Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Virgil van Dijk for Liverpool
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Toni Kroos explains why Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk makes his top five CBs of the 21st century
Toni Kroos explains why Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk makes his top five CBs of the 21st century
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images
Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
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Photo by Roy Lazet/Soccrates/Getty Images
Photo by Roy Lazet/Soccrates/Getty Images
Virgil van Dijk has been a central figure behind Liverpool returning to the top of English football in recent times, after decades without a title.
Regarded by many as Liverpool’s greatest ever centre-back alongside the legendary Alan Hansen, he has won two Premier League titles and a European Cup during his time at Anfield.
Toni Kroos, in the colours of Real Madrid, had many great battles with van Dijk, and ranked the Dutchman fourth in his all-time centre-backs of the 21st century.
The Real Madrid legend listed his former teammate Sergio Ramos, AC Milan icon Paolo Maldini, and the ever-lasting Thiago Silva ahead of van Dijk, as he told Luppen TV.
READ MORE:Virgil van Dijk plays new role for the first time in nine years for the Netherlands in their latest victory
Toni Kroos ranks Virgil van Dijk fourth in all-time centre-backs of the 21st century
Of course, there is going to be bias from Kroos because he played alongside Ramos for many, many years and he was captained by the Spain star in Madrid.
But Liverpool fans would argue all day long that van Dijk is better than the hot-headed Spaniard, as well as Silva, who is still playing for Fluminense in Brazil at the age of 42.
Although many could understand why Maldini, who started his career in 1984, is higher than the Liverpool captain because many regard him as the greatest ever.
Nonetheless, this was Kroos’ top five list:
Sergio Ramos
Paolo Maldini
Thiago Silva
Virgil van Dijk
Alessandro Nesta
Kroos hails van Dijk for changing his game at Liverpool
There haven’t been many players who have been as dominant as van Dijk, and someone who just oozes confidence and aura like nobody else.
Kroos explained on Luppen TV, where he was alongside his brother, that the Netherlands star has gone from being ‘truly outstanding’ to someone who is a ‘very assured and composed’ defender.
There will be many Liverpool fans arguing that he always had those qualities in his game, but at the age of 35, it is understandable that he has lost that extra bit of pace he used to have.
While Kroos has shared a pitch with van Dijk, he has also watched the Liverpool legend from afar, as he explained that he has been seriously impressed that players struggle to dribble the ball past him in the Premier League.
“At number four, I’ve had Van Dijk there for many, many years now,” said Kroos.
“I’d put it like this: I think he’s gone from being truly outstanding to being more of a very assured, composed defender. You can definitely see that he’s now 33 or 34, and you can see that he’s starting to lack a bit of that pace, that he’s losing some of that speed. You see it again and again.
“He’s also had one or two difficult years with Liverpool recently, and he hasn’t always looked completely assured. But I think if we’re not judging him on last season or the last two seasons, he’s an absolute colossus of a centre-back.
“He’s also very good on the ball, has a top-class ability to switch play, and he’s excellent in the air offensively. Yeah, top-class both offensively and defensively in the air.
“I think there was a statistic a few years ago in England that over the course of the entire season, you could count on one hand the number of times he was dribbled past. That’s an incredible figure, and he’s simply been an absolute constant. You have to say that.”