At his best, Virgil van Dijk “is the best defender that has ever lived,” according to a former England international.
In the early seasons of Jurgen Klopp’s tenure on Merseyside, Liverpool was a burgeoning power. Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah’s additions to the club during the course of a single season in 2017–18, however, transformed it into a team capable of taking home the biggest awards in the sport.
Since then, Liverpool has won the sixth Champions League and sixth European Cup, ending their Premier League winning streak.
They have frequently been Man City’s top domestic rivals, and if it weren’t for the Reds, City would have swept aside everyone in their path over the past five years.
Van Dijk has played a crucial role in every accomplishment Liverpool has made. Ben Foster, a former England custodian, believes that the Dutchman deserves even more accolades.
Foster proclaimed Van Dijk to be the greatest defender to ever play football at his peak in a post on his Fozcast YouTube channel.
That places the 32-year-old ahead of genuine luminaries like Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic of Manchester United, as well as Chelsea stalwart John Terry, in terms of the Premier League.
Van Dijk is elevated above players like Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Bobby Moore, and Franz Beckenbauer, to mention just four, but it also elevates Van Dijk to an even higher height.
Foster said that Van Dijk “stepped up” the game.
“I’ve got one I think we probably will put in the top 10 [defenders list],” said Foster. “Some people would say about longevity, but I still think in the whole pantheon of centre-backs, this guy stepped the game up a little bit. I really do. Virgil van Dijk.
“I think for three years in a row, he was the best centre-back in the world. He had a bad injury and is probably still finding his feet from that.
“Virgil van Dijk, peak of his powers, is the best defender that has ever lived. I genuinely believe that. When Liverpool are winning the Champions League and Premier League, Virgil is the number one
“People have just got short memories and the cruciate ligament injury has probably taken a yard of pace off him.”
Do Foster’s assertions have any merit?
Van Dijk’s performance may seem to have declined recently, but despite Foster’s assertion, it may not be related to the iconic ACL injury sustained when Everton custodian Jordan Pickford was chopped down.
In fact, in the season immediately after that injury in 2021/22, Van Dijk was back to his best. That season, Liverpool came very close to accomplishing a historic quadruple.
Van Dijk’s performance appeared to decline the season after (2022/23), and given that he is now well into his 30s, age may be to blame rather than the injury.
But when he was at his best, Van Dijk was without a doubt one of the best centre backs ever.
In 2019, the Dutchman came within nine points of winning the Ballon d’Or, placing second to Lionel Messi.
Defenders are rarely even considered for that honour; the last defender to receive it was Fabio Cannavaro of Italy, who won the 2006 World Cup. Since Cannavaro, no defender has placed in the top three of the poll until Van Dijk.
In what was probably his best season, Van Dijk was also voted PFA Players’ Player of the Year (2018–19), Premier League Player of the Season (2018–19), and UEFA Men’s Player of the Year.