For the first time in his Liverpool career, Virgil van Dijk has come in for criticism. The Dutchman has been lauded as the best centre-back on the planet for several years, producing levels of consistency that made it seem like he had been forged in a lab. Alongside his goalkeeping counterpart, Van Dijk was heralded as one of the transformational signings that helped Liverpool on their way to becoming the best team in the world. Now, he has been placed under a microscope he is unfamiliar with. Have age and injuries caught up with him? Or is he simply the victim of his own success?
Van Dijk has been recognised individually on both domestic and global stages, picking up both the PFA Player of the Year and UEFA Men’s Player of the Year awards following Liverpool’s Champions League triumph in 2019. He was 30 and had suffered a career-threatening setback, but the centre-back started the 2022/23 campaign at the top of the tree he has occupied since his arrival. However, for the first time since his Anfield arrival, uncharacteristic mistakes and lapses in concentration showed he is human after all.
Van Dijk admitted that he had played “too many games” across the last two seasons, offering potential reasons for any perceived form and fitness issues. He played the fourth-most minutes of any Red (3,645), and missed only 11 of Liverpool’s 52 games – six of which were enforced by injury. It was taken for granted that Van Dijk would start any Liverpool fixture of significance and that the only moving part up for debate was his centre-back partner.
Jurgen Klopp needs to find a way to give his Dutch centre-back some much-needed rest where possible, without compromising the team’s overall chances of success. Whether that means bringing in fresh legs, asking the current understudies to step up or a combination of the two, protecting Van Dijk from himself will be key to maximising the twilight years of his career. He may not be a robot, but he is perhaps the closest thing we have seen to one in Liverpool red and that is something we must continue to cherish.
For the first time in his Liverpool career, Virgil van Dijk has come in for criticism. The Dutchman has been lauded as the best centre-back on the planet for several years, producing levels of consistency that made it seem like he had been forged in a lab. Alongside his goalkeeping counterpart, Van Dijk was heralded as one of the transformational signings that helped Liverpool on their way to becoming the best team in the world. Now, he has been placed under a microscope he is unfamiliar with. Have age and injuries caught up with him? Or is he simply the victim of his own success?
Van Dijk has been recognised individually on both domestic and global stages, picking up both the PFA Player of the Year and UEFA Men’s Player of the Year awards following Liverpool’s Champions League triumph in 2019. He was 30 and had suffered a career-threatening setback, but the centre-back started the 2022/23 campaign at the top of the tree he has occupied since his arrival. However, for the first time since his Anfield arrival, uncharacteristic mistakes and lapses in concentration showed he is human after all.
Van Dijk admitted that he had played “too many games” across the last two seasons, offering potential reasons for any perceived form and fitness issues. He played the fourth-most minutes of any Red (3,645), and missed only 11 of Liverpool’s 52 games – six of which were enforced by injury. It was taken for granted that Van Dijk would start any Liverpool fixture of significance and that the only moving part up for debate was his centre-back partner. Jurgen Klopp needs to find a way to give his Dutch centre-back some much-needed rest where possible, without compromising the team’s overall chances of success. Whether that means bringing in fresh legs, asking the current understudies to step up or a combination of the two, protecting Van Dijk from himself will be key to maximising the twilight years of his career.
Van Dijk still has a monumental role to play in this side, but Liverpool simply cannot afford to rely on him as heavily as they did in his 20s. His best moment this season was three points, a clean sheet and a place on the scoresheet during a 9-0 thumping of Bournemouth, while his worst moment was a missed clearance allowing Leandro Trossard to complete a hat-trick in the 3-3 draw with Brighton at Anfield. His role next season will be a promotion to vice-captain, occasional rests but continuing to be the most important defender. He may not be