Virgil van Dijk has been slammed after the centre-back’s performances for the Netherlands during the international break, with pundit Gertjan Verbeek having a lot to say on the defender.
Speaking to Soccer News after Holland’s win against Gibraltar the former Heerenveen defender was critical of the Liverpool star’s displays during this latest round of international fixtures, with the Netherlands on the receiving end of a 4-0 loss to France.
Whilst Ronald Koeman’s side were able to return to winning ways last night against the European minnows, the loss to France and the state of the defeat has left a sour taste in the mouths of many Dutch supporters, and Verbeek was not pleased with what he saw from the captain Van Dijk.
The defender was far from his best, as we have seen numerous times this season, and the 60-year-old pundit took his criticism one step further and called for the Dutch national team to strip Van Dijk of the captain’s armband after his displays in recent days.
Verbeek said: “I think Van Dijk is a first-class wimp. I would immediately take away his captain’s armband. He has to mean a lot more as a captain. He has to put things down. It happens to him. At one point he lets Geertruida drown and then he stands there after the first goal, like: blablabla. Where was he then?”
Verbeek out of line with comments on Van Dijk’s latest performances
There’s no denying that the Netherlands’ loss to France was quite the shock to the system, with many fans and pundits rightly made with how the Dutch turned up at the Stade de France against Kylian Mbappe and company. However, Verbeek’s calls for Van Dijk to lose the armband are extreme, to say the least.
As we know, the Liverpool defender is one of the great leaders in this current generation of football, and if the Netherlands are to return to their former heights, they need Van Dijk to be an example to the rest of the team, not to become a scapegoat after a few bad performances.