Van Dijk Reveals Long Time Admiration of His Defensive Teammate

Like two ships passing in the night, Virgil Van Dijk spoke about his long time admiration for his young teammate Andy Robertson. The pair have had half a season to work on their partnership on the left side of Liverpool’s defensive line. Robbo earned his place in Klopp’s side and the Kop’s heart this season after a slow start, eventually overtaking Alberto Moreno in that position. Once van Dijk finally arrived at Anfield in January, Robertson had cemented his place as first choice.

In an interview with the club, the big Dutchman admitted that he’s a Robbo hipster, having admired the player since his time at Celtic.

“Robbo is doing fantastic. Obviously when I came to Celtic, in my first season he played at Dundee United and I already thought he’s a very good player and I thought at that time he should join Celtic!” Van Dijk revealed.

“I think I said it to one of the scouting guys as well - sometimes I like to give my opinion on players. He’s just a great player, [he] works hard. If you need ratings of a game, I don’t think he’d ever go lower than a six.

“You can trust him and the connection I have with him is getting better every game. He knows obviously what he has in me, and I get it the other way around as well. He’s a good guy as well and that obviously helps too.”

The newfound solidity of Liverpool’s defense was excellent to watch develop since the start of the year, and the introduction of Van Dijk and Robertson have been a huge part of that. Since neither player has World Cup duties this summer, their focuses should be only on Liverpool and furthering that good progress into next season.