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Liverpool have won the Champions League for the sixth time in their history, moving ahead of Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Only Milan (7) and the kings of Europe Real Madrid (13) have held the most prestigious club honour in European football more times.
The Reds were fully deserving of it. They were exemplary in the league and were only beaten by the near-perfect Manchester City. The fact that Liverpool lost just one game in the league showed how good they were.
They were also in the final of the Champions League last year but were beaten by Real Madrid. This time, however, the Merseyside outfit went in as favourites against Spurs and won the match, which was perhaps one of the worst CL finals of all time.
Both sides didn’t play their best football but if one footballer stood out, it has to be Virgil Van Dijk, who was almost perfect in Madrid last night.
And so, without further ado, here are 5 reasons why he should win the Ballon d’Or this year…
#5 Defensively astute
There is not much to say about Van Dijk when it comes to his defensive ability. He is quick, tall and has a great command of his position, which is what makes him such a difficult defender to beat.
The Dutchman made 1 tackle and interception, each, per-game this season. While that might not be astounding, his clearance statistic is just a testament to how he is always there at the right place at the right time.
He made 5.1 interceptions-per-game in the recently-concluded season. Also, he was not dribbled past even once in the Champions League and the Premier League.
Not even once. It just goes to show that he is nearly unbeatable right now.
#4 His impact
Which brings us to this point – his impact. It won’t be wrong to claim that Virgil Van Dijk is the greatest signing Liverpool have made in this decade. Sure, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have been exceptional too but remember how their goals became worthless due to Liverpool’s poor defense?
Ever since Van Dijk joined the Reds, they became one of the best teams in terms of defending. Liverpool’s defense used to be a joke but now, it won’t be wrong to say that they are among the top 3 in the world in defensive quality.
In fact, statistically, they are the best, as Liverpool conceded the fewest league goals among the teams in the top 5 leagues in the world (22). And this is not possible if just one defender is good – that is the impact of Van Dijk.
He has made his defensive peers better.
#3 Big-match player
It is quite strange that he has acquired this quality in such a short amount of time. Van Dijk played for Southampton just a little over a year-and-a-half ago and now, he is among the best big-match defenders.
Sure, he lost to Madrid in the last Champions League but what about the way he way performed in the lead-up to that match? Even if we forget that, his performances this season in the big games – save the one against Barca at Camp Nou – have been exceptional.
#2 CL winner
Over the past few years, the best player of a Champions League-winning team is usually the one that won the award. Even last year, which was a World Cup year, the preference was given to Luka Modric as he led Real Madrid to an unprecedented three-peat.
Even though Griezmann won the World Cup and the Europa League last season, he wasn't given the award. This year, Liverpool have won the Champions League and Van Dijk’s presence helped them do so.
#1 About time a defender won it
It is about time, isn’t it? The last time a defender won this award, my voice hadn’t broken yet, George Bush was still the president of the United States of America, memes weren’t a thing yet…
Heck, even this website wasn’t founded at the time. So, in short, it has been a very long time since a defender got the recognition that he deserved. The last defender to win the Ballon d'Or was Fabio Cannavaro in 2006 after a superb outing at the World Cup, which helped the Italians win the tournament.
Cannavaro was the standout performer for his team in the World Cup and the same could be said for Virgil Van Dijk when it comes to Liverpool. Had Sadio Mane or Mo Salah scored close to 50 goals individually, then the scenario would have been different.
But that is not the case now – and this is the best year for a defender to win the coveted individual honor.
