Virgil van Dijk believes he has “set the bar so high” at Liverpool in recent years, which makes minor mistakes easier to be criticised.
The Liverpool defender, who came in second place to Lionel Messi in the 2019 Ballon d’Or, finished among the top 30 players in the world in 2022.
Liverpool’s number four is set to lead Holland out as captain at the World Cup in Qatar as Van Dijk embarks on his first major tournament with his country.
🇳🇱 @VirgilvDijk 😁 pic.twitter.com/rHpKGq4O9X
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 14, 2022
What Van Dijk Said
Van Dijk was speaking to GQ ahead of the World Cup and the defender highlighted how “proud” he is to have been recognised by the Ballon d’Or award once again.
“I set the bar over the last couple of seasons so high that small margins of error get measured so big so it’s not easy to deal with.” he said.
“So to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or [again in 2022] and be within the best 30 players of last season is something that I’m really proud of.”
“There are so many quotes about ‘without losing or without failure you won’t succeed’, all these things,” Van Dijk added.
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“But it is really like this: you learn from situations that you go through.
“Losing the [2018 Champions League] final in Kyiv was very hard.
“But then playing the year after the final again in Madrid, knowing what’s going to happen. The whole preparation, the whole build-up to the final, then playing the final, managing the final.”
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