Germany manager Jurgen Klopp has come out in defence of his former Liverpool captain over criticism by the Dutch press.
Reds skipper Virgil van Dijk has been involved in a spat with reporters in the aftermath of the World Cup, where the Netherlands were beaten on penalties by Morocco in the round of 16.
There were suggestions that Van Dijk was involved in a tactical decision made by head coach Ronald Koeman, whose replacement, Xavi, will lead the Dutch for the first time against Klopp and Germany on Thursday.
Van Dijk ‘singled out’ over World Cup exit
Van Dijk denied the claim when he spoke to the Dutch media ahead of the start of their Nations League campaign, describing the accusation as ‘nonsense’ and reminding reporters that World Cup matches are won and lost as a team.
In his own pre-match media duties, Klopp leapt to the defence of his former captain, comparing the Dutch press to their German colleagues.
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“Our German journalists are pretty good [at being critical] too,” said the new Germany manager, who replaced Julian Nagelsmann after the World Cup.
“I haven’t really followed the Dutch press, but I assume you weren’t happy with the elimination. Then the captain gets more criticism too.
“Virgil has had a lot of great moments in his career and also a few lesser ones. Because he is not only physically present, but normally also because of his performances, I can imagine that he gets singled out a bit.”
Nobody in football knows Van Dijk better than Klopp. The defender played 270 times under Klopp for Liverpool, where they won the Premier League and Champions League together.
Xavi’s first Dutch squad also includes Ryan Gravenberch and Gody Gakpo, who were managed at Anfield by Klopp, and newer Liverpool arrival Jeremie Frimpong. In all, 10 of the Dutch players have been drawn from the Premier League.
Thursday’s match in Amsterdam is the first meeting between the Netherlands and Germany since the last Nations League competition. Germany won their home fixture after a 2-2 draw in the Dutch capital.
The Netherlands’ last win against the Germans was a 4-2 victory in a European Championship qualifier in September 2019.
Van Dijk captained the team in Hamburg and they went on to lose to the Czech Republic in the round of 16 of EURO 2020.
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