The Invisible Genius of Virgil van Dijk
Defenders tend to be overlooked when it comes to individual honors. Only four center-backs have ever won the Ballon d’Or. Only one, Franz Beckenbauer, has won it twice. No fullback has ever won. It’s been almost 20 years since the last defender won the award. One of the most persistent criticisms of awards of this nature is that they overwhelmingly favor attention-grabbing strikers and attacking midfielders. Even leaving aside the fact that the Ballon d’Or has increasingly taken on the qualities of a PR orgy rather than a genuine award, there’s historically always been a gap in appreciation between attackers and defenders. The gap has only widened in the modern game’s focus on attacking soccer and quantifiable performance metrics. But the playstyle of the center back has adapted to modern realities. No player in the world has embodied those more than Virgil van Dijk.
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The Ballon D’oh
In light of that simple fact, that he continues to evade plaudits is bizarre. Virgil’s place in the Ballon d’Or rankings was revealed to be an insultingly low 28th, further illustrating this baffling tendency. This is juxtaposed nicely with him later being named to the World XI for a historic fifth time in a row. A man who has consistently been recognized as one of the absolute best defenders in world soccer barely cracked the top 30 in Ballon d’Or consideration. Such is the invisible genius of Virgil van Dijk.
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If I have any complaints about Jamie Carragher as a pundit, it’s that he’s too sparse with praise. This goes double towards his old club. On some level, it’s probably a good trait for a pundit not to be easily impressed. However, once in a while, I want to shout, “Give the man his credit, already!” On the upside, when Carragher is as effusive as calling a player one of the absolute best in the world, you know it really means something. Despite having his share of critics, Carragher, in his prime, was one of the most versatile defenders on the planet. When he recognizes the skill of someone like Virgil, you’d best be sure he knows what he’s talking about. Because the various talents of Virgil and players like him are often unquantifiable. It takes an experienced hand to truly appreciate this.
There’s a subtle irony in the fact that this recognition came about after Virgil scored the winner against Atleti. Funny enough, when Carragher listed the pantheon of Liverpool Legends that he would add Virgil to, only one other defender was included: Alan Hansen. This perhaps illustrates how underappreciated good defending is. Carragher himself hasn’t always been quite so sold on Virgil van Dijk. But it’s less that the goal was scored than how it was scored that demonstrates those qualities that make Virgil world-class.
The Near Miss
The closest Virgil ever got to winning the Ballon d’Or was his second-place finish in 2019, behind Messi (of course). The timing was just about right. Liverpool had won the Champions League. It was near-universally agreed that Virgil’s individual performances were the key determining factor. The transformative effect of Virgil’s arrival was almost immediately apparent. He turned a side that was struggling to even qualify for the Champions League into decisive champions. Klopp’s gegenpressing was being criticized on all sides for conceding too much; Virgil van Dijk changed this practically overnight.
Henry Winter’s excellent article justifying his own vote for Virgil in the number one spot focused on the semi-final against Barcelona. Lionel Messi, the eventual winner, to this day considered the greatest of all footballers, had humiliated some of the greatest defenders in the world in the midst of that competition. And he was rendered completely powerless in his head-to-heads with our center half. Even today, Virgil’s presence in the back line has caused problems for some of the greatest attackers of this age. “Era-defining” is a bit of a cliche, but it’s hard to call him anything else.
Virgil The Rock
A center back’s most valuable weapon is his head. And I mean that in both senses of the word. Virgil’s air game is unparalleled, which he owes not only to his immense height but also to the fact that he is one of the best headers to have ever played the game. Powerful and accurate, Virgil’s head is a dangerous weapon anytime he’s poised to score. But it’s what lies inside that mighty dome of his that truly makes him a potent force. The stereotypical center half is a caveman, a big man who hits hard and plays big balls. Make no mistake, Virgil is a big man. But he’s also a brilliant reader of the game, an excellent organizer, and extremely calm under pressure.
He was the inevitable choice for captain after Jordan Henderson, and he continues to demonstrate why that is match after match. He is also a skillful ball-player who wastes little movement. Virgil van Dijk is the archetypal “ball-playing center half”, a man exceedingly dangerous both in and out of possession. Unglamorous as his role may be, it has been essential for keeping Liverpool competitive even in our less-than-stellar years. And even when the team underperforms, Virgil himself has kept marvelously consistent. Besides Alisson Becker, Virgil may be the one truly irreplaceable player on the team. I’m deeply anxious about any future without him in the back.
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In the midst of Liverpool’s brief-but-painful dip in form, there was a cacophony of hysterical overstatements and asinine nitpicks. Even in the midst of that cynical noise machine, Wayne Rooney’s criticism of Virgil’s leadership stood out as particularly facile. Satisfying as it was to see Virgil get one in after defeating Real Madrid, the really satisfying part was how completely unbothered he seemed by Rooney’s jibe. And why should he be? Virgil has spent his entire career being untroubled by lesser men. That sense of calm and focus has been his greatest asset. Good as he was at scoring goals, Wayne Rooney simply doesn’t have what Virgil van Dijk does. Hardly anyone on the planet does.
Henry Winter rightly blamed the “clamour for glamour” for Virgil’s snub in 2019. Whether that takes the form of Messi’s cult-like media following or the form of a race to produce the most extreme criticisms at the drop of a hat, Virgil tends to get caught in the crossfire. And yet, just like on the pitch, he deflects it all with relative ease. Whether one chooses to see it or not, Virgil is one of the absolute best in the world. Even as the footballing world grows ever more cynical and starstruck, no one can take that from him.