I strongly believe that along with being a goalkeeper, playing centre half is the most difficult position on the pitch. You could be having the game of your life for 89 minutes but if you switch off for a split second you could cost your team a result, and that split second is what everyone is going to remember. The biggest thing I’ve learnt since joining West Brom nearly 4 years ago is, to have a career in the game it’s not about being able to ping a diagonal pass 50 yards or being extremely comfortable on the ball, it’s about being reliable. A manager must be able to look at you before a game and know that from the first minute to the last your are going to be consistent and I don’t think a lot of people understand how difficult that is.
Virgil Van Dijk is the perfect example. He makes the most difficult role on the pitch look so simple, he almost glides through games and it’s very rare he makes a mistake. Managers throughout the top clubs in Europe could only dream of having him in their side because he has taken Liverpool from being a good team to arguably the best in the world. He has received praise but I don’t think he is appreciated anywhere near as much as he should be. Running at a defender 1v1 is a tricky players dream but Van Dijk has got to a stage now where players don’t even try and take him on and that is the biggest compliment any defender could receive.
“He is so good, He is powerful, quick, he possesses all the qualities. He is an incredible player.” – Erling Haaland
“I hate going up against him. He’s too big, too strong, too quick, too good on the ball, loves fighting, a good head of hair.” – Troy Deeney
People would associate top defenders with those who fly into tackles but Van Dijk doesn’t do this. He’s almost single handedly changing the art of defending, he is so intelligent and the positions he gets himself into means the majority of the time he doesn’t need to tackle. In my eyes, what he does for Liverpool week in and week out is the equivalent of a striker scoring 30 goals in a season and should be considered as one of the best players in the world.
Maybe I am a tiny bit biased as I am a defender so I appreciate what he does a little bit more than others would and I am also a Liverpool fan but I believe he should have won the ballon d’Or. Without him, I’ve no doubt Liverpool wouldn’t have won the Champions League and only lost 1 game in an entire season but unfortunately the role he played will never be as appreciated as someone who scores 30/40 goals. Do I believe he will ever win the ballon d’Or? I believe he should win it, but I don’t think he will just based on history and the fact only one defender has won it in the 21st century. If I could advise any young defenders looking for someone to model their game around, then Virgil Van Dijk is your man.
A case for the defence 