The Americanisation of using stats to discuss everything has a problem. It’s the fact football has decades of history and VVD isn’t even the best of the decade, let alone compared with players from the past. Even taking into account the development of the game, where teams rely less on crosses, man marking is semi abolished and so on.
Virgil van Dijk | Performances
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
The most underrated defender ever. Against a side like Barca, I'd have him over any other prem defender ever.
Yeah, more that use of stats, it's misuse of them.
Biggest match of the season and this was probably his poorest performance whole season. The inaction for the second goal looks pretty bad.
Vidic had a lot more defending to do. VVD is very well protected by the defensive organisation and work of the whole team and gets disproportionate credit for it.
Napoli away, Red Star away, PSG away, Barca away - didn't stand out in these games at all. Could have been red carded against Napoli at home which would have been the end for Liverpool in the CL this season. Made a stupid foul on Sane for the pen that Mahrez missed...A lot of questionable performances in the biggest games this season.
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Rio never made a mistake.
Nonsense. One season, what are you talking about ? He’s been brilliant since the day he arrived in the PL with Southampton, just as good as he’s been this season. What do you think made Liverpool pay £75m for him ? They hardly shelled that out on the back of an average season or two at Southampton.
You’re making it sound like you never saw him play prior to this season, now that’s the laughable bit !
No big club was interested in him after his first season at Soton and he signed a new 6-year contract with them. Because there were no offers.
Oh yes. He was the impenetrable force for Southampton. What lofty standards those were. I'm sorry but nobody considered him a top defender at Southampton because he wasn't one. He impressed at Southampton the season before Liverpool got it him but it's not the same at performing at a higher level for a team competing for top honours.
Better than Maldini?
Clubs usually give new contracts to players after one season because of the opposite.
Well Giggs didn't have one at the time and it was more of a romantic vote for all time services.
??
Who did bid for VVD? And why didn't he accept the offer? He wanted to stay at Soton?
Before that shoulder challenge, Rio definitely had him in his pocket. Vidic did struggle more when fast players dragged him wide and set him up one on one.
Seems people are forgetting just how good Vidic was in his prime. Van Dijk is a very, very good defender. Arguably the best in the world right now. But Vidic was on another level, and he wasn't even the best at the club.
Imo he couldn't really do anything last night. Football fans just like to criticise everything.
Yea, best defenders to those who don't watch him...
Very good player but laughably overrated. What's worse is the active clamour to overrate every single thing that he does and to try give him the title of 'best ever' etc.
Vidic naaaah, United Personified. The best there was, will ever be.
His header clearance during the champions league final in moscow against Drogba on 60th minute is by far the greatest outstanding defending i have ever seen.
The stage, from behind, against powerful Drogba, to get the sort of impact and distance to clear the ball was just Vidic in his supreme best.
No wonder Drogba slapped him during ET.
His header clearance during the champions league final in moscow against Drogba on 60th minute is by far the greatest outstanding defending i have ever seen.
The stage, from behind, against powerful Drogba, to get the sort of impact and distance to clear the ball was just Vidic in his supreme best.
No wonder Drogba slapped him during ET.
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I heard he also likes to club baby seals in his spare time. Overrated bastard!
Seriously, this thread belongs on RAWK.
Seriously, this thread belongs on RAWK.
Though it does give me an insight into why they were so bitter about our players when we were (unlike Pool) winning titles. This stuff week after week is annoying to listen to about a rival player
Half of the posts by United fans on here recognise him as probably the best defender in the world. The reactions are mostly against those who put him next to the greatest PL defenders ever.
Except they were poor mistakes he could have done something about. Suarez and Messi should have been more closely marked for both goals. I mean, shit happens and everybody makes mistakes but let's not pretend the defending on the first Messi goal wasn't terrible.
And to be honest, that for me is worse than peak Messi ripping you to shreds in terms of pure skill becuase I have never seen a defender who can deal with peak Messi who is in the mood. This was worse as it was carelessless from Liverpool that didn't pick up Messi at all.
He's allowed to make a mistake to two as is every defender. But it doesn't change the occurrence of the mistake
I agree with both of you honestly, but it's threads like these that make me wonder whether fans of clubs truly don't understand that one set of fans is not better or worse than another. Fans of all clubs tend to overate their achievements and ridicule achievements of others. Same with the Messi vs Ronaldo thread where everyone accuses the other side of bias.
It's silly
Having said that; I think De Ligt is better than Van Dijk.
I miss that blue eyed Italian.
Maldini = 25 years at one if the top clubs in the world at the time, 26 trophies including 5cl and a world cup.
Vvd = 0
I'd definitely say VVD is on par with him after just under two seasons at Liverpool winning nothing.
Anybody saying Van Dijk is better than the likes or Rio, Vidic, Terry, Carvalho, Campbell, peak Kompany etc need their head looked at.
He's just about the best in the Prem at the moment but people praise him for far too much. I heard a commentator praise him the other day when somebody missed a chance. Van Dijk was about 10 yards away from the guy but apparently his aura was enough to put the guy off. Also just heard a guy on Sunday Supplement saying that he got in a Cardiff players head by looking at him across the pitch, so the guy miss controlled the ball. He has magic powers apparently. It's utterly ridiculous.
Most over rated player in my opinion. Good but not a god.
He's just about the best in the Prem at the moment but people praise him for far too much. I heard a commentator praise him the other day when somebody missed a chance. Van Dijk was about 10 yards away from the guy but apparently his aura was enough to put the guy off. Also just heard a guy on Sunday Supplement saying that he got in a Cardiff players head by looking at him across the pitch, so the guy miss controlled the ball. He has magic powers apparently. It's utterly ridiculous.
Most over rated player in my opinion. Good but not a god.
He was ball watching for the 1st goal.
I would definitely take him over those two.
He is. Alongside Godin.
Not a chance, he's a 27 year old CB (28 in July) having his first very very good season.
Vincent Kompany moved to Man City at the age of 22 and was superb for at least 5 or 6 years. Van Dijk has had one year at that level and looks like he will still have 0 medals to his name (Unless you count the ones in Scotland)
People love a players peak. Like when people say Ronaldinho is better than Ronaldo. Utterly mental based on a couple of fantastic seasons. Van Dijk is slap bang in the middle of his peak physically and mentally. This is as good as it gets for him, he hasn't been a great over the course of his career.
He's played 50 games for Liverpool. He needs a couple of hundred at least and a few trophies to be mentioned in the same breath as the other guys.
It seems that people lapped up the media narrative of brownnosing Liverpool and their players. To put him amongst Vidić or Rio is laughable.
If I were him, I'd move to Juve to win 10 scudetto's in a row. That'l show people who's boss.
He'll certainly need to keep up his current performances to be able to be equated with Rio or Vidic. He has certainly been amongst them on his current season form but Rio and Vidic were at this level for 3 seasons.
That’s the problem
He just stood there as Suarez ghosted past for numero uno & didn’t anticipate the danger for the second one either
I have seen Pogba's Scudettos discounted on here.
Everything is played down unless its done in mighty league.
People under rate Kompany. He was a beast in his prime.
Looking at the first one again, yes, he did just stand there and let Suarez run in.
The second one, not at fault, it happened very quickly.
Bollocks, pure lack of awareness where Messi was. He didn't even track him, ball watching at its best.