England – Liverpool club captain, Dutch international Virgil van Dijk, kept Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo off his list of the toughest competitors he faced during his professional career.
Van Dijk, who joined Liverpool for 75 million pounds in 2018, helped his English team win the English Premier League, the Champions League, the FA Cup, the League Cup, and the Club World Cup.
During his time at Anfield, Van Dijk played against Ronaldo on a number of occasions, including the 2018 Champions League final, but the Dutch defender did not include the current Saudi Al-Nasr striker in the list of the three most difficult strikers he faced during his career.
Instead of Ronaldo, Van Dijk chose the former Barcelona and current Inter Miami star, Lionel Messi, the current Manchester City striker, the Norwegian international Erling Haaland, the former Man City striker also the Argentine Sergio Aguero, and the former Chelsea top scorer, the Frenchman Olivier Giroud.
Speaking on the “The Rest Is Football” podcast, Van Dijk explained why he chose Haaland, Aguero and Giroud, as he said: “I would say that Erling Haaland is a very difficult opponent. He is very strong, and a modern-day striker… He is direct… if you give him Small area and he will punish you.”
He added: “The same is true for Aguero. He didn’t score many goals against us, but since I played against him when I was at Southampton, he could finish the game with his left or his right, and you always had to be at your best.”
Giroud was not prolific during his time in the English Premier League, but Van Dijk explained what made the French striker a difficult opponent, and said: “He was a player linked at the time with (Eden) Hazard in (Chelsea). “Hazard was always the one who gave him the ball.”
He added: “He also scored good goals against me. “I always felt like he wouldn’t score, but in the end he did.”
Source: Daily Mail
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2024-04-07 01:04:14