The Curious Case of Virgil Van Dijk

After Van Dijk led Liverpool To a Carabao Cup victory over Chelsea a couple days ago, the old argument over Van Dijk’s status among the greats of the Premier League emerged.
Van Dijk is in a bit of a unique position right now after his career altering ACL injury that robbed us of potentially the indisputable greatest center back career in the history of the Prem.
Now that he’s mostly returned to his old form and once again looks like the best defender in the world, many have been bold enough to call him the best defender England has ever seen. Is it a fair title to give him though?? Arguments can be made.
Thanks for watching.

[@mandafrombk]

This video isn’t really to make the case that Van Dijk is the best defender in Prem history. It’s moreso to raise the question of where the line is drawn when it comes to longevity. Sure he doesn’t have the longevity of other legendary CBs but other legendary CBs never reached the heights he did so why does longevity always matter more? It all comes down to personal preference and which one you personally value more, there’s no law saying one is better than the other

[@sigurdandersen3036]

One of the most disrespected players in Premier league history. No other cb has ever been more complete than him, man was 7 points away from wining a Ballon do´r against one of the best versions of Messi aswell

[@mandafrombk]

The fact dat he had a genuine case for Ballon D’or over the most absurd version of Messi as a defender is not nearly as respected as it should be, if Liverpool was my team I would NEVER shutup about it. People always say “Yeah he had a great prime and dats it” 😭 it wasn’t just a “great prime” it was the best season a defender has ever had. Simple

[@Belligol.]

Shoutout the brainrot Man U fans comparing him to Johnny Evans based on trophies

[@cutecat1764]

"No other cb has ever been more complete than him" please dont be delusional now

[@cutecat1764]

i do agree slightly though that was not the absurd version of messi, and its not like defenders have never had chances, sure its little but it has happened,beckenbauer won one,cannavaro,sammer,matthaus e.t.c@@mandafrombk

[@iprince7934]

@@cutecat1764 Name me one thats more complete than 18-2020 Vandijk. Cause none of them come close

[@dovo9995]

He’s the best defender of his generation, old heads just can’t accept it.

[@killemshaun]

Greatest bc ever

[@Jacobow]

In the prem? Yes. If you're talking about all of Europe, he's like top 5.

[@OnlyOneFootball-og9rc]

@@Jacobowagree

[@bjdfed]

Good argument mate

[@icecreamy521]

Agreed him and ramos define the defenders of this gen

[@zuffin1864]

the fact lovren was the level of player he was next to for a couple seasons for many games proves how much he carried that defense. it is insane. also lovren isn't as bad as people say, but he is just nowhere near the level virg was bringing

[@FRAZZ2017]

He is one of the best defenders ever just because he didn't play 13 years or so guess what. Ita the impact on the team that matters as well

[@drewharper5720]

Think about it, Van Dijk is putting together another great case for ballon d’or this season. One trophy already in the bag (motm in the final) and in with a shout for 3 more trophies this season. Say he puts together a good euros campaign this summer and it’s hard to argue that that he isn’t just as much of a difference maker as Jude or Mbappe.

[@safebans1369]

There's very little chance he'll win it. There's only three avenues for winning the ballon d'Or: win the champions league, win a major international competition or play for Real Madrid or (to a lesser extent) Barcelona. Virgil isn't in the CL, the Netherlands have a slim chance of winning at the Euros, and he plays for Liverpool. On top of all that, he's a defender and it's practically impossible for any defender to win the ballon d'Or let alone one who doesn't fit into any of the three criteria mentioned above. The only possible route I can see him winning it honestly is that he wins the Prem and the Euros and also has key iconic moments in the Euros to help the Netherlands win. He'd also need neither of Mbappe or Bellingham to win the CL, and for both of them to disappoint in the Euros. Based off Bellingham's performance so far this season and the fact that Mbappe nearly won the world cup last year basically by himself in the final it's incredibly unlikely that they will both disappear. Even then, there's still a chance that Kane, Saka, De Bruyne Griezmann, or any of Portugal's great forwards become the star of the Euros and that would still put them as front runners even if Virgil had an amazing tournament because they're forwards - especially if someone like Silva, Saka or De Bruyne win the CL too.

[@stevenvandijk1023]

@@safebans1369the only think that he needs is to win the quadruple and a good euro and it can be enough

[@NotSoSqueezy]

No disrespect but you got mad ball knowledge for an American I ain’t tryna be rude I just didn’t know how to say it

[@OnlyOneFootball-og9rc]

Most Americans I know have the same ball knowledge as anybody. Their skill ain’t even that bad either it’s just the ones who have soccer moms

[@markharriot6850]

The reason the VVD argument is hard to prove is because of the lack of quality of forwards in the PL during his time. He’s in an era where there aren’t many elite forwards, not his fault but this will always be levelled at him.

[@TobyElmendorf]

Love this video BTW man, respect, def subscribing

[@lucienwatson6816]

Prayers he stays after this season and if he can take the next gen of Liverpool into some highs then people will just have to accept it. Suffered an absolutely devastating injury in 2020 and had some struggles returning, one could argue that was more influenced by the overall team struggles to regain their shape during a turbulent time, but this season he has been bar none the most dominant defensive player in the prem. Coming up in massive moments and adjusting to a serious shift in tactics. Also should go in his favor that city has changed its cbs literally every single season with one of them being elevated to “potential best in the league” with Ake finally getting his turn this year which one could argue the heights some of cities cbs reach being more related to the team than them as an individual. But such is Liverpool’s curse our players have been severely downplayed by the brilliance of Pep. I’m praying we reach the top of the mountain this year of course cause that’s my club but also so everyone who had all that shit to say about some of our individual components comes out looking brain dead given all of our summer signings, other than maybe grav who I think has often looked pretty class, is out here looking like world beaters on top of some of our slept on core players, Gomez comes to mind, have been killing it in a number of “new” roles. But when you’re going up against oil money and the best coach in modern football such is the struggles. Also US football fans, no we don’t all call it soccer like boneheads, stand up!

[@lucienwatson6816]

Also one critique, Matip was insanely good for a few years.

[@bradchad2645]

I’m sorry but Matip when healthy was world class

[@Juicerock12]

The disrespect to Matip is crazy he was a solid partner for Van Dijk

[@mandafrombk]

Solid? Sure. But dats about it, still considerably worse than Ferdinand and Terry’s

[@Feeling_wheeler_lucky]

I know you are inly speaking of club level but De light is world class

[@g.u9483]

So is Jorginho one of the greatest midfielders prem midfielders ever because he came third in the ballon’dor ranking

[@bjdfed]

Vidić in 2009 has Better defensive stats than vvd in any season of his career 😂😂

[@Artemi099]

Straight up cap

[@bjdfed]

@@Artemi099 its not, you can check it yourself, the only stat in which van dijk topped vidic are head clearances

[@iprince7934]

@@bjdfed Defensive stats without context lol. Vidic never had better defensive stats he got dribbled past and had more tackles and duels because of his role and timeline.

[@ernestjimmy4537]

Bro most defender don’t defend because they have one or two player sitting infront of them before it was box to box not sitting

[@HonestAnalyst]

But old school fall backs didn’t go forward much as modern full backs do. So modern defenders needs a defensive midfielder to help them out. The old school full backs used to help out old school defenders. So it’s equal.

[@stevenvandijk1023]

He is the best defender in prem history. This shouldn’t be a debate 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@Dera07]

Nahh 💀

[@adampauling82]

@@Dera07 deluded rival fan

[@B1izzardd]

I do go back and watch full chunks of season from great players and the only defender I’ve seen that was better at his best was Maldini in my opinion. Even guys like Baresi, Nesta, and Ramos don’t compare to VVD at his peak. Though I think that it’s more fair to compare players to their own era. For example, VVD had decades of advancements in training, nutrition, medical care, tactics, and more over Baresi, so you’d naturally expect him to play at a higher level. So is he the best ever as far as ELO? Probably like top 3, maybe 2 (Maldini🐐). Is he the greatest when accounting for longevity, accomplishments, and era differential? Probably not as high but still great. That’s just the way I see it though and I’m not exactly Guardiola.

[@rizki4077]

Maldini and Van Dijk actually have very Similar playstyle, they defend by reading the game very well, so they don't need to do reckless tackle like other defender do

[@TheofficialGodofwar]

Most definitely not the greatest but he’s up there