The captain of Liverpool has altered the team’s pregame ritual and is returning to his
Unbeknownst to him at the time, Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s Merseyside derby confrontation with Virgil van Dijk peaked at Anfield on Saturday after just 36 seconds.
The Everton striker came the closest to breaking through Jurgen Klopp’s defense with his first header, which came from a cross by Dwight NcNeil, but Alisson Becker stopped him.
While Sean Dyche may lament Ashley Young’s dismissal or the fact that he did not subject Ibrahima Konate to the same fate in the second half, a large portion of the team’s inability to truly dominate their hosts may be attributed to Van Dijk’s outstanding play.
Although he has only been the official captain of Liverpool since the summer, this was his 50th game wearing the armband, and he looked determined to leave his mark on the 243rd encounter between the bitter rivals.
Particularly in the first half, when the score was still 11 against 11, Van Dijk completely overwhelmed the typically aerially powerful Calvert-Lewin. In an attempt to avoid one-on-one confrontations with the Reds captain, opposing front players typically target Liverpool’s second center-half, but Calvert-Lewin encountered Van Dijk multiple times in the first half, with mixed results.
Ten of the 17 duels that the No. 4 won that day were in the air, and he also made as many as five clearances. When he pulled down a long ball on his chest and then passed it to a teammate in the second half, there were gasps from the crowd. Most defenders would have chosen to make a simple headed clearance instead.
Aside from his dismissal at Newcastle, Van Dijk has had a great start to the season. For too long, he has been subjected to unfounded accusations regarding his play, especially in his native Netherlands, where a number of vocal commentators and former players have tried to discredit the captain of the Netherlands.
In honor of the Reds defender, Jamie Carragher wrote in his Friday Telegraph column: “Many contend Van Dijk has not been the same since he had a catastrophic knee injury in the Merseyside derby in October 2020. That is a rewriting of history.
“In 2021–2022, he was outstanding with two victories out of a quadruple. Van Dijk has only suffered three losses in his last 21 league games, including the controversial recent loss to Spurs.
“Over time, the knee surgery (in 2020) may have had an impact, but Van Dijk’s performance has been so strong that it has led to the recent bad evaluations. This player was unfortunate to lose out to Lionel Messi in the 2019 Ballon d’Or voting—a unique honor for a center back.”
Van Dijk has taken over as the team’s official captain as part of the revised “Liverpool 2.0” lineup, which, to borrow a phrase from Jurgen Klopp, features a totally different style of captaining than the one that Jordan Henderson has used for the previous eight years.
“Over time, the knee surgery (in 2020) may have had an impact, but Van Dijk’s performance has been so strong that it has led to the recent bad evaluations. This player was unfortunate to lose out to Lionel Messi in the 2019 Ballon d’Or voting—a unique honor for a center back.”
Van Dijk has taken over as the team’s official captain as part of the revised “Liverpool 2.0” lineup, which, to borrow a phrase from Jurgen Klopp, features a totally different style of captaining than the one that Jordan Henderson has used for the previous eight years.
“This club has had some incredible captains over the years, leaders who would bring the best out of themselves and their team time and time again,” Van Dijk reflects. “It is definitely not what I would have envisioned when I first started playing to be on the list alongside people like that.
“But the most important thing for me is that I am part of a team of leaders, individually, who find their own way to take responsibility no matter who is wearing the armband.”
In an effort to provide the players with a few last words of wisdom before the games begin, the new captain has decided to implement a team huddle prior to kickoff as one of his new initiatives.
“It was something that we did when I was a Celtic player,” Van Dijk says. And the reason I always enjoyed it was because I felt it created the mood for the game and let the fans know we were about to play.
“It can also help the atmosphere with it being so close to the match starting, so if our fans want to join in by building up the noise and adding to the sense of anticipation I certainly won’t complain, even if it makes it difficult for me to make myself heard.”
The idea that the 32-year-old is past his prime after suffering a career-threatening knee injury three years ago has occasionally verged on the absurd, but if Liverpool is to have true, tangible success this season, Van Dijk must remain healthy and in form. His performance thus far in the season is quite positive.
