Ben Foster believes Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk is the best defender in the history of the sport
Liverpool signing Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in 2018 was a watershed moment in the reign of Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, giving him the defensive colossus needed to take the Reds to the next level.
The Dutchman was nigh on untouchable during his pomp with nary a player getting the best out of him. While that aura took a beating following his season-ending tackle from Jordan Pickford, he remains one of the best defenders in world football.
Now handed the Liverpool armband following Jordan Henderson’s summer exit, Van Dijk is writing a new chapter in his career. Jurgen Klopp is rebuilding his Reds’ roster and for now, the Dutchman will continue to function as his defensive lynchpin.
One rival who shares a high opinion of Van Dijk is Ben Foster (h/t Daily Star), who has represented teams like Manchester United, Stoke City and Watford among others in a long-lived career in the game. The 40-year-old will know what a top-class centre-back looks like given that he shared the field with Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic at Manchester United and John Terry for the England senior side.
Foster has in fact gone on to claim that Van Dijk is not just a top player but in his opinion, the best centre-back to have played the game. It is a very strong statement given the likes of players who have played the spot in the past decades.
“Virgil van Dijk, peak of his powers, is the best defender that has ever lived. I genuinely believe that.”
It speaks volumes about Foster’s objectivity that he is able to put his bias aside and make a coherent argument. Van Dijk often gets criticised for performances post-injury as people prefer to gloss over his reign of invincibility before it. There is little doubt in our mind that the Dutchman is one of the finest to ever do it. After all, getting the better of him was such a rare event that rival fans made compilations of Nicolas Pepe getting past him on loop, despite the Reds winning the game 3-1 on the night.
“Virgil is the number one. People have just got short memories and the cruciate ligament injury has probably taken a yard of pace off him.”
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Van Dijk is an excellent player who will go down as one of the finest defenders of his era. Had it not been for his ACL injury, there would have been an argument to call him among the best of all time. But nobody can take away his era of invincibility and there is time yet for him to add to what is an illustrious career.
