Virgil Van Dijk has reacted with delight after being given a huge blanket adorned with the face of Liverpool teammate Joel Matip.
Van Dijk was gifted the blanket as part of a promotional Liverpool video in partnership with Vistaprint. In the video, as seen on Twitter, the Dutch defender opens personalised presents alongside Fabinho and Adrian.
“This is a dream come true, I’m not joking,” said Virgil, showing off the enormous blanket. “To be honest, I want one of these as well,” laughed Fabinho. “There’s only one Joel Matip,” replied Liverpool’s No.4.
“He makes me happy, that’s the funny thing,” Van Dijk continued. “This will definitely be used in the training ground or in the treatment rooms, wherever. Don’t be surprised if you see it somewhere popping up, it’s massive as well, look it covers all the way.”
Seeing Virgil swoon over his gentle giant of a centre-back partner will never not be funny.
Virgil gets his perfect present
The funniest thing about all this is that, as Virgil points out, he isn’t joking.
He and Matip have a fantastic friendship off the pitch. That has blossomed into one of Liverpool’s best centre-back partnerships in years on it.
Some would even say that the pair are potentially one of the Reds best ever defensive twosomes. Had Matip been fit more often than he has over the last six years, that would probably ring true.
The Cameroonian is at times ungainly with his long legs, but he’s one of the most effective defenders in the Premier League.
Given that most forwards will wisely stay away from Van Dijk, Matip is often left with a lot of work to do.
Not only does he get through that workload brilliantly, he’s also a real weapon in attack for Liverpool. The way he strides forward with the ball is something you just don’t see from defenders.
The 31-year-old always, always finds a clever ball at the end of those marauding runs. Matip doesn’t just bring the ball forward for the sake of it, he starts, and sometimes even finishes, dangerous attacks. Next to him, his buddy Virgil is notoriously imperious.
As the big Dutchman heads to the warmer climes of Qatar, he might not need his blanket to stay cosy. Nevertheless, don’t be surprised to see it hanging around as the Netherlands attempt to win a first ever World Cup.
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