Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk claimed his immense focus on being able to comfortably use both feet while on the ball has helped him become the world class defender he is today.
The Dutchman appears to be in a league of his own once again, after returning to Jurgen Klopp’s side at the start of the campaign. A horrendous anterior cruciate ligament injury kept him out of the Reds Premier League title defence, while also side-lining him for the entirety of Euro 2020.
But after a difficult start to the campaign, the former Southampton and Celtic defender has been back to his imperious best, providing the defensive fortifications for Liverpool’s bid to win the quadruple this season. And former Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly, revealed the 30-year-old highlighted his commitment to practicing with both feet as one of the key reasons for his excellence.
“I was with him at the final of the League Cup,” Desailly said to beIN SPORTS, via the Liverpool Echo. “I was asking him ‘which foot do you prefer (to play with)?'.
“He said that he has two feet. He has been training with it. Different era. Modern football. The defenders are talented also with the ball and their ability to play with both feet.”
Liverpool paid Southampton £75million to bring him over to Anfield in the 2018 January transfer window. At the time, the move comfortably made the cultured centre-half the most expensive defender in football history.
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However, his immediate impact and transformation of a once inconsistent defence was the catalyst to Liverpool reaching the Champions League final. After losing to Real Madrid in Kyiv, the Reds regrouped and went on to win the Champions League and the Premier League over the next two seasons.
Van Dijk’s consistently brilliant performances have arguably entrenched him as the best central defender in world football today. But while many are quick to attribute him as the epitome of the modern centre-half, former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker Michael Owen went the extra mile to describe him as the best defender of all time.
“He plays in second gear and it’s too easy for him,” Owen said after the Reds’ 1-0 victory over West Ham in March. “The game is easy for him.
“I will go one step further. I have never ever seen, in my lifetime, I don’t think I have seen a better defender. I have played against some great defenders. I don’t see what he can’t do.
“He is lighting fast. Brilliant on the ball. Scores goals. A beast in the air. He reads the game. A leader. I don’t know what he doesn’t do.
“If I think back at all the greats, Marcel Desailly was the best defender I played against. The likes of Rio and John Terry. Real Rolls-Royce. Then you go into some of the best defenders. I don’t think I have seen a better defender. He could be one of the greatest of all time.”
