Alisson reveals how “giant” Van Dijk inspires confidence in defence

Alisson Becker has praised Virgil van Dijk for inspiring confidence in the players around him.

The pair joined Liverpool in 2018 for what, at the time, seemed like enormous expenditure on the part of FSG. However, the fees paid by Liverpool to Roma and Southampton respectively now seem like bargains given how much of an impact both players have made this past season.

Alisson won the Golden Glove in his first Premier League campaign, with Van Dijk winning PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season. And of course, both players helped the Reds lift the Champions League trophy earlier this month after proving instrumental in the final and the run-up to it.

But in a recent interview, Alisson directed all credit towards Van Dijk and his fellow defenders.

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“He gives a lot of confidence for the team and the players,” Alisson said, as quoted by Liverpoolfc.com.

“When you have Virgil van Dijk – the giant – on the pitch, maybe it scares the opposition. For me, he is special.

“I have great defenders [in front of me] – Joel, Joe Gomez, Dejan. Everyone did a great job this season. But Virgil has something special, he is the big man.”

On the 2018/19 season, he added: “Everything has been good. It was a great season with great moments.

“The club is top, my expectations about the club happened. I’m happy to be here with top staff, top players and top supporters. I’m very excited every day to come and work hard, to play the games, to enter the pitch and do my best for my teammates, the supporters and my family, and to try to achieve something big for this club.

“It’s not too different from the football I played in Italy and Brazil. I play for the national team so you play against every kind of player. To come here to the Premier League, for me, it was one step up for me in my career.

“I just focus in every game and every day. I work a lot to do my best and try to not feel the change that a change of city and country brings to you. I’m very happy.”

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Source: anfieldhq.com