Ruud Gullit has claimed that Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk must “be better” when he plays for the Netherlands.
The 27-year-old has been in fine form for the Reds this season, helping the to a Champions League title and conceding just 22 times in the Premier League, but Ballon d’Or winner and BBC pundit Gullit is still demanding more on the international stage.
As quoted by The World Game, he said: “I think he did really, really well, especially with Liverpool. I think that he was the missing link for them.
“For the national team I still think he needs to be better than that.
“Not him only, but also [Matthijs] De Ligt because out of the last 14 games, 10 games we’ve been 1-0 down. If you have such a good defence you don’t need to concede these goals all the time.”
OPINION
This seems incredibly harsh from Gullit. Van Dijk has been in monstrous form for his club this season, and for the most part that has translated onto the international stage as well. It was him who scored the goal to take the Netherlands to the UEFA Nations League finals and he put in a couple of top quality displays in Portugal as well. Perhaps the issue is two-fold here. Not to shift the blame, but for all of his promise, Matthijs De Ligt is a young man very much still learning his trade, and it feels as if the mistakes that the Dutch make tend to come from him rather than van Dijk. The other issue you have is that van Dijk has kind of made a rod for his own back by being so impressive this year. His standards are so high that when he does occasionally drop beneath them, it is far more obvious than it would otherwise be.
