A former England international has explained why he believes that at his peak, Virgil van Dijk “is the best defender that has ever lived.”
Liverpool were a rising force under Jurgen Klopp during the early seasons of his spell on Merseyside. However, what turned the club into one capable of winning the game’s top honours were the arrivals of Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah within a 12 months span between 2017-18.
Liverpool have gone on to end their Premier League drought and lift European Cup/Champions League number six since then.
They’ve regularly been Man City’s closest challengers on the domestic front and without the Reds, City would’ve swept aside all before them over the last five years.
Van Dijk has been an integral part of everything Liverpool have done well. But according to former England goalkeeper, Ben Foster, praise for the Dutchman should extend even higher than that.
Speaking on his Fozcast YouTube channel, Foster declared Van Dijk to be the greatest defender to ever play football at his peak.
In Premier League terms, that puts the 32-year-old ahead of veritable legends such as Man Utd duo Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, as well as Chelsea icon John Terry.
However, it also puts Van Dijk on an even higher pedestal above the likes of Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Bobby Moore and Franz Beckenbauer, to name just four.
Van Dijk “stepped the game up” – Foster
“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 claims hold weight?
Van Dijk’s levels do appear to have dipped over recent times, though contrary to Foster’s claim, it may not be to do with the infamous ACL injury suffered when cut down by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Indeed, Van Dijk was back to his best in the season immediately following that injury in 2021/22. Liverpool went close to winning a historic quadruple that term.
It was the season after (2022/23) in which Van Dijk’s standards appeared to dip and given he’s now well into his 30s, age rather than the injury may actually be to blame.
Nonetheless, at his peak, Van Dijk was unquestionably one of the greatest centre-backs of all time.
The Dutchman came close to lifting the Ballon d’Or in 2019, finishing just nine points behind Lionel Messi in the voting.
Defenders are rarely even in the running for that award, with Italian World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro the last to earn the prize way back in 2006. Until Van Dijk, no defender had finished in the top three for voting since Cannavaro.
Van Dijk was also named PFA Players’ Player of the Year (2018/19), Premier League Player of the Season (2018/19) and UEFA Men’s Player of the Year (2018/19) in what was arguably his peak season.
