VvD did come second in Ballon d’Or votes one year so I’m not sure Carragher’s statement in this instance utters an untruth.
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He’s still a good player but not for Klopps system now.
He was actually great in the second half yesterday, even if most of his work was just typical head the ball away type stuff. We were losing 50-50s all over the pitch and it was starting right from the back with him.
His problems tend to be when the game is more stretched and he has to manage space better, just doesn’t quite have the athleticism for it to make up for lacking in terms of reading the game.
Yeah he improved a lot 2nd half I was very impressed with Konate, he had a great game.
France are truly blessed with all the defensive talent that they have.
but have you forgot his performances against Torres?
https://twitter.com/statmandave/status/1645394264967323649?s=46&t=2U6XWqnXYlWg-4shy9vWIA
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he looks absolutely cooked
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He is done
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Went down as quickly as he came up.
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Is that a penis joke?
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Seems his aura wasn’t able to stop a human man from dribbling right past him and getting a shot off with zero pressure
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Klopp needs to make the tough decision and bring in his replacement
Just isn’t the same player and that nasty ACL injury hastened his decline, will continue to be ugly with him as an undisputed starter
Meh. Van Dijk took the long road up.
No doubt, I was talking about his Liverpool career, although the injury played a big part in that.
This is such nonsense. He had a brief spell where he was great for Liverpool, but he is far from having been the best defender ever lived. 
I think guys like Ferdinand, Vidic, Stam, Adams etc are ahead of him.
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Saliba as well considering age
Never ceases to amaze me how some past footballers who have had a lot of experience playing the game are so clueless about it.
Witbout knowing who’d said it you’d have thought it was the kind of shitty hot take from some spotty teen on social media but nah.
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Vidic, Campbell, Adams, Ferdinand, Terry, Kompany, Stam. All were better than VvD in their prime. And none of them come close to being the best defender to have ever lived.
VVD was imperious for about 18-24 months.
But even during that spell, he wasn’t better than say prime Vidic, Terry, Campbell etc. And these guys operated at that level for years and years.
For me, he’s not in their category because he lacks longevity.
It’s a classic case of recency bias. Since Kompany retired, VVD has been the CB poster boy for the Premier League.
Dias and Stones are very good but the league is quite weak in terms of elite CBs, and has been for a few years come to think of it.
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