Virgil van Dijk a “Perfect Fit” for Liverpool, Says Peter Krawietz

On this day, five years ago, Virgil van Dijk became a Liverpool player. And assistant coach Peter Krawietz recalls the factors that attracted them to sign him to begin with.

“We had strong centre-halves and were already on a high level but we were searching for a way to improve further – and for that, it’s clear that you need the best players you can get. We saw that Virgil can be the one”, he said.

“He has a mixture of skills and naturally-given talents. He is unbelievably tall but at the same time he is unbelievably quick, which is a pretty rare combination. His way of understanding defending, giving security to all the guys in front of him and around him, is just outstanding and this is what we saw.”

Additionally, Virgil is a creative footballer and brings that quality to his game.

“His passing skills – even if it’s a short pass to the centre or to the outside, or if he’s stepping in and dribbling into free spaces, and of course everybody knows his long passes as well, the big diagonal balls – are a proper weapon for us”, said Krawietz.

“But to use all of this you need a certain tactical understanding and intelligence, and this is what he has as well.

“There is never a guarantee, of course, when you make a signing, but we were pretty sure that this would be a good signing and we recognised pretty quickly that it is a perfect fit for him and for us as well.”