Virgil van Dijk is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Liverpool. Let’s have a look at some of the famous rivalries of Virgil Van Dijk.
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Virgil van Dijk is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Liverpool. Widely regarded as one of the, if not the best defender in the world, Van Dijk started his senior professional career with Groningen in the Netherlands. He then moved to Scotland to play for Celtic wherein he was named in the Team of the Year in both the seasons he was there. Inevitably a Premier League move came calling and the team to snatch him from Celtic were Southampton in 2015. At Southampton, the Dutch defender began catching the eyes of the world with brilliant displays. In the winter transfer window of 2017/18 season, Liverpool paid a then-world-record transfer fee for a defender for Van Dijk’s services. Since then, Van Dijk has enjoyed tremendous collective and individual success at Merseyside by being a key part of a very successful period for Liverpool.
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A strong and dominant centre half, Van Dijk is blessed with a tall and powerful stature. With his near perfect timing in making tackles and good enough pace to cover back, the Dutch captain can be a nightmare for even the best forwards on his day. He has also been praised for his free-kick taking ability and prowess. Van Dijk is the only defender ever to win the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year when he won it in 2019. His 2018/19 season has been hailed as one of the best ever seasons by a defender in the recent years. This won him the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award at the end of the season. The Dutchman has earned several matchups and debates over the recent years. Let’s have a look at some of the famous rivalries of Virgil Van Dijk.
Two of the best defenders in the world, the Van Dijk-Ramos rivalry was at its peak in 2019. While Ramos had endured a dip in form along with Real Madrid, Van Dijk had just gone and had one of the best seasons by a Premier League defender. Naturally there were talks that Ramos’ time was over and now it would be the Liverpool man’s time to shine. However, the following season in 2020, Ramos made a terrific comeback and so did Real Madrid as they won La Liga and even though Liverpool too were crowned league champions, Ramos rightly reclaimed his spot as the best centre-back in the world.
One of the greatest forwards in the world up against one of the best defenders in the world. Ronaldo and Van Dijk have maintained a not so calm relationship in the recent years. While Ronaldo had suffered a dip in form with Juventus in his first season with the Old Lady, Van Dijk had overtaken him in the race for the Ballon D’Or in 2019. At the award ceremony, when asked about Ronaldo’s absence from the ceremony, Van Dijk joked that Ronaldo was never really a rival for the Golden Ball. These comments didn’t go well within the Ronaldo fanbase and the football world in general. While the Liverpool defender later clarified his stance, it didn’t stop the pair being constantly compared in the times to come.
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Manchester City against Liverpool has become one of the fiercest and greatest rivalries in world football in recent years. The commander-in-chief of defence of the two sides, Van Dijk and Ruben Dias have been involved in various debates over the past couple of seasons. When Van Dijk got injured during the 2020/21 season, Ruben Dias with splendid displays cemented himself as the best defender in the Premier League. The two have been ridiculously consistent and with Van Dijk now full fit the rivalry is now fully ignited and at its peak. This matchup promises to be one of the most exciting and keenly awaited one in the upcoming seasons.
