Virgil Van Dijk Named the UEFA Player of the Year

Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk won the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award. The Dutch defender was the main favorite before the ceremony and is also expected to win the most prestigious award in football, Ballon d’Or.

UEFA’s awards are usually the best indicators for other honors, as the European house of football comes before them all.

The Dutch defender was ahead of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo, the duo who rules the European football in the recent decade. Van Dijk was the essential piece in Liverpool’s quest towards the European title and without a doubt the best defender in the world.

Although, both Ronaldo and Messi had impressive statistical figures, and were in the middle of attention, the Reds’ defender had a bigger impact on his team than the two guys mentioned above. Liverpool’s defense was one of the best in the competition, and whenever they needed to defend properly, Van Dijk was there to close all the gaps. For example, L’Pool conceded just 22 goals in the Premier League.

Van Dijk stated that his success is primarily because of his hard work. Unlike some other players, he didn’t have some massive talent which could put him ahead of other rivals. Everything he accomplished was because of his work ethic.

“It’s been a long road, but that’s part of my journey, it’s part of who I am. I needed it like this; I’m not a player who was 18 years old and had that rise straight away. I had to work hard for every step of the way — that’s part of me, and I’m very happy about that,” Van Dijk said.

Before this honor, the strong center-back was named the Premier League Player of the Season and was also the best player of the Premiership according to the players. He improved Liverpool’s game following his arrival, and what is more important, his presence brought the most significant trophy on the continent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izXUSZ968UA

His arrival to Liverpool wasn’t that sweet. Southampton didn’t want to let him go, because the player negotiated with the Reds behind their back. It was a terrible insult for the Saints, who didn’t accept Liverpool’s offer even though it was huge.

Van Dijk finally reached Anfield in January of 2018, when Liverpool cashed out £75 million, which was at the time the biggest fee for a defender. Only recently did Harry Maguire broke that record with his transfer from Leicester City to Man United, worth around £80 million.

The next goal for both Liverpool and this dominant defender is to win the Premiership. The Reds are waiting for the domestic title for almost 30 years, and it would be a dream come true for all the fans to the first EPL trophy coming to Anfield.

Van Dijk started his career at Groningen and after that headed for Scotland, to Celtic, where he instantly attracted the attention of bigger clubs. Southampton reacted fast and signed the promising player at the time.

After that, pretty much all is history. He became the most powerful defender in the world, who pushed both Liverpool and the Dutch national team forward towards the new successes.