“Tall trees, strong winds”, from a football perspective, this proverb means that Virgil van Dijk deserves the most criticism. Because in the Netherlands, when he is known as the best player, even Johan Cruyff cannot escape criticism. The more successful Van Dijk is at Liverpool, the more he will be scrutinized in the national team.

In the old days, when no one could beat him, Virgil van Dijk thought of the day when he was often surpassed in duels. That’s been happening more and more since he got his knee injury. From 2018 to 2020, when Liverpool consecutively won the Champions League and Premier League, Van Dijk only let the opponent pass once in 54 encounters. But in the next 3 seasons, he was dribbled past 23 times in 89 duels.

However, the numbers alone are not convincing: Van Dijk has received less support from his teammates on the defensive line, and coach Jurgen Klopp’s tactics have also changed significantly. This season, Van Dijk has played 10 matches in the Premier League, faced 13 dribbles but was able to block them all. He also leads in tackling and aerial combat. With an improved Liverpool in a new style, Van Dijk seems to be returning to almost his best form, while also becoming Liverpool’s captain. That is the equivalent role in the Dutch national team since 2018, but while the captaincy at Van Dijk’s club is sacrosanct, it is different with the national team.

The more successful he is at Liverpool, the more Van Dijk is criticized every time the Dutch team fails.

Since 2022, Van Dijk has become a “lightning rod” for the failures of the Netherlands. But he is also the hero of the Orange Cyclone when he scored a stoppage-time goal in Greece last month, giving the Dutch national team a great advantage in their efforts to earn tickets to the EURO 2024 finals. In April/ 2022, Marco van Basten once talked about Van Dijk’s development process, and admitted his rise from a defender that no top Dutch club really wanted to a central defender who is considered the best. Europe.

“Van Dijk is at his peak,” Van Basten concluded, before describing him as “a great defender and a great player, quick, good header, good passer and good technique.” However, Van Basten also criticized Van Dijk for lacking strength, and needed to contribute more in the attacking phase by “controlling the ball faster”, or influencing the midfield by moving the ball forward. right way”.

Then, in September 2022, after Van Dijk helped the Netherlands qualify for the UEFA Nations League finals by contributing to keeping clean sheets in two wins against Poland and Belgium, Van Basten changed his tone: “Really It’s strange that such a good player contributed so little to the national team during the building process.” And at the 2022 World Cup, a poor Netherlands under Louis van Gaal advanced to the quarterfinals and lost to Argentina in a penalty shootout.

Van Dijk’s roles in the national team and the club are completely different although he still plays center back.

Van Basten’s views had a huge impact on public opinion. After criticism in the 1-1 draw with Ecuador in the group stage, Van Dijk finally responded: “I don’t think Van Basten is a positive person when he says that. Well, let him say whatever he wants.” Van Dijk later explained that he was “just human”, and coach Van Gaal defended him by describing him as a “great” leader. Basically, Van Basten wants to see Van Dijk take on more responsibility with the ball, like some legends like Frank Rijkaard, Ronald Koeman or Frank de Boer, who can direct the entire team’s play.

It seems that Van Basten wants this defender to be stronger than the coach, or dare to go his own way like Cruyff. But remember, Van Gaal is the first Dutch coach to create a culture in which the coach’s management is absolute. Van Dijk has explained that he was given a different role, as Van Gaal likes to operate with a three-at-the-back system. He is the center of the defense, with two other defenders on either side. “That way, I can rush forward to attack and be a blocking force,” Van Dijk explained.

Legendary Van Basten criticized Van Dijk for coming only to attract attention and make money online.

Van Basten commented without paying attention to the difference in Van Dijk’s roles at club and national team. Given Liverpool’s success under Jurgen Klopp, it would be selfish for Van Dijk to challenge the coach on his playing style. Instead, he showed leadership by restraining his heightened instincts to help things get better.

At Anfield, Van Dijk was always a ball-holding midfielder, but he was never expected to play like a midfielder. While he frequently uses his passing ability to convert attacks from his position, his primary role is to support the other centre-back, who has the freedom to move forward, as well as Both full-backs are responsible for attacking.

Van Dijk’s speed has become a weakness when meeting teams that know how to exploit it. After the 2022 World Cup, Van Dijk became a target of criticism again after losing 4-0 to France in the EURO 2024 qualifiers, a match in which the Netherlands conceded 3 goals in the first 21 minutes. Van Basten gained momentum: “He was very noisy, but now he doesn’t say anything. An exemplary captain will clearly explain what is going on.” Ruud Gullit also added fuel to the fire: “Van Dijk thinks he’s better than the rest.”

Van Dijk is having a very good season at Liverpool despite his injury.

Just like when it was declared that no one could dribble past Van Dijk, the opinions of these once highly successful and respected legends were taken as fact, and greatly influenced public opinion. Amid all this, an injury forced him to miss nearly 300 days, making public opinion even more convinced that Van Dijk could not return to the top.

However, things are not like that. Van Dijk has not had any problems with his knee since his return in 2021. Now, he hires a physiotherapist to take care of his knee because he feels he needs to stand up straight and step over everything. criticize. Van Dijk doesn’t do what other players do, who post photos on social networking sites with messages like “I won’t be crushed” to impress. He did it because he realized the value of maintaining a healthy condition for his body.

When he returned to Liverpool, he was warned that it would take some time to get used to his healed knee. Perhaps that took longer than expected. But at the age of 32, Van Dijk can look at Thiago Silva, who is 39 years old but still playing at the highest level at Chelsea.