The Dutch midfielder has defeated other famous colleagues such as Sadio Mane, Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero, Bernardo Silva and Eden Hazard... to take on the most prestigious individual award in the foggy country.
Among these names, Sterling won the "Best Young Player of England" award in the 2018-2019 season, followed by his teammate Leroy Sane at Manchester City.
Not only bringing him the title, Van Dijk's performance this season also helped him be named in the PFA's Outstanding Team of the Year. Along with Van Dijk, Liverpool have 3 other names participating: Alex-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Sadio Mane.
To briefly describe Van Dijk, Liverpool fans often use the three words "ice", "tsure" and "shorty". Over the past year, having gone through many ups and downs with The Kop, the Dutch midfielder has proven how well he can adapt to promote his reach.
In the winter of 2018, the "Red Brigade" created a shock in terms of transfers when they welcomed Virgil Van Dijk from Southampton for up to 75 million pounds, making this star the most expensive player in the world in his position. Previously, rumors of Van Dijk coming to Anfield to play football were spreading rapidly, but no one thought The Kop could be determined with such a large amount of money.
Since coming to Anfield, Jurgen Klopp has inspired football in the tradition of this club. However, excitement is one thing, efficiency, true to the championship style, has not come to the German coach's team.
In the first 2-3 years under Klopp, Liverpool often won grand matches against strong teams but always lost points at important times, against teams that were considered weak. While in charge at Dortmund, Klopp led this club to the Champions League final and won 2 Bundesliga with the "mental- sturdy" central defender duo Subotic - Hummels.
This individual knows that, in order for Liverpool to achieve similar successes, reinforcing the defense must be given top priority.
In the general level of the Premier League more than a year ago, apart from Van Dijk, there was no central defender who met Klopp's requirements.
The Dutch star, although playing for Southampton, always showed the class of a top player in the center-back position. With outstanding physique, acumen in situations and especially endurance in one-on-one disputes, Van Dijk has captivated everyone.
It didn't take much time to negotiate, with a huge amount of money, Liverpool welcomed Van Dijk to Anfield in just "a note".
75 million pounds is a huge pressure for Van Dijk and in his early days for Liverpool, he did not really meet the requirements. However, Klopp is very patient and still believes in his student through each round. In return, Van Dijk also showed incredible resilience, knowing how to correct mistakes in every situation on the field.
Children's capitals are often associated with awkward images. However, Van Dijk is not like that.
Klopp once admitted that no central defender has ever wanted to perfect his skills like Van Dijk.
The results have come after such daily exercises. Van Dijk is not only a fear of the opponent in high balls, he also makes small players with good technique run out of steam in speed racing situations and rotation in a narrow range.
In particular, in addition to his mechanical abilities, Van Dijk could make the opponent make mistakes when seeing him. In the match against Tottenham, in the 1 vs 2 situation in front of the goal, Van Dijk only needed to skillfully play, Moussa Sissoko could not pass to Son Heung-min and could not finish with a right foot. It was a performance at the highest level that every central defender had to wear their hat in admiration.
This season, Liverpool ran out of steam against Man City in the final rounds. But in the Champions League, they have reached the semi-finals and still have a chance to reach the final for the second consecutive time.
As long as Van Dijk's strengths remain strong, The Kop will never be disappointed. Just play well and be yourself, all good things will come.
