Virgil van Dijk’s captaincy credentials have been questioned by Marco van Basten, who says the defender “creates chaos” for the Netherlands team.
Although the Netherlands registered a comfortable 3-0 victory over Gibraltar in Euro 2024 qualifying on Monday, Dutch legend Van Basten was still not over the 4-0 loss to France three days earlier, and singled out Van Dijk for criticism. The Liverpool star’s penchant for “making noise” instead of dishing out “clear” instructions to his team-mates has been a major source of frustration for Van Basten, who has expressed doubt over his ability to lead the national team.
“He makes noise, but he doesn’t say anything. He is not clear. A good captain thinks aloud, makes it clear what is going on. He stays in between. He creates chaos. That leads to misunderstandings. That is what you, as a captain, must prevent,” he told Ziggo Sport.
When Van Dijk was asked to respond to Van Basten’s comments after the Gibraltar game, he said to Ziggo Sport: “This is of no use to me. Everyone is allowed to have their own opinion these days. Did I set the bar unrealistically high? How is that possible? It was never perfect, consistent is the right word. We’ve had a lot of success with the team. Football players, they know that better than anyone, have high peaks and deep lows. It’s quite normal that you can’t always play consistently.
