Dutch legend Marco van Basten has criticized Virgil van Dijk for his performances with the national team during their preparations for the impending World Cup in Qatar.
The tournament will disrupt the traditional domestic football schedule across Europe during November and December with several Liverpool stars expected to head to the Middle Eastern nation to compete for their country.
Despite the 31-year-old captaining the Dutch to back-to-back wins against Poland and Belgium recently, Van Basten has noted something “strange” about the defender’s performances.
“It’s actually very strange that such a good player does so little for the Dutch national team in preparation,” he said speaking to Ziggo Sport (via Caught Offside).
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Louis van Gaal’s side are now undefeated in their last 15 games and will therefore go into the World Cup full of confidence.
The Netherlands have also kept two clean sheets in their last two games with Van Dijk scoring the only goal in victory over Belgium on Sunday.
So these comments seem to come at a rather strange time from the former Ajax and AC Milan star.
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The former Southampton defender has had a far from ideal start to the season for Jurgen Klopp’s side, but he remains one of the German’s most important players.
At Liverpool, the No. 4’s excellent long-range passing and reading of the game means he almost orchestrates play from his natural central defensive position.
Let’s hope Van Dijk can now help the Reds keep their sheets clean in the coming weeks as we look to move up the Premier League table.
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