Why Van Dijk Is Liverpool’s Most Important Player

On this week's episode of The Breakdown, brought to you by Sky Bet, we take a closer look at the impact Virgil van Dijk has had on Liverpool following their 10th League Cup win.
Would you class van Dijk as one of if not the best centre-back we’ve seen in the Premier League?
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[@ThrottleBody]

I don’t wanna see any Saliba comments in this section. VVD is elite and should be respected as such.

[@tugroti66]

Is the Saliba in the room with us right now?

[@trashed4005]

says a whole ton about my boy if this is the highest rated comment already lol, you man always make it so fucking easy

[@Obione88]

LOL. What has Saliba won?? He’s a good player but he’s been good for about 2 seasons at best

[@ThrottleBody]

@@trashed4005 it’s the highest comment due to the delusional arsenal fans that try and justify player’s lack of achievements 😂

[@trashed4005]

​@@Obione88 That is indeed the point, you man seem to compare your best defenders to ours and Saliba is like 10 years younger than VVD. Just because we have the the strongest defence in the league. KEK

[@Matchcompanion1]

VVD is one of the greatest CB's in premier league history and the most important player for his team in the world.

[@toiletcomputer]

Something I've noticed but not heard mentioned about his play style. Is that he doesn't get too close to his opponent when they're baring down on goal. He plays the percentages and trusts his keeper. And instead of getting in front (where the keeper would be obstructed and if it goes through his legs the keepers done) he times his block brilliantly with an outstretched leg. He got pulled up about that in negative way against arsenal but he's absolutely magnificent at it

[@user-sz2ut4od6s]

@@toiletcomputerand stays on his feet

[@samyogmalakar7851]

best center half in the world and one of if not the best of all time no matter what these nostalgic rival fans say

[@lescorlett4133]

I'd like to give a shout to Hansen and Hyypia but I think you might be right.

[@andrewwright4195]

​@lescorlett4133 Hanson was 80s van Dirk but I wasn't born

[@Omar_Little]

@@lescorlett4133 hyypia. lmao hahahaha

[@MrBounce66]

Love VVD and he's been fantastic for us. But to say he's the best CB ever....that's so monumentally wrong, is bordering on stupid.

[@andrewwright4195]

@MrBounce66 at his peak was unstoppable he changed liverpool big time

[@gibbo6985]

He is the PERFECT Centre Back as he has all the attributes you would want. Speed, strength, composure, winning mentality - a beast of a player.

[@SriRam-fp1kt]

And scores goals

[@Do27gg]

Idk how people can say vidic is better 😂

[@twiggy99]

​​@@Do27ggvidic was absolutely top class but in a different era in a different way. The way CB play now is completely different to even 10years ago. Almost all teams now play out from the back usually through the CB, a CB now has so many touches of the ball they have a massive say in the game. They have to be a complete player now, not just a big tackler, 10/20 years ago that wasn't the case, it was about being strong and making tackles and nothing else

[@rwd9401]

​@@twiggy99I partially agree with you. However, you forget that in the past the strikers of most teams were also a lot better than those of today.

[@daryldaryl2867]

@@Do27gg haha those nostalgia merchants

[@dealerG]

In terms of just quality, he's the best CB in PL history. I've watched Rio, Terry, Vidic, Kompany, Carvalho, Cambell, etc and Virgil is the best just based on the eye test let alone the stats. More trophies and Jordan-esque performances in semi-finals and finals, like in the Carabao Cup, and it's completely indisputable.

[@Do27gg]

It’s the fact he can catch up with Adama traore as well as ping a ball 70 yards, like imagine vidic trying both those things 😂

[@MrYoungerr]

right??? Imagine being the fastest player in a Champions league campaign@@Do27gg

[@kevingates8339]

Dude you can’t say more Trophies when he’s won one PL and everyone else you compared him too won more, except maybe Campbell, when you are talking about PL history. Although I agree he’s probably the best all time the trophies statement is just wrong

[@dealerG]

@@kevingates8339 The trophies part has more to do with legacy and greatness.

[@manpalsoin5943]

Utterly brilliant player. Those stats are mental.

[@SD-nq6kg]

"They thought I was finished" 🥶 🥶 🥶

[@thomassmith6638]

Jheeeez

[@wilsoncws827]

Had a slight dip after the ACL (still baffled why Pickford wasn't sent off) but he's certainly back to his best this season. Imagine he never had that injury, his numbers would be even better!

[@stephenglover9566]

Absolute monster of a player. Need to keep him after Klopp leaves just to ease the transition

[@godfreymwenelupembe2602]

His definitely one of the best defenders I've ever seen in my life

[@hashshashiinme7656]

I would say there are two. Its Alison and Van Dijk

[@rwd9401]

Alisson? No he has made to many mistakes..

[@denzel1989]

​@@rwd9401no he hasnt hardly makes mistakes he's the best keeper in the world

[@rwd9401]

@@denzel1989 uuh no.. Jan oblak

[@thomassmith6638]

@@rwd9401Alisson is the best GK in the world lad

[@denzel1989]

@@rwd9401 nah he can't play out with his feet good shot stopper tho

[@landofbullzuk2782]

The best we have seen in the prem and konate is looking more and more like virg when he plays.. cool as you like

[@bbclaus1716]

Konate has a couple of big flaws to his game. His lack of decision making and positioning can drag him 30 40 yards out of position at times, completely exposing the back. Maybe he has improved, i havent been able to watch many ganes this season.

[@sarathmohan979]

Quesnah is more like him except the speed.

[@olliered9924]

@@bbclaus1716 I love Konate and is still young and can improve a lot but Matip and Van dijk is still my favourite partnership we could really do with Matip for that Man city game lol Matip and Van dijk together have not lost against Man city yet but its a shame we probably wont see him in a Liverpool shirt again due to that acl injury.

[@heighleybaily8037]

Wow, I knew he was great, but seeing the comparison with the other greats really puts it in perspective

[@YanYnwa]

Van Dijk is Inevitable

[@KyleSLFC]

What a player❤🔴

[@darahdoyle3176]

He is probably the classiest CB I've seen since Hansen. So cool under pressure.

[@RAC345]

Always thought he’s the best defender in PL history, didn’t realise the stats back it up so clearly!

[@LoCoAde87]

I have been watching EPL football since 94/95. Is the most complete CB I have seen. Attribute wise. There is no debate. Tactically and stylistic wise, and it's not a a knock on legends, but could you imagine Terry or Rio in a Klopp highline with so much pace and versatility in attacking play around? Pep and Conte wanted to sign him too but he opted for Klopp. Man was top class at Celtic as their fans always said. At Southampton too. The myth he has only been excellent at Liverpool is rubbish. People say he lost it after his nasty injury. Yet man was quality in the quad run season especially the last half of 22/23. Liverpool had no midfield protection and were fatigued + crazy winter world cup schedule last season. He is back. He is the gold standard.

[@ericthekop9624]

He's world class.

[@dave3295]

I would say in terms of ability and individual quality, he is the best in the PL and probably the best the league has ever seen. In terms of ranking him against the best in the league, it’s difficult because he hasn’t won the league enough. Football is of course a team sport, and Terry, Ferdinand etc had better teams around them for longer periods and were in the dominant teams of those eras. I would say he is in the top 5 best defenders because of that. In terms of overall ability, however, he is probably the best.

[@MrYoungerr]

if it was about trophies alone then gerrard should never be in the conversation of one of the best pl midfielders of all tiime. Look at his individual trophies, no CB comes close and i mean they don't come close at all. He was no 2 in the ballon dior ranking the clossest to him got No 10. He was closer to winning it (by 7 points) than anyone ever got to him. Won the europes best player of the yeer, never been done. was the fasters player in europe that year. Man of the match in 3 of the 8 finals Liverpool has played. and keeping 5 clean sheets.

[@jackhicks1765]

I was really worried about how we would cope without the leadership of hendo and milly but virg has proper stepped up as a great captain!

[@bemindful924]

@2:40 That's the brilliant pass to Mané vs Bayern Munchen in the Champions league quarter-finals. A 1-3 win in the lions den. As for the question wether he is the best. If you look at ability alone, it's no contest: *Virgil van Dijk is the best* But you can argue that he needs longevity, a longer period of time to be consistently elite. Here is where opinions differ. But nobody can argue that he is the most complete defender ever. Lastly, it's an error in thinking to bring up trophies since that takes a collective effort to win and we're looking at individual merit. Though, it's wise to look at the influence of each player on the road to winning the trophies.

[@paramveersingh2919]

Love the fact that people realising big Virg is the real deal. Just wondering if it makes sense to use totals for completed passes...he could have played more mins than other players in the squad( not saying he has, but the totals can be misleading) maybe per 90 would be better...

[@KeepieUppie10]

Yeah, some of the stats mentioned here aren't great. Nor is mentioning the number of man of the match awards.

[@samkelorashuza5949]

​@@KeepieUppie10Which ones aren't great out of curiosity?

[@bojack3827]

Easily the best CB in terms of ability. The guy is a freak of nature in terms of his height, speed, strength, passing ability etc.

[@christor2907]

Easily the best I've seen in the Premier league. He will go down as top 5 all time.

[@astromanicdave]

Only player I have ever seen in my time that has an air of calm and confidence in defence was Rio. And I’m a Liverpool fan. It’s always subjective. But VVD has another 3/4 years at the top in him. Let’s see how he goes before we consider him the best.

[@Do27gg]

I think he already has, just doesn’t have the trophy cabinet

[@MrYoungerr]

exactly, it is good to have trophies to show for your abilities, But only shallow minds focus on trophies alone to rate players@@Do27gg

[@NoSurrender786]

Many people praising VVD were writing him off last season

[@banb9511]

Best CB I have ever seen in 30 years watching football

[@OtacBulldogs]

VVD can do all the things that the past great CB's could do. Yet many couldn't do the additional things he does.

[@TheNakster85]

The best version of VVD is the best CB ever seen. The others were very good but in a normal way. Virgil just different class

[@SSvebor]

The best. Period.

[@KeepieUppie10]

I just wish he was on free-kicks occasionally to see if he still has that dead ball ability he had at Celtic.

[@ekamroopsinghchaggar6112]

Player of the season so far for me

[@NessieJN]

You'll never get people to agree on individual rankings so take it like this if we took the whole history of football and all greatest defenders of all time and put them into lets say a tier forget individual ranking but a tier VVDs in the very top tier where maybe 10 players or so are he's that good elite doesn't do him justice once in a lifetime player.

[@Jerrard232]

All of this since he tore his ACL! Vidic was done after his at a similar age!

[@ashafaghi]

Virgil is everything to Liverpool in this season!

[@canonogic]

The only thing counting against VVD is longevity at the highest level in the prem. The reason why Terry or Ferdinand are often put above him

[@HandzSome]

Best CB the prem has ever seen!

[@lalruatfeela13]

2:40 we all know that turn by Mane for the goal against Bayern Munich

[@flittler]

Van Dijk is phenomenally well-rounded but the way Saliba is progressing he's on pace to register on-par or surpass Virgil

[@gusnas7297]

U must be crazy! Look at the stats and trophies???😂

[@achillesjones7469]

Impressive.

[@brianlaffey3117]

Best we've ever seen in PL Fact

[@JamiePerry-vv4rh]

vvd had one of the best peaks ive ever seen on a cb hes def top 15 all time

[@temirzhansagiyev5791]

Up to this moment, VVD is the best in PL history

[@yutehube4468]

Are you having a laugh? All of these defenders were better than Van Dijk: - Jaap Stam - Rio Ferdinand - Tony Adams - John Terry - Ashley Cole - Nemanja Vidic - Gary Neville - Patrice Evra - Marcel Desailly - Denis Irwin

[@tomstar1800]

@@yutehube4468comparing full backs to a centre back already tells us all we need to know about your opinion mate, keep it to yourself next time please

[@tmvincent90]

Ur naming full backs lol , vvd could play full back , cole and Dennis Irwin couldn’t play cb

[@mixedmitchell9178]

​@@yutehube4468Just throwing full backs in there to try and boost the numbers in your list up doesn't enhance your point it pretty much invalidates it!

[@3allz]

Clearly didnt watch the video either where it showed VVD has better stats vs half of the CB's you mentioned.@@yutehube4468

[@bramharms72]

Vir-gil Van is a big Dutch man... 😁

[@dman9152]

Greatest premier league Cb ever its not even debate.

[@redshift8302]

I would have given him the biggest wages in the team as soon as he decided not to go to Euros, and this based on his importance alone.

[@sozak79]

The best ever in the premiership for sure

[@johno9761]

It’s funny we’ve had about 7-8 “most important players”, it’s VVD, then it’s Salah, then it’s Alisson, then it’s Trent, before that it was Fabinho, it was Mane, it was Firmino 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@ketz108932]

He is already the best premier league center back ever. No Debate. Stats back it.

[@cryptovagrant1136]

Just his speed, height, strength and technique…he would be the best of any era…of course, have him grow up in those eras and he might have come out differently. Point is…he’s quite good yep

[@j__o__k__e_r1280]

Hi Can you please get Sir Kenny Dalglish on Stick to Football

[@aaront9778]

facts

[@bjj9711]

He is perfect. The only problem is his age. He should leave Liverpool for real madrid and try get some more trophies before he retires

[@ellbino229]

The GOAT

[@pipsiscroudel3847]

Not sure you can argue that he’s not number 1 in the premier league. Stats and subjective appraisal with awards and rankings between other players positions (second to Messi) no one else can boast that

[@declancarr6789]

Is that win % just for the league this season?

[@user-dr2ww2jg8o]

It’s Salah and it’s not even close an attacker will always be more important than a defender

[@souldoc70]

Yes I think he’s the best CB in EPL history

[@gusnas7297]

Hé never get the reconision and respect in his own Country like in the UK

[@jasonchadburn1434]

He is the best in the world

[@mattgiant8836]

Facts don't lie.

[@salehr8770]

Terry VVD Ferdinand kompany Stam Vidic is my order. And VVD is only one not finished yet

[@Kopite96]

And people don't believe us fans when we say he's just as good or even better than these Prem legends. The facts speak for themselves.

[@ebalrusskix]

Абсолютно в каждой эпохе есть крутой голландец, и он не исключение 😂

[@ynwa9785]

Not one the best the best Terry Ferdinand maldini vvd took it to new level not basied genuine best I have ever seen

[@HSVIRK]

🐐

[@My_Yout]

He's one of the best CB in premier league history but he isn't THE best.

[@markdavis8430]

Robertson

[@markfaulkner4335]

Van dijk signed in 2017 not 2019

[@aaront9778]

jan 2018

[@RB-xg2vz]

Pundits still haven’t figured out that EVERY Liverpool player is as important as the other….its a team game. That’s why Man Utd are so bad nowadays….

[@andrewbesford7268]

Carra sporting some really questionable trainers tonight on MNF!!!??? Got to be free-bees……..or maybe hand me downs 😂

[@daan94]

Community Shield does not count.

[@makumbakatete2163]

VVD haters shock me, if you know the game and how its played. You can tell he is the best.

[@kevingates8339]

Klopps kids!!!!!

[@sidb37]

Those eight finals, not them.

[@thegoat9837]

He’s washed they said 🙄 He’s simply the best the prem has ever seen. Period!

[@turabnaqvi313]

Nostalgia merchants can suck it.

[@Do27gg]

He’s honestly the best CB of all time, how can anyone argue against that?

[@MrBounce66]

Very easily. He's fantastic, but it's stupid to say he's the best CB of all time.

[@Do27gg]

@@MrBounce66 who’s better?

[@MrBounce66]

@@Do27gg Maldini, Cannavaro, Baresi, Beckenbauer to name a few. I could go on if you like.

[@Do27gg]

@@MrBounce66 what makes them better? They can’t do what van dijk is doing

[@MrBounce66]

@@Do27gg Well apart from the fact they did it for 20 odd years. At international level and club level, won everything more than once, could tackle better, pass better. Look VVd is incredible, he's been a rock for us now he's really over his injury. But he is NOT the best of all time. That's like saying Salah is the best of all time. he's not.

[@ShaunLevett]

Don't show this to Jason Cundy

[@moemohamed7518]

VVD join liverpool Jan 2018 not Jan 2019

[@The-RedOpinion]

Rolls Royce

[@mrspeedtriple4948]

Da da da da da da da SALIBA

[@user-hu8yy6xo5g]

Hiii

[@user-bo1vf8ro1o]

First comment come at me

[@graemecreegan6749]

Vidic 😂

[@sratus]

This is like a Tifo video but not as good. A poor copy.

[@michaelmcclelland7534]

I thought their most important player was the referee

[@redshift8302]

You're talking about Man Utd? You're spot on. They just put the ball in the net in a situation that looked exactly the same as the disallowed one on Sunday, and unsurprisingly the goal stood.

[@sebluketravis2438]

33 soon. Not for much longer he aint

[@souravs8797]

why should we look on that now ...we r enjoying him in the present ...we have the best defender in the world now and he looks so fit and has years left in him

[@tomstar1800]

I’d be miserable too if I was an Everton fan

[@redshift8302]

3 years more at the top, unfortunately for you. He's much better than Thiago Siva.

[@KeyzKieran]

Defenders can play for a long time, the only thing that he will start to lose is his speed. He has the ability to play until 38+

[@yutehube4468]

*All of these center backs were better than Van Dijk:* - John Terry - Rio Ferdinand - Tony Adams - Nemanja Vidic - Gary Pallister - Jaap Stam

[@leedudgeon5861]

Your on acid

[@rajgus7638]

Both Ferdinand and Kompany has said that vvd is better

[@yutehube4468]

@@leedudgeon5861 My on acid?

[@twiggy99]

All very good defenders at the top of the list but in a different era. VVD is certainly the most complete CB I've ever seen, no one is even close. The game has changed now where the ball comes out through the CBs, every play now starts with them, it's no longer about simply having a big tackle on you, a CB now needs to be a complete player, passing, controlling the tempo of the game.

[@yutehube4468]

@@rajgus7638 Perhaps when Van Dijk has had 514 senior appearances like Rio Ferdinand has (not just 390 like Van Dijk) we can assess whether that's true or not. Also, a player claiming another player is better doesn't mean they are, they are just trying to be respectful.

[@fazthe_deal_sealer3800]

The best ever in PL era. Just straight facts

[@kevmoore2148]

🐐

[@herpreetvirk]

🐐