The greatness of Virgil van Dijk

Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk is great.

It’s time for people to stop disrespecting Virgil Van Dijk and start appreciating his greatness.

A rumored quote from Michael Ballack surrounding the luckiness of Van Dijk has gone viral around the footballing world. The former German international is claimed to have stated that he was lucky to not play in the past eras of Premier League history.

Although there is no evidence that Ballack actually made those comments, people are still backing the claims.

This has caused debates surrounding the talents of the Dutchman compared to other greats to be stirred up once again.

But the truth is, despite how great the likes of Nemanja Vidic and John Terry were, there has not been a more complete and dominant center-back in the Premier League than the reigning European Player of the Year.

The narrative that Van Dijk played against weaker competition is simply blasphemous. The attacking talent in the Premier League has been more abundant in recent years than it has ever been before.

England’s first division has now become the premier place to play for many talents around the world. So, the competition has been amped up and players are now simply more physically and technically gifted then they’ve ever been before.

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10-20 years down the line fans will think more highly of names like Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, and Harry Kane than most of the ones supposedly listed by Ballack.

But if that’s not enough, the Dutchman has also excelled against generational talents in the Champions League such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luiz Suarez, Robert Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappe, and Neymar just to name a few.

But despite all of the talent going forward, Van Dijk has managed to dominate the competition. It’s hard to express how good a defender is using popular stats such as tackles, interceptions, and aerial duels won are more indicative of play style rather than ability.

A better way is to look at win rates for these stats which provide a better viewpoint, albeit not perfect.

This season, van Dijk’s tackle success rate of 69.4% is actually down from recent years where he would top the 70% mark. Yet, he still ranks in the 98th percentile of all center-backs in Europe’s big five leagues.

Even more impressive is his aerial duel win rate where he has consistently finished in the top three in the Premier League (averaging around 80%) since he arrived at Liverpool. Van Dijk’s prowess in the air has also benefited the Reds going forward as they lead the Premier League in goals off set pieces, with the Dutchman scoring four.

So maybe captain Jordan Henderson was right saying that the older generation forwards the “lucky ones”. Former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol has also come to Van Dijk’s defense stating he was one of the most complete defenders in the world.

It’s a shame to see that Van Dijk isn’t getting the respect he deserves. He dominates week in and week out and he has picked up more accolades in the past few years than players get in their whole careers.

So, Instead of waiting until his playing days are over, football fans should start appreciating the greatness of Virgil van Dijk while they can still see him play at the highest level.