No-nonsense Liverpool legend Virgil van Dijk was brutally honest in light of Matthijs de Ligt‘s international wobble – and it’s not the first time.
Fresh from the Netherlands’ 2-2 stalemate with Germany, Van Dijk dished out some straight-talking feedback about De Ligt, who was largely responsible for both of the opposition’s goals. The Dutchman didn’t pull any punches after the game and said: “This is football. You have to learn from this. It was one moment but at the highest level you will get punished for it.”
The Liverpool ace’s comments pulled fans back to 2019 following Liverpool’s thrilling 4-3 triumph over Red Bull Salzburg. Van Dijk was having none of it when interviewer Jan Age Fjortoft tried to turn conversation towards starlet Erling Haaland after he scored the third goal for Salzburg.
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On the Blood Red podcast (via The Mirror), Fjortoft lifted the lid on that tense exchange: “After the game, I interviewed Van Dijk… and I said, ‘I have to ask you about the Norwegian, Erling Haland’ and he just said, ‘Well, we won the game.’ So I said, ‘Yes, but what do you think about him?
Van Dijk replied: “‘I didn’t see a lot of him,’ and he was a bit angry because there were some mistakes made, and I said, ‘It’s a good sign for a striker when a defender says he didn’t see him!’ And then he just went away.”
Such unwavering determination is a hallmark of the winning mentality that has characterised Van Dijk’s career. He’s never been one to entertain baseless chatter or excuse his team-mates’ shortcomings, as demonstrated by his response to the Netherlands’ loss to Austria at Euro 2024.
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(Image: PA)
Not one to sugar-coat the situation, he said at the time: “It was just a bad evening. We are all responsible, it shouldn’t happen, but it did and that’s bad.”
Van Dijk, 33, evidently sets a high bar for himself and those around him. In an interview with Liverpool’s official website after being named club captain last summer, he emphasised the importance of maintaining standards and clarified the team’s success was thanks to the work ethic and discipline of the whole group.
These high standards were on display when the Reds clinched the Premier League title for the first time in 2020. Their crowning moment was almost derailed by the global outbreak of Covid-19, which briefly paused Premier League football and urged some to call for a season restart.
(Image: Getty Images)
After finally lifting the trophy, Van Dijk couldn’t conceal his satisfaction at silencing Liverpool’s critics and told Sky Sports: “No one can say anything no. We had a few games where we should have done better, but we shouldn’t focus on that. We’ve had a fantastic season. We only lost twice, so like I said, no one can say anything about us. We are well-deserving champions. We won by a mile.”
Van Dijk also defended himself after criticism from Dutch icons Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit last year after the Liverpool ace had some less than stellar games for the Netherlands. Van Basten attacked Van Dijk for his supposed lack of leadership, even alleging “he makes noise but doesn’t say anything” and his style “creates chaos that leads to misunderstandings.”
But the former Celtic and Southampton star didn’t mince his words in response and told Ziggo Sport: “This [Van Basten’s comment] is of no use to me. Everyone is allowed to have their own opinion these days, that’s the case. [But] did I set the bar unrealistically high?”
(Image: Twitter/NPO 3)
He went on to point out the ups and downs of every footballer’s journey, adding: “Football players know that better than anyone, have high peaks and deep valleys. It’s quite normal that you can’t always play consistently. That you have a phase as a club or player where you are looking for your level. People should not forget that. It is normal that people make mistakes, that it is part of football and that it is very human.”
Around the same time, Gullit laid into Van Dijk’s attitude and accused the Liverpool ace of acting like he’s above certain international team-mates. In response, Van Dijk told journalists: “I have nothing to say on that,” and “I set high standards. People try to hold me to that so that’s what I try to do.”