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Former Liverpool midfielder Igor Biscan has leapt to the defense of Virgil van Dijk, branding recent criticism of the Reds’ captain as "nonsense."
Van Dijk has had to bear some of the brunt of the judgment that has been passed down on Liverpool amid the club’s poor recent form. The 34-year-old has been embroiled in a war of words with Wayne Rooney, with the pair coming head-to-head in an awkward interview recently.
Although Rooney has now backed down on his comments about Van Dijk’s form since signing his contract extension earlier this year, the former Manchester United star has doubled down on his assessment of the defender’s season so far.
And it’s not just Rooney that has been piling in on Van Dijk, with Alan Shearer also taking aim after Liverpool’s defeat to Manchester City at the weekend, which saw the Reds fall to a seventh defeat in their last 10 games.
Biscan though has launched a staunch defense of Liverpool’s captain, with the former midfielder - who was part of the squad that won the 2005 Champions League - insisting there should be no debate over the defender.
Speaking to BOYLE Sports, who offer Champions League odds, Biscan said: “In my opinion, Virgil van Dijk is one of, if not the best defender ever to play in football.
“If you look at what he has achieved and the way he has played, the way he has dominated, I don't think that we've ever seen anybody like him.
“I can give you an example, a few games back, when he scored that winner against Atletico Madrid, when the team was doing well, and him doing all the usual stuff that he's doing, he was repeatedly called the best or one of the best defenders.
“Now, a few games after that, when the team is not performing and conceding too many goals, then of course, everybody starts to have a go at the main guy.
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“I don't think he's the problem, for sure. He's not a problem, cannot be the problem. He's just too good to be a problem. And then you question his leadership skills. But then again, he's the same guy he was last year.
“You cannot question that if he was the best, not only last year but many years before, why would he change? He probably does the same things he did last year and all those years before.
“So, I would not go so much into it and analyze every detail and then start to question his quality because that's nonsense, really.
"If anybody is doing what he's supposed to be doing and is still dominating, and he's probably the most important player together with one or two more, it's him, and it will always be like this, so I don't see such a big problem there."
Van Dijk is currently away on international duty with the Netherlands, but he will be hoping to be back to his best when he and Liverpool return with games against Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven later this month.
“Those performances in the first part of the season when Liverpool were winning every game, it was just the same as usual, so dominant, so calm and assuring that it was just as it always was,” Biscan added.
“It looked too easy, the things that are not so easy in reality, but he made them look easy. But we must not forget he's not alone on the pitch. He's not defending on his own.”
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