What Arne Slot said about Virgil van Dijk spoke volumes after 'stupid' criticism of Liverpool captain
As Virgil van Dijk traipsed down the tunnel at the Puskas Arena following his second-half dismissal against Hungary, he surely knew what was coming. The Liverpool man has regularly been a lightning rod for criticism in a Netherlands shirt, and the days following his red card in Budapest were no different.
Voetbal International journalist Martin Krabbendam awarded Van Dijk with a "failing grade" of 5 in his player ratings after he picked up two bookings in the space of three minutes, while Rick Kraaijeveld of Sportnieuws simply branded the defender's actions "stupid".
Such inflammatory language has almost become an international break custom since Van Dijk was handed the armband by Ronald Koeman in 2018, with the Dutch media's often scathing appraisal of the centre-back completely at odds with the way he his viewed back in England. “If you are not from Holland, it might be a surprise," Arne Slot said on Friday when quizzed on the perception of Van Dijk in his homeland.
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"If you come from Holland, then you know that the Dutch media is all about criticism. I exaggerate a bit, but if there is a chance to criticise someone, Dutch people in general will find a way to criticise you. I don’t think he deserves this, because he played some very good games for the Dutch national team in his last few games as well."
Indeed, Slot himself has raised a few eyebrows with his straight-talking approach during his short time at Anfield, pulling no punches when assessing the calibre of Liverpool's early-season opponents and speaking frankly about where his own charges can look to improve. It is fair to assume, then, that any praise handed out by the Reds boss should be regarded as a pretty solid indicator of a player's quality, and the fact that the Dutchman was quick to eulogise about Van Dijk's many assets speaks volumes.
“From what you guys see on the pitch, we see all the same," he said. "How good he is in defence, how much contributes to the offensive side of our play.
“But what you guys don’t see and what I do see is how important he also is on the training ground. “He’s always the one that’s most loud during the sessions, he always brings a lot of energy into our sessions and quality as well. So what you see during the weekends is also what I see during the weeks.
“And that’s what you are hoping for, if you have a captain that is not only showing his performances in the weekends, but also during the week he’s definitely our leader.”
Although Van Dijk himself admitted he was "angry" at being sent for an early bath against Hungary, his withdrawal will have been received much more kindly at the AXA Training Centre. Despite initially voicing his intention to travel with his national team for their UEFA Nations League clash with Germany in Munich, all parties ultimately decided that the most logical decision was for the centre-back to return immediately to Merseyside, where he could rest up ahead of Liverpool's Premier League clash with Chelsea.
It has allowed for a rare, admittedly brief, hiatus for a player who has not missed a minute in the league or in Europe so far this term ahead of what promises to be a testing run of fixtures for the Reds. Van Dijk will irrefutably play a pivotal role in ensuring that Liverpool emerge from that period in rude health, and therefore keeping him fit and firing is paramount.
The Dutchman has made a tremendous start to the campaign, turning in the sort of imperious displays that became his trademark during his early years at the club. He was named player of the match in the Reds' 1-0 win over Crystal Palace before the international break but has arguably been in contention for the prize in each game he has featured in under Slot.
He has been a commanding presence at the heart of the meanest defence in the Premier League, winning a higher percentage of aerial duels than any other player in the competition. His long passing, too, has been integral to helping Liverpool bypass some of the league's more robust rearguards, while his partnership with France international Ibrahima Konate continues to go from strength to strength.
Perhaps the purest encapsulation of just how much of a success Van Dijk has been at Anfield since his £75million switch from Southampton, though, is demonstrated in a recent revelation by Opta. Of the 154 players to have made at least 150 appearances for Liverpool in the club's history, nobody has recorded a higher win percentage than Van Dijk's 68.5%.
Of course, there are multitude of factors which contribute to such statistics - football is a team game, after all - but the defender's impact on the Reds cannot be overstated. It is for that reason that the topic of Van Dijk's future once again reared its head in Slot's pre-Chelsea press conference, with the Liverpool boss remaining tight-lipped on the contract situations of his captain, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah.
"(It's the) same question, same answer," Slot said. "There will always be talks with our players It's a good thing you asked about it because it shows they do well. If they played badly, then you wouldn't have asked.
"It's a good thing everybody wants their contract renewed because that shows me that they are doing well. But I can't tell you anything about that."
With less than 80 days to go until Van Dijk is free to speak to clubs overseas to negotiate a pre-contract agreement, the speculation over his Anfield future is bound to intensify. But, while so much about the defender's next steps remains unclear, his importance to Liverpool is more glaring than ever.