Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool’s English football team captain, responded to Wayne Rooney’s criticism of his leadership, while speaking alongside the former Manchester United and England captain after Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League.
The British news agency (BA Media) reported that Alexis McAllister scored the only goal in the second half of the match held at Anfield, giving the team its second victory in a row, after a series that saw the team lose 6 of seven matches.
Van Dijk stood alongside Amazon Prime analyst Wayne Rooney, who had criticized the Dutchman’s leadership, while the Liverpool captain spoke to the podium after the match.
Van Dyke told Amazon Prime: “In a world full of chaos, you have to stay calm and try to adopt the right outlook. Sometimes the noise is too big.”
When asked if he meant any of the analysts in particular, Van Dijk said: “Not at all. But I think it is very important to set the record straight.”
He added: “Keep calm and work hard to get out of the situation, because we have quality. This is not the problem.”
He explained: “I think all of you here know that you are dealing with a team of 25 players, and everyone lives a different life, so for me personally this does not affect me.”
He stressed: “But as team leader, I deal with players who may be affected by criticism.”
He continued: “If you lose 4 matches in a row, as a Liverpool player, then there will be fair criticism. This is very normal.”
He stressed: “But I think things are sometimes exaggerated as well. We live in a world with many platforms, and many people can say things, and they spread and become bigger than they actually are.”
Rooney responded, saying: “When I won the English Premier League title, I think I said this was fair. You don’t expect Liverpool to lose 4 games in a row. I think the response was great from Virgil and the team.”
