he shouldn’t get such harsh criticism, I believe this season he will prove himself again.
Honestly, the 18/19 season is the best I've seen from a CB in my 25+ years when I seriously started following football.
The likes of Terry, Ferdinand, Ramos, Puyol and Maldini have had amazing world class careers, but they have never been as dominant as van Dijk was then. He was a force of nature. No one got passed him and no one could beat him in the air.
Attackers were literally shitting themselves when they came up against him. They did everything they could to avoid him.
It was pure poetry and a defensive masterclass the whole season. It was honestly a robbery he didn't win the Ballon d'Or. Messi, while he had a fantastic season, he won it because his name was Messi. Put any other name on his numbers and van Dijk would have won it in a landslide.
Like I said, I've never seen a CB be that dominant and I honestly doubt I'll ever see that again.
People talk about: fast, strong, good on the ball. But what made Prime Virgil special was how absurdly well balanced he was while moving at speed for a big defender. That meant he could shift direction quickly and use his speed to maximum effect. That excellent balance was not there in the first 12 months he was back from injury. He has recovered a lot of it, but not fully.
He was already seen as an elite defender during his time at Southampton, I mean no team will pay over 75 million for him if he was seen as an average player and at the time when Liverpool paid a lot of money for him, all the talk was about them overpaying for him and him not being worth his price tag. As they say the rest is history because he transformed a backline that was leaking goals for fun into a solid defensive unit and VVD was at the heart of that. He made an immediate impact on the team because he didn’t just help them win the premier league and the champions league in back to back seasons, he did it while being such an important player in their defense and after his arrival, he elevated the team to a different level and he as a player got even better as well. He didn’t put a foot wrong at all and he was consistently putting in 8/10 performances week in week out as he was barely getting dribbled past, he was winning balls during crosses and he was vital to their build play whenever they had possession. In the 2018-19 season which has to be one of the best individual seasons I’ve seen from a defender when Liverpool won the champions league, he won premier league player of the season PFA Player of the Year, UEFA Men’s Player of the Year and was runner up for the Ballon Dor and the following season, he continued his fine vein of form and he helped them win the premier league for the first time in over 3 decades. Not to mention that he has been at Liverpool since 2018, he’s played over 100 games for them at Anfield in the premier league, he is undefeated in 98 games at home and has only lost 2 games at home in 6 years. He was on top of his game and at the time everyone saw VVD as not just the best defender in the world but one of the best players in the world.
In recent years since picking up that ACL injury, there’s a feeling that he hasn’t come close to his previous heights and during this period, Liverpool has been up and down where one season, they look like one of the best teams in the world competing for a quadruple while the next season, they’re barely even getting champions league football. At times he has looked good, other times, he has been sloppy at the back and has made some mistakes that he wasn’t usually making when he was in his prime. After the 2022-23 season where the team struggled as a whole and he was far from his best, he was being written off as finished and a player who is well past his best, but based off of his performances last season, he has shown that he’s still one of the best defenders in the world and that’s he’s far from finished. As I said before, because of how high of a bar that he has set, he had a couple of concerning moments, people forget how good he is and while he isn’t the player he was in 2019, he remains an elite defender in 2024 and I think it’s time for people to start putting more respect on his name.
Virg is my goat he is such a good defender and he is very humble and he helped Liverpool with a lot of trophies in my opinion I think he was the best defender in the world at one point
He is still arguably the best defender in the world. I don't see any defender better than him in world football.
The difference between the so-called greats and VVD, is that he defended at the highest line for many years at liverpool, and its the most demanding and most vulnerable, and he did it at the highest level. Those critics just dont quite get the context.
can't even fathom my Liverpool without VVD. I will be absolutely gutted when the day comes and he leaves. We will never have another CB like him - he is the best we ever had.
Van dijk is in levels of ramos, he fixed whole defence of Liverpool and his strength, pace, defensively and iq of games makes him the leader of Liverpool, i don't get why they criticise virgil van dijk, he's got everything you need as a defender
Imo he's levels above Ramos
I think so too, Ramos is too rash and far from level headed
@batatagod4341 yes but some bias people will come and attack me
@@samvanderplas8970 true lmao
He’s far beyond Ramos in pure defensive ability
Not to mention that in 2012 when he played for FC Groningen. Virgil literally almost died due to severe appendicitis combined with a kidney infection and peritonitis. He came so close to dying they had him drawing up his will. So he actually had to rebuild him self twice in his career. Once after (imo) a hospital screw up (they sent him home because, despite showing all the symptoms of an infection they told him nothing was wrong and couldn't find anything) and once after the Pickford assault.
I had the pleasure to serve him when i worked in the players lounge at Groningen. He is one of the kindest players I ever met.
Dat kwam omdat ie heel slecht at
bums trying to put down his legacy. the best centerback in the world for 4 years 2018, 2019, 2020, 23-24, and he's still the current best statistically. the greatest of all time in my opinion.
You missed 2022
@@randju you're right
The goat defender would be Maldini but I prefer vvd over ramos, vvd is the complete defending package
Van Dijk is my leader. And the greatest defender of all time
He should’ve gotten that ballon d’or.
The fact people have the audacity to call Ramos a goat defender and Vandijk washed is insane. Litteraly theres nothing besides goal scoring Ramos is better than Vandijk at
True....Ramos looks good coz he was surrounded by good players... Otherwise he is just an average defender
Ramos was a better tackler than Van Dijk, but Van Dijk hardly ever needs to tackle
ramos is a red card merchant
Ramos is also good at getting more red cards than vvd 💀
I actually think one of the most understated reasons to his greatness is the rest of the back four and the set-up of the team around him. Yes Allison is world class, but VVD has never had a great CB next to him, let alone another world class one. Ferdinand had Vidic, Terry had Carvalho, Maldini had Nesta and Ramos had Pepe. VVD won the CL with Matip and the PL with Joe Gomez next to him. Insanity. He also has played with the most attacking fullbacks in PL history in Robbo and TAA, so the lack of defensive cover in comparison to others is notable. Again, Ferdinand and Vidic played with Neville and Evra, who were fantastic players, but known for their defensive strengths. Stick Rio or Vidic in a back four of Trent, Gomez and Robbo and no chance they would be nearly as successful.
Manure fans don't want to look at context
We love you VVD, and always will. Poetry and power in motion, to mention only the game. Pls stay on as The Cap as long as you want. Thank you.
13/14 van djik and robertson in the scotish team of the season. Damn life is interesting
Pundits call him overrated. The most bloated, nothing burger post-athletes who had average careers. Especially the Dutch media
Agreed. But Marco van Basten's career was not average ;)
The fact that Liverpool had such a leaky defense, before his arrival, and when he was out injured from Pickford, shows how important he is, no matter what is being said for Liverpool's defense, its always who is Van Dijk's partner in defense, there is no replacing him, for Liverpool in this current moment, when his contract ends, or if he signs a new contract could be key for Liverpool"s near future
People forget that under Klopp .. Liverpool CBs were left exposed and insane amount of time... And In 21-22 despite the number of counter attack against Liverpool they were #1 in goals allowed... And UES Alisson deserves a lot of credit for that as well
Virgil Van Dyke has set a high bar in his career . As a Passionate Liverpool FC Fan - I believe that their are other Football team players who are not only playing unfairly , Including
Ex or retired football players or pundits who are hidden hackers off scene.
This kind of envy needs to be exposed more. !
( You know who you are !).... (I actually caught you on youtube - ' Stop It '.)
Virgil Van Dyke YNWA - EVER !.
Jamie Carragher I Take My Hat Off To You.................
He worked his way up shit teams whereas other players just get given a crazy second contract he worked hard for where he is
Really kick-ass thumbnail...well done, mate 👍🏽
Nicely done. All the facts presented well, including the two-facedness of the football media!
Van Dyk has had a long career where he has failed and has used EVERY act if his failures to improve himself, much that I can say for the ‘naysayers!’
His so-called nonchalantness, is his calm demeanor in the back line.
Goodness knows, I would not want an excitable back behind me on the field of play!
BRILLIANT REVIEW!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
GO REDSSSS!!!!👌🏾❤️❤️❤️🇹🇹
Honestly I don’t think there’s a CB that comes close to him…if he was at city or Madrid there would be no debate
VVD raised such a high bar, it seems like it was a one-season wonder
True. VVD arguably is still the best defender in the world. But that 1 season or I would say 3 seasons, was possibly the best prime any defender in the world ever had including Maldini and Beckenbauer. So, anything else from those seem a step down and alien like. But after this long into his ACL recovery, it seems like for last few months and including this season, he is getting back to that prime levels.
if you think about it he has been at liverpool for nearly 7 years and 5 of those he has been the best cb in the world so longevity isn't the best argument to pull him down
AMAZING! Thank You!
Underrated channel.
He is the best. He is the complete package. There is nothing he can't do... As for the pundits they are paid enough to say shit all the time so nevermind 😅
By far the best CB in the world, any one who is sending criticism because he has made some mistakes can go F**K them self's, has made us one of the best teams in the world again, i would love to see any player try fill his boots, if he was to leave liverpool you would all be crying for him to come back, to all the critics out there show the man some respect and some dedication as he has shown us for many years.
Virgil van dijk, keep your head up, you'll never walk alone.
He is in great condition and I would be happy for him to get another 4 year contract with Liverpool.
I think he will head to a sunnier climate next summer 😢
Van dijk is the zenith a defender can get. Longevity is problem.
Wow he’s a special player YNWA ❤❤😊😊🎉🎉🔴🔴🇵🇸🇵🇸
Klopp really play a big part of his time at Liverpool. He's given him trust and defended him. YNWA
The moment Van Dijk signed for us, I know we are gonna win the league after 30 years of waiting. Everyone knew he was a phenomenon when he played for southampton. It was so lucky of us liverpool fans that he choose us because he loved the club. All the big clubs were after him. City, Utd, Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, everyone. This has never happened before to liverpool especially under the cheapskate owners FSG as we all know he's definitely not offered the best salary as we all can see even today he's only paid 220K as compared to say Varane's 350K. All the criticism he had was because the other clubs couldn't have him especially City and Utd and put a lot of media pressure after he decided to sign for us. Thankfully, that nasty huge price tag media jealous taunt went to Maguire. Talk about Karma as we all know the whole EPL, FA and sky sports are the Utd old boys club.
Van Dijk knows about the Utd rivalry runs deep too thats why when he scored that famous header against Utd, the season we won the league, he gave a hard stare at the Utd fans. He knew that winning that match was the turning point in us breaking the corruption of FA.
After what he has done for liverpool and as the captain now, its criminal that his contract is still in doubt even though he has fully recovered from his serious injury. Sometimes I feel that no matter what these cnut owners do to us liverpool fans, there will always be an underdog champion rising up thru the ranks. The good guys always finds a way to bring a smile and pride back to the good club.
To me he is the best Captain we have ever had and I have supported since '86. The true underdog with a true talent and humbleness and the determination to overcome all sorts of physical, social and mental hardships.
Me too
I think another reason he’s underrated compared to someone like Ramos is because his playstyle isn’t as flashy. Van Dijk is calm and elegant with his defending, usually relying on his positional awareness to defend, while Ramos defends with crunching tackles that get the TikTok edits, even if he’s not as consistent.
kongolo wasnt unknown, played for Feyenoord a couple years with some crazy inspector gadget extended legs making great slidings.
also van gaal often uses duo' s from the same team since they already know each other well and that dutch team had Janmaat, Martins indi, Vlaar, in defence and the Guzman, Fer, Classie and Wijnaldum on midfield that all previously played for feyenoord
Van Dijk before his I jury at Liverpool was world class, after he declined.
VVD will be a future Liverpool manager
he has the highest peak of a defender none had ever reached
VVD is this era's Alan Hansen both elite defenders and both underrated at times especially Alan Hansen....VVD sign up for at least another 2 years please lol..YNWA
As a Liverpool fan lack of ambition from the ownership whats let down players like vvd, trent, gomez, matip, fab lol that whole klopp era and kloppo himself. Look the way i look at it we shouldve of won ALOT more if we were under ownership that wanted to achieve those things. We was 1st of the table last december with a half broken team and a bunch of babies of the pitch and our owners still didnt see the miracle the manager was doing😂. Thats football though you win some lose some all part of the game maybe one day we'll get owners who dont just want to do well enough to keep some happy.
❤❤
I've seen strikers turn back when faced with a 1v1 with Virgil.
During the international break, the media was trying to bait him into criticising De Ligt after the poor performances he had put in. When they got a "he needs to do better" soundbite from VVD, every mainstream media channel has put their piece out calling VVD "arrogant" etc. There has also been an agenda from mostly manure fans calling him overrated.
Liverpool fans know that this narrative comes from a position of jealousy. We are currently better than them in every metric: players, manager, facilities etc, all on a fraction of their budget.
Let them continue to slander Virgil. In reality, we know he is eclipsing all of their former legends, and will easily go down as one of the greats.
as a Liverpool fan, I saw his performance drop after that long injury. Fucking Pickford
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t respect van dijk
ask for Madrid fans
@@all.win.007😂there is a reason for that .madrid fucks Liverpool and vandijik every time they meet in UCL from 2018till 2024 i don't even remember how many times we defeated Liverpool 😂chenda pool
@@Laplacesdemonxo ah Madrid vaanam aayiruno 🤣 nee aa comment uthama example aanalo mwone 😆
@@all.win.007 Thula dijik inte Thula keeri vittath pore inim veno
@@all.win.007 vaaanam dijik inte andi oombunna vaanm ano nee
He’s respected by us! Always has been and always will be…as mentioned Van Dyke, was almost crippled by Little Hands at Everton…I believe LFC’s board have seriously failed to with Virgil’s future and he could walk away next season for nothing. As a fan, we’ve well had our monies worth ❤
YNWA
When he was at Groningen, Feyenoord was very interested in the player, but they were in a bad financial state, so they couldn't buy him. Koeman has said this himself, he was the coach at that time.
There was interest.
And ever since he was so good at Celtic, I was flabbergasted that he wasn't being picked for the Dutch national team...
He was named the best defender in the Scottish league 3 seasons in a row, I believe... van Gaal really fucked up by not picking him.
I think they call him a fraud because of his performances at the international level a lot of these critics still grade players based off international level they ignore a lot club football.
Also Netherlands are fuming and looking for scapegoats to blame for the poor runs but being honest they overate their national team.
agreed. and on contras, Pickford, Guillermo, Martinez. this keepers are no where to be seen at club level.
Listening to this is good but in my opinion it’s a team game that everyone should play to their strengths and in some matches they don’t for me Virgil is a fantastic player and to only get beat in 2 games in a 100 at home when you play is not a bad thing
8:21 Non-chalant lmao, defo smth arsenal would conclude.
His presence alone got Micah Richards to be silent for minutes on end, who else could achieve that?
imagine coming from ACL and getting into PL team of the year twice out of 3 seasons and ppl still tryna convince us that he washed
The issue with VVD is he had 2 years at the top.
And the amount of years of getting dominated by city doesn’t help.
Great player but could never be one of the best if you have barely won much in comparisons to the rest.
Trophies matters when you retire
People who don't acknowledge that VVD is AT LEAST the best defender of this generation have no ball knowledge
Craig Burley is the Burnley of pundits.
hope he can play as long as like Maldini…..
He was too good, god had the nerf him.
Bro is so good that when he makes a couple mistakes he's immediately overrated 😅
Other Center backs do it almost every game
I think the fact that a defender became second in the ballon d’or and only losing with 7 votes to Messi. And we all know that Messi wins the ballon d’or when his toe nail breaks. I don’t think there has been a defender as good as Virgil in the period 2018-2020. It’s just the fact that he has had a more difficult start of his career. And after 2020 had a more difficult period where he didn’t shine as much in 2019-2020. But during those years he was still the best defender of the year. And for the people saying that Ramos is a better defender is just wrong. He has had a more prestigious career but will has never and will never reach prime Virgil.
I have no player I hate, except PIGFORD! The guy hold Virgil career and almost ruined it. If not for his injury, Virgil won't be afraid to do tackle when necessary. It definitely still impact him to this day. The crazy part it, PIGFORD didn't even get yellow card, hell it wasn't consider a foul because technical reason. With that logic, PIGFORD would punch someone in the same scenario and it won't be a foul. IT'S FUCKING STUPID!
VVD could easily do another 2/3 seasons for LFC. See Thiago Silva for am example of this.
yo at the start u said he was at the top of the world, bro virgil is still the best cb in the world fr
It is just Brits not being able to take off the UK glasses. If Vergil was British he would already be in evert hall of fame over there.
He almost beat messi to a balon dor, do you know how mad that is?
He had a nasty mafia hit injury... that's why. I think the football ELITE ruined his chances of being the best of all time.
van dijk was a late bloomer . he became a centreback late in his youth career he didnt make his senior debut till 20 he had to pick up a dish washing job to make ends meet . most of his world class counter parts he is compared to are groomed from as little as 5 to become the next big thing . most guys who overlooked for as long as he was dont end up becoming the best in the world they end up in construction jobs
vd Hoorn over Van Dijk... oof.. Marc.. wtf man? VVD is one of the few defenders that knows how to defend tbh... Most defenders react... VVD anticipates. Most attackers wait for a defender to make a mistake or step in. VVD turns it around... VVD either makes a move to force the attacker to do what VVD wants... or he just waits patiently for the attacker to get nervous. For years I am watching how attackers are being praised... sometimes the attacker is so great and awesome when scoring a goal between 4 defenders. But in all honesty.... most defenders just suck. I played at amateur level and it is piss poor what you are being taught as a defender. Defenders often don't learn to make defensive feints for instance. An attackers needs to pass you, but as a defender you only have to flick the ball away to win the duel. Do that enough times and many attackers will become nervous/anxious.
They are peaceful in his bad times but good times no he hadn’t much confidence during his life it’s normal I’m a teanecher and it’s normal
12:13 lol forgot just how bullshit that penalty call was in that spurs game. ruined my whole day 😂
Ferdinent is not half as good as Vergil. If he says otherwise than he is crazy.
Chill with the ads man. Money hungry
Oh please. Virgil gets and has gotten plenty of respect over Liverpool's "successful" years. Aura this aura that etc. May as well make a video about water and claim "people don't think water is wet, but I do because I'm a special little flower, and definitely not just lying to pander to delusional Liverpool fans who need a pick me up to maintain the illusion that Liverpool will challenge for the league" (They won't)
Scouts should be ashamed for ignoring his talents.... Sleeping at the job
van Gaal - what a muppet
He's getting robbed of his place in the top 5 defenders list because no one respects him no one even respects Liverpool player every one says players like vidic and baresi is better and that's not true especially with salah and mane they don't respect them because they say players like Rooney and Henry are in the spotlight even hazard only one other player have more golden boot than salah
It the same thing that wants 2 happen 2 mbappe
Lost his pace and agility after acl
Does he respect us?
Respect who ? He has never disrespected Liverpool by any chance so if your not a Liverpool fan why should he care about you
Who cares, quality player, great up until that Pickford injury years ago, pulled it half back and still puts A shift in so who cares ? The glory days are half gone, it's about starting new ones with the experience of quality we have such As Salah or Virg, Robbo and Alisson, these players Won't be here in A few seasons and the more we get out of them not only physically but mentally, the better for both
😂😂😂a Liverpool fan says he is underratedly overrated
He is like Ederson Walker Jesus Arnold
Bad at basic things expected of their position but has a rare Quality . Afraid of getting dribbled
I never backed van Dijk. The top clubs had 3 chances to sign him, and it was just because of Ronald Koeman that van Dijk could make that transfer to Liverpool (which wasn't the top club that it was now). Nobody thought he was good until he reached 27 and there is a reason for that: he's non-chalant and lackluster in his defending. He never even lost that. 1 v 1 is his biggest weakness.
there's a reason your comment ain't got many likes bud
VVD would probably get more respect if the scousers weren't constantly bigging him up as the best CB to ever step on to a football pitch, he's great but calm down
Nope he is simply the best... The stats says all
@@AnilSingh-dh8hi 🤣🤣 he's not even top 5 EPL all time you clown
maguire costs more than VVD