Liverpool players opted to have Virgil van Dijk as the Reds’ captain for the Champions League clash with Red Star Belgrade this week.
Many Liverpool fans were delighted when Jurgen Klopp named Virgil van Dijk to be captain this week for the Champions League matchup with Red Star Belgrade. However it turns out it was not the manager’s decision but the players themselves.
In his pre-match press conference Klopp spoke about the decision after Jordan Henderson and James Milner did not make the starting eleven. He revealed that he asked the players should be captain and vice-captain for the clash and the picked van Dijk and Gini Wijnaldum respectively.
More from Rush The Kop
- Set to return, Virgil Van Dijk facing heavy criticism back home
- Liverpool making late comebacks all the rage once again
- Wolves tilt gives Klopp opportunity to tinker with lineup following international duty
- Players to watch in the matchup with Wolves
- Predicting Liverpool’s Next Five Premier League Fixtures
The Dutch pair were given the tasks with their English colleagues sidelined and were both magnificent in the 4-0 victory.
Having van Dijk as captain was a break for the norm for Klopp who has tended to give the captaincy to the longest serving player in the absence of Henderson and Milner. That has most often been Dejan Lovren. That player on Wednesday would have been Roberto Firmino.
But the manager took a different tack. That will surely lead to speculation that he is testing the waters ahead of a permanent change for the captaincy.
Seeing van DIjk with armband and the excellent first proper start for Fabinho will have been a blow for Henderson who is always struggling to get a portion of the Liverpool fanbase to believe in him.
No-one is expecting a change any time soon – it seems highly unlikely to happen mid-season. But if the manager uses more of Fabinho and Naby Keita (when healthy) then both Milner and Henderson could see significantly reduced playing time.
There is much debate how much the captaincy matters in the modern game. Certainly Jordan Henderson has been a fine representative of the club and Virgil van Dijk has been able to be a leader without the armband.