MY ACCOUNT
Netherlands World Cup captain Virgil van Dijk hit back in the face of stiff criticism from Dutch great Marco van Basten, retorting: “I don’t think he’s ever positive.”
A World Cup draw against Ecuador on Friday was not a result the Netherlands were looking for, with the 1-1 outcome meaning Louis van Gaal’s team missed a chance to nail down a last-16 place with a game to spare.
Late goals earned them victory over Senegal on matchday one, and the Dutch should have no trouble in beating hosts Qatar next Tuesday to make sure of a spot in the knock-out rounds.
But letting Cody Gakpo’s sixth-minute opener against Ecuador be cancelled out by Enner Valencia’s leveller early in the second half left former striker Van Basten unimpressed, particularly with the Oranje skipper.
Euro 88 hero Van Basten told Dutch broadcaster NOS: “You go in front very quickly. And then I think a thought arises: okay, we are ahead, we have to defend. But that is something that does not help us. I think Virgil should play the leading role in that. He talks a lot, but says nothing.
“Who’s the best player on the team? That’s Virgil. When you see what he does in possession… It’s just tapping a ball to the players next to him. He needs to pick up the pace. It just goes way too slow.”
Reacting to the remarks, Liverpool centre-back Van Dijk told Voetbal International: “I don’t think he is ever positive, so what do you do with it?
“It is easy to make an analysis from [NOS headquarters in] Hilversum. I don’t want to say that I played a fantastic game, not at all. But the things that are said about me failing as a captain: what do you do with that?
“I’m always at the front, I lead the team in the best way possible.”
Van Dijk made more defensive clearances (6) than anyone else in Friday’s game. He was kept busy as Ecuador had 15 shots to the Netherlands’ paltry two, the Dutch team’s lowest total at a World Cup since at least 1966, the first tournament for which such data is available.
