Virgil van Dijk has responded to criticism from Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten over his captaincy for the Netherlands.
Ronald Koeman’s side recovered from their crushing 4-0 loss to France by beating Gibraltar 3-0 on Monday and registering a staggering 51 shots against European minnows.
Despite picking up a well-deserved victory in their bid to qualify for Euro 2024, both Gullit and van Basten knocked out Van Dijk after the result.
The former Chelsea player and manager believes the Liverpool star ‘takes no responsibility on the ball’ as he bemoans his ‘safe’ style.
Gullit said: “Virgil van Dijk should lead the game with the ball.” But no, he passes it to Geertruida from the side… “You do.” He does not take responsibility for the ball. He plays with so much confidence, so much confidence!
“We [Gullit & Van Basten] positively criticize Virgil van Dijk. He’s part of the team of the year, right? Didn’t he get his nice prize? Then show yourself to us! Is it still worth it? Everyone believes it, but I don’t.”
The former AC Milan striker took aim at the player’s captaincy, adding: “A real captain thinks out loud and makes the situation on the pitch clear to everyone.
But Virgil van Dijk is always in the middle. He creates chaos and this creates misunderstandings on the pitch. You have to avoid it as captain.”
The 31-year-old has hit back at criticism for saying people should remember in a provocative response that gamers are not “robots”.
“Everyone nowadays can have an opinion. That’s how it is,” he told reporters.
“It’s quite normal that you can’t always be consistent. That as a club and a player you go through phases in search of better form. This is human.
“Every week I try to play the best game of my life. But unfortunately it doesn’t always work out. People have to remember that we are not robots, maybe people forget that sometimes.”
Van Dijk has struggled a bit this season, with Liverpool languishing in sixth place in the Premier League and out of the Champions League.
His performances have also been scrutinized by the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Michael Owen.
