Tag: Virgil van Dijk

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Where are the Maguire > Van Dijk people now, ask Liverpool fans after England game

Harry Maguire became football’s most expensive defender after completing his £80million move from Leicester to Manchester United in the recently concluded summer transfer window.

The England centre-half’s transfer fee eclipses the previous record of £75million Liverpool paid for Virgil Van Dijk.

Comparisons between the two center-backs have been rife since the transfer at the start of August and two sets of fan bases have been going at it against each other to prove who is the better defender.

Maguire’s error during England’s Euro qualifying win against Kosovo

England took another huge step towards Euro 2020 qualification with a 5-3 win on a crazy evening in Southampton.

Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane and Jadon Sancho helped the Three Lions score five before the break, but they wobbled in the second half as Kosovo gave them a scare.

While everything is firing at the top end of the pitch there are still question marks for England about their defensive unit after they allowed Kosovo to score three times.

All three were a direct result of individual errors, which made the evening a little more complicated than it should have been.

Keane and Declan Rice were criminally sloppy in possession and it led to goals while only Harry Maguire knows what he was doing when he went through the back of Vedat Muriqi. 

Liverpool fans troll their Manchester United counterparts

Liverpool fans took the occasion to inflict more misery at the Manchester United centre-back-

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Marketing game on point as Nike put up a mammoth Virgil van Dijk billboard in Liverpool

Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk has truly cemented himself as one of the world’s best defender currently with his heroics last season.

A towering presence at the back, he has really made a difference to this Liverpool side.

The Reds finished an exciting season as league runners-up with an incredible 97 points and were crowned the UEFA Champions League winners after an amazing campaign.

Individually, Van Dijk was awarded a place in the PFA Team of the Year, won the PFA Player of the Year accolade as well as the man of the match award in the final of the UEFA Champions League.

Literally a Nike poster boy

Nike have been quick to acknowledge Van Dijk’s rising status in the world of football and have put up a humongous display in the city of Liverpool.

Marketing game on point from the American sportswear giant considering the size of thing, check out the picture below –

Van dijk will now have a much awaited off-season period. He will look to re-fuel himself for the season to come.

Another Premier League campaign awaits and Van dijk will look to finally help out his club to win the Premier League.

The Reds will also surely look to retain their UCL crown. A feat that only Real Madrid have ever accomplished.

With another 4 years on his contract and no intention to leave, Liverpool fans will cherish these years with Van Dijk. A player of absolute class and humility who empowers his team to grow. A true leader!

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Watch – Young mascot stood transfixed after realising he’s standing in front of Virgil van Dijk

Last Saturday Liverpool crushed their Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur to clinch their 6th Champions League trophy at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

Van Dijk & the Reds

The victory was part of a season long initiative put in motion by Jürgen Klopp & the Reds. One player who emerged like a knight in shining armour from among them was none other than the Dutchman, Virgil van Dijk.

The centre-back joined Liverpool in the 2018 January transfer window & the difference can already be seen in the team stats. He assisted the Reds to win their 6th UCL title, rappelling ahead in the frenetic run for the Ballon d’Or.

Van Dijk & Holland

On Thursday night, the Dutchman led his country to victory in the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League defeating the mighty England.

Netherlands, who were absent last year at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, played with sheer might & zeal to topple their opponents with a 3-1 scoreline.

Captaining his squad, Van Dijk played as the perfect CB winning every aerial duel & ground tackle against the English. Playing full 120 minutes, the Dutchman finished with a 96% pass completion rate.

Not just during the match, one could see his influence before it as well as a young mascot standing in front of Van Dijk kept looking at him in wonder & amazement. The Dutchman couldn’t help but pat his hair affectionately.

Ballon d’Or incoming?

In a single season, Van Dijk has won the Champions League & helped soar Liverpool to the 2nd position in the Premier League. He won PFA Premier League Player of the Year, playing for the longest duration than anyone across Europe this season. And now, he has taken Holland to the UEFA Nations League Final.

His success as a CB is what is praiseworthy. Today all of the football world is deliberating his potential Ballon d’Or win breaking the duopoly of Ronaldo & Messi.

Now this is saying something.

Not everyone is able to come in a neck-to-neck battle with this fearsome attacking duo owing to their status as the ‘Greatest Players of All Time’. But Van Dijk has dared to dream. He has dared to put himself in a position befitting the comparison with Messi & Ronaldo.

Van Dijk v Ronaldo

Virgil has the opportunity to prove whether he is as effective for his country as he is for his club. He is about to go up against Cristiano Ronaldo as Holland faces Portugal in the Nations League final.

For now, the achievements for the Dutchman seem to have just gained the inertia, already igniting fire around the world. Here’s hoping that he will burst into blossom in the years to come with his pandora box of talent, spearheading his team & himself towards a greater future.

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Virgil van Dijk taking the mick out of England fans on Twitter after Holland win

Virgil van Dijk can’t do nothing wrong at the moment as he captained the Netherlands national football team to a win against England in the Nations League semi-final match.

VVD was also a part of the Liverpool team that won the Champions League final against Tottenham Hotspur. He is a strong contender for this year’s Ballon d’Or prize. Consequently the giant Dutchman has earned a lot of support and love from his fans.

However, it looks like there is just no pleasing some English fans, who embarrassingly and unashamedly booed VVD in the Nations League match. The Dutch went on to win the match 3-1 in injury time, and Van Dijk took a dig at the insulting fans on social media.

Indispensable for Liverpool and Netherlands alike

In his first full season at Anfield, Van Dijk played incredible football. He has completely shattered any old notions of defensive benchmarks and has set sky high standards for himself.

He has an incredible passing accuracy and has an incredible percentage of aerial duels won. In fact, the very statistic the not a single player has completed a dribble past him in his past 64 appearances for Liverpool speaks volumes of this monster.

Virgil was one of Liverpool’s most consistent and reliable players. He was rock solid in his position. He was indispensable to Klopp’s dream Reds team. An integral part of Liverpool, without him the Reds would probably not have won the UCL.

That is precisely why he is absolutely adored by Liverpool fans. Even their staunch rivals can’t help but admire the man’s brilliance.

He helped bring back the coveted trophy to England after years of Spanish dominance. The fans went absolutely berserk when Liverpool went on the victory parade, making no attempts to hide their adoration for the big man.

VVD’s ruthless determination is fearsome. He displayed passion while playing for the Reds, and displayed passion while donning the Orange Jersey.

Captaining this young team in the Nations League, he has defended like a demon throughout the tournament. They squared off against the proud English team in the semi-final.

In an embarrassing moment for true lovers of the game, certain English fans pathetically booed Van Dijk as he defended against England. Many Liverpool players and football pundits came out in support for the Dutchman.

Defending the world’s best defender

Chief Football Writer for The Times Henry Winter took to Twitter to call the selfish football fans out on their embarrassing behavior.

He was supported by many English fans too who thought it was stupid and insensitive to viciously attack the player in such a manner.

In a subtle dig of his own, Van Dijk wryly liked teammate Marten De Roon’s mocking tweet.

De Roon posted a photo of jubilant Dutch players after their victory. It was mockingly captioned, ‘I guess its not coming home’.

Van Dijk claimed that there was nothing that he could do for fans that booed him (MSN).

However it would appear that he has his own unique ways of taking the mick out on dissenters.

Check out a screenshot of Van Dijk’s Twitter likes below –

From Reddit
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Dutch teammate’s tweet on Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk is pure class

Praise just keeps coming for Liverpool juggernaut Virgil van Dijk and not just for his leadership, personality and quality defending but also for maintaining insane stats.

Yes, we are talking about the much sought-after dribble stat (see below) which keeps popping up after every game the Dutchman plays. 

No opposition player has completed a dribble past Virgil van Dijk in any of his last 64 apps in all competitions for Liverpool.

It’s not just Liverpool fans on the internet who are in awe of the stat but his Dutch teammates as well as evident from Marten de Roon’s latest tweet.

Marten de Roon has been in the news for all the right reasons with his display this season for Atalanta.

The former Middlesbrough man played a major role in the Serie A outfit qualifying for their first ever Champions League  campaign after Atalanta came third in the 2018/19 table behind Juventus and Napoli.

Besides being a nifty midfielder, it seems De Roon knows what’s up with the internet as well as he made a cracking joke about Van Dijk’s insane stat.

Check it out below –

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Blog Football

When Lionel Messi made PFA Player of the Year call for assistance

Virgil van Dijk (VVD) was recently named PFA Player of the Year, becoming the first defender to win it since the inaugural Premier League season.

A mainstay in the meanest defense in the league, the footballing world was licking its lips at the UCL semi-final encounter between Barcelona and Liverpool, and particularly, between the unstoppable Lionel Messi and the immovable VVD.

The game was played in the Nou Camp and some interesting events unfolded.

During the game, a lobbed ball was player over to Messi. VVD chased him down but Messi reacted by shielding the ball. While Messi was looking for a play to make, VVD can be seen gesturing to Robertson to assist him in defending against the clever Argentine.

It just goes to show that to defend against the phenomenon that is Leo Messi, even the best player in the Premier League needs a helping hand.

It’s true that Virgil has earned a reputation of being a world-class center-back and probably is the best in the business currently, but it appears as though even he knows that defending against Messi is not a one-man job; if indeed it is possible to defend against European club football’s top goalscorer.

Van Dijk and co’s efforts to keep Messi at bay went in vain, as the little magician pitched in with two goals, including a sumptuous free-kick as Barca ran out 3-0 winners at the Nou Camp, despite a dominant Liverpool display in the second half. Ex-Liverpool talisman Luis Suarez was the other goalscorer in the game, not holding back on celebrations against his former employers.

When asked in an interview after the Porto game on how Liverpool would defend against Barca and in particular, Lionel Messi, VVD said that he doesn’t know and that it has to be a collective effort.

And while strength in numbers is a good thing, it didn’t work out for Liverpool and they now have a mountain to climb for the second leg at Anfield.

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Messi masterclass, Van Dijk exposed, Salah missed an open goal, Liverpool battered and without an away goal

Lionel Messi and his brand of magic made it a night to remember when Liverpool travelled to the Camp Nou for the first leg of their semi-final tie.

The 31-year-old was the catalyst for yet another brilliant performance by Barcelona, netting twice in the second half to put his side firmly in control ahead of the away leg.

https://twitter.com/PrimeLM10_/status/1123807533699936260

Jurgen Klopp made four changes to the side that won against Huddersfield on Sunday, with Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Fabinho and James Milner coming in for Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dejan Lovren, Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge.

The hosts made three changes, with Sergio Busquets, Lionel Messi and Sergi Roberto coming in for Arthur, Ousmane Dembele and Nelson Semedo.

It was a tight and entertaining first half, with both sides creating chances. Naby Keita picked up a knock to the groin in the 24th minute and had to be substituted for Jordan Henderson.

Opportunities flying at both end, Jordi Alba took control in the 26th minute, whipping a dangerous cross towards the path of an onrushing Suarez, who ran between two centre backs and flicked the ball over Alisson to score.

The Reds should have equalised in the 35th minute, as an advancing Mane failed to keep his effort below the crossbar.

Liverpool started the second half on the front foot, looking to establish their dominance and get back a goal. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen denied James Milner twice and another Mo Salah effort in between to keep Barcelona’s edge.

But it was not to be, as Barcelona doubled their lead in the 75th minute through Messi, who latched on to a deflected ball from Luis Suarez’s initial effort hitting the crossbar, slotting it in past Alisson.

Liverpool’s defence was looking vulnerable throughout the game particularly with Virgil van Dijk not being able to stamp his authority on the game.

Messi showed his game changing genius again in the 82nd minute, when he struck a sumptuous free-kick from 35 yards, against a hapless Alisson who was at full stretch, putting the game past Liverpool.

https://twitter.com/Barca_Clips/status/1123821184200658944

Salah missed a golden chance to equalize when he hit the post, with an open goal staring at the Egyptian forward.

With Van Dijk being criticized for not being his absolute best, especially during the first & the second goal and Salah missing to score the crucial away goal for Liverpool, the Reds were truly battered at Camp Nou and have a daunting task at home if they want to reach the final of the UEFA Champions League 2018/19 at Madrid on the 2nd of June.

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Liverpool fans loved this from Nike after Virgil van Dijk won the PFA award

Virgil van Dijk was recently crowned the PFA Players’ Player of The Year, and deservedly so. The 27-year-old centre back has more than justified his 75 million pound price tag since his move to Anfield in January 2018, cementing his place in Jurgen Klopp’s elite squad and the hearts of the Liverpool faithful.

One of the best footballers in the world currently, Van Dijk is an intelligent, tough-tackling defender with excellent physicality and tactical awareness, who is capable of playing the ball out from the back and leading a tight defence, capable of going toe-to-toe with some of the best attackers in the game right now.

He has showed his quality time and again in crucial matches, and his dedication and commitment has been rewarded in the form of recognition by his peers, analysts and football fans worldwide, culminating in the aforementioned award.

Defenders, admittedly, have garnered lesser admiration than their attacking counterparts because of the general bias towards flair and guile. But that would mean reducing the beautiful game to just goals, ignoring the fact that football is a team game.

The fact that most individual award-winners in football have been attackers and midfielders is sufficient evidence to the fact that protecting the goal is a task that is often overlooked.

Nike releases epic poster to celebrate Virgil van Dijk’s POTY award

Nike have released an epic poster on their Instagram celebrating the Dutchman’s Player Of The Year award, with an image of van Dijk alongside the words “The best defender in the league”, the word ‘defender’ having been struck through.

A class act by the American giant, giving the Anfield support the slogan they have associated the phenomenal defender with.

Liverpool are currently sitting second in the Premier League table, a point away from leaders Manchester City. Having won their last five games, Jurgen Klopp’s side are hoping to gain another favourable result in their title push when they travel to Newcastle on Sunday.

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The 360 degree cam presentation for Virgil van Dijk’s POTY award is the coolest thing you’ll see today

The PFA Players’ Player of The Year has been officially revealed, and although leaked beforehand by a certain Egyptian Messi, it wasn’t any surprise, was it?

Virgil van Dijk was given the crown based on the monstrous season he’s had at Liverpool, firmly positioning himself as one of the first names on the team sheet and the cornerstone in Jurgen Klopp’s tight backline which only allowed 20 goals in the Premier League the entire season.

Despite Twitter not agreeing with the decision, with flashier nominees such as Raheem Sterling and the aforementioned Mohamed Salah, one has to admit that Van Dijk is arguably the best centre-back and one of the best footballers in the Premier League right now.

The 27-year-old Dutchman has registered incredible stats for this season, helping Liverpool with their intense title fight with Manchester City, with a per game average of 1 tackle, 1.1 interceptions, 0.3 fouls, 1.1 offsides won, 0.5 blocks and 5.4 clearances.

It’ll certainly be a mouth-watering treat to watch Van Dijk going against one the best player of all time, Lionel Messi. More on that here : Lionel Messi versus Virgil van Dijk in the Champions League semi-finals is nothing short of mouth-watering

But the way in which the trophy was presented trumps all words that can be said about van Dijk, who stood on a podium holding the award with outstretched arms while a camera panned 360° around him, whilst confetti was being showered.

https://twitter.com/PFA/status/1122616766725861376

Twitter user Jude #JD13 made a cool edit of this as well, adding The Notorious B.I.G’s “Hypnotize” to the video.

https://twitter.com/jude13jd/status/1122624918649225216

Certainly a worthy way of celebrating someone who is, at least in the eyes of the professionals in the game right now, the Player of The Year. There is no higher praise than one received from your rivals. Take a bow, Virgil.

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Features Football

Lionel Messi versus Virgil van Dijk in the Champions League semi-finals is nothing short of mouth-watering

When big teams collide, the tie is decided on individual battles that occur on the pitch. Because of the Champions League, fans and the footballing world are able to witness such matches between big clubs, and hence, gives us all an opportunity to watch battles unfold on the pitch; battles we may not have imagined would materialize.

One such battle that the world wanted and now, has the privilege of witnessing (bar any calamity), is the face-off between Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk (VVD).

Fates were learnt when the fixtures for the quarter-finals were announced; as Barca faced Man Utd and Liverpool faced Porto, the winner of each fixture would face each other in the semis. With Barca defeating United and Liverpool demolishing Porto, the two victors face off against each other in the semi-finals.

This brings us to the clash of the titans, both at club level and at player level. Currently regarded as two of the best footballing teams in the world, one thing is guaranteed that this fixture is going to live up to its hype. But what fans are really looking forward to is the battle between Messi and VVD.

Messi is currently the top scorer in all leagues across Europe, registering 45 goals and 21 assists in all competitions.

VVD on the other hand, is the polar opposite of Messi’s scoring prowess. Having started all of Liverpool’s league games, keeping 17 clean sheets, he is widely regarded as the world’s best defender currently.

On the one hand, there is a goal-machine and an impact player, on the other, there’s calmness personified and solidarity in defense. Both players are contenders for the Ballon D’Or, and this really is the best versus the best, and fans are drooling over this clash.

 

To quote the Joker, “this is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.” It really is a feast for the eyes of all those watching. Who will come out on top? Will it be the Catalans, or the Merseysiders? Regardless of the victor, the clash between Messi and Van Dijk, and the fixture as a whole, has got us all licking our lips!

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Fans reckon Virgil van Dijk’s post-goal ritual makes him a captain material

Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk (VVD) has proven time and again this season that he’s got what it takes to be the best. Labelled the best central defender in the world currently, Van Dijk’s season has been nothing short of sensational.

Commanding the league’s tightest defense, conceding just 20 goals along with 16 clean sheets to his name, Virgil truly is a leader from the back.

A voice that doesn’t go unheard, a no-nonsense type of defender, a patient tackler, a player with grace and strength and an intelligent reader of the game.

These phrases are what come to mind when one thinks of the Dutchman. And while Liverpool’s deadly attack of Salah, Mané and Firmino score goals for fun; tearing teams apart, Virgil (whose name is now synonymous with shutouts),  pops up with the odd goal occasionally, sending Liverpool on their way to summit of the Premier League table.

With all the praise that’s being showered on VVD, it only comes as an added bonus to Van Dijk when one observant fan’s video montage has emerged online, showcasing exactly why the fans love him and why they believe he should be made Liverpool’s captain next season.

The video shows a certain ritual that van Dijk follows every time his fellow teammate scores a goal. He joins in on the team celebrations, but once they disperse, the towering Dutchman heads over to the goal scorer to congratulate them in person.

Van Dijk and the goal scorer share a moment or two, have a celebration between themselves and get back to the action. He is also seen whispering a few words to the man of the moment, and one can only imagine that they are very kind words, conveyed with joy, awe and possibly, relief. 

With VVD displaying qualities such as this and consistently shelling out world class defensive displays, it just goes to prove that he is a top, top professional and a class act.

Will Liverpool’s fan favorite don the captain’s armband full-time next season? Only time will tell, but he’s definitely making a solid case for the himself for club captaincy.

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This chest-bumping between Henderson and Van Dijk will turn you into a proper man

Scoring a goal has got to be a feeling like no other. Regardless of the level of football – be it grassroots or top-flight football, nothing quite beats the moment the ball hits the back of the net. It really is a special moment, irrespective of the situation.

Every goal scored brings out some sort of a reaction. Equalizers lift the spirit of one team as it diminishes the spirit of the other. Game-clinchers are met with euphoria from players and fans alike. Screamers leave the fans with their hands on their heads and sassy team-play goals are applauded endlessly. Goals against former clubs either spark wild celebrations, or none at all; while own goals are looked down upon with shame and disappointment.

The age-old saying goes, “Goals win games”, and when these goals bring you that much closer to a Premier League title, it is inevitable to see emotions pouring out during celebrations.

Fans got to see exactly what this is about in the league game between Southampton and Liverpool. The Reds traveled to St. Mary’s, a point behind leaders City at the start of kick-off. Alarm bells were ringing when the Saints took the lead early on through Shane Long. All doubts of an upset were put to rest with Keita’s first goal for the club and late goals from Salah and Henderson.

https://twitter.com/ctrjoshV3/status/1114459485999960064

With Henderson’s goal sealing the comeback win, his goal celebration showed exactly what it meant to him and the club. With Liverpool fans going berserk behind the goal, Henderson’s celebration was just bursting with emotion. Henderson let out all of his frustration built up from a lack of goals, performances, starts and overall criticism of himself and his role in the team.

In what can be described as inspiring and energizing, Hendo and Virgil van Dijk (VVD) are seen sharing a moment after the goal. With Hendo still pumped after scoring, he is seen passionately chest-bumping with VVD. It is what one would call a manly celebration. The Dutchman congratulates him at the end of it, but it was all about the passion in the celebration. The desire. The fire in the belly. The adrenaline pumping through the veins.

It just goes to show that if you channel your emotions and frustrations positively, it will be worth it in the end. Henderson’s reaction showed us what it means to prove your haters wrong, and more importantly, to prove yourself right.

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BT Sport provides stunning angle of Sadio Mane’s ridiculous first goal v Bayern Munich

Liverpool’s Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk exhibited pure class as the Reds thrashed Bayern Munich 3-1 at their own backyard to progress to the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League.

The teams played out a 0-0 draw at Anfield last month and the Bavarians were expected to come out all guns blazing at their home turf.

They did start the game well but a resilient Liverpool defence did extremely well to keep the initial waves of pressure at bay.

As the game progressed Liverpool slowly started to get back into the game but both the teams seemed to lack ideas and creativity in the final third.

But it was Liverpool who looked better and better with every passing second and started to control the game.

And they were the ones who struck first as Sadio Mane displayed unearthly technique and skill to put his side in the lead.

The Senegalese international latched on to a searching long ball from Virgil Van Dijk and brought it under control with a heavenly touch.

He still had a lot to do to get the ball into the back of the net and he did so with utmost calmness.

With a perfect turn, the Senegalese beat both Manuel Neuer and Rafinha before chipping it into the far corner.

Not only the chip was on target but it also had the perfect weight to leave Bayern defenders Niklas Sule and Mats Hummels mere spectators.

Mane was again on the target on the 84th minute when he headed a brilliant lobbed ball from Salah home to wrap up a memorable night for the five-time European Champions.

With Liverpool’s qualification, it is for the first time in the last ten years when four British clubs have managed to qualify for the quarter-finals stage and if they keep on performing like this, the glorious days of English football may not be far away.