The fall of Virgil van Dijk, the Übermensch
Virgil van Dijk is not finished, he just became human
I teach you the Superman.
Man is something that is to be surpassed. What have ye done to surpass man? All beings hitherto have created something beyond themselves: and ye want to be the ebb of that great tide, and would rather go back to the beast than surpass man? What is the ape to man? A laughing-stock, a thing of shame. And just the same shall man be to the Superman: a laughingstock, a thing of shame. […] Lo, I teach you the Superman! The Superman is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: The Superman shall be the meaning of the earth!
I would like to begin with a personal consideration. I was born in 1997 and I firmly believe that Virgil van Dijk is the best central defender I have ever had the good fortune to admire in my footballphile life. There are certainly other candidates (the first ones that come to mind are Nesta - but I was too young to remember him in the prime - and Ramos - in my opinion much less impactful defensively), but none gave me that feeling of defensive omnipotence like the Dutchman.
Therefore, I was very upset when I heard about his serious injury in 2020 because I feared it would greatly affect his career. Nevertheless, he proved last season that he was still one of the best performers in his role with top-notch performances with which he led his Liverpool side within a goal of Gundogan from winning the Premier League and into the Champions League final. This year, however, things have been very different, almost as if the effects of his injury have been slow in coming. Poor performances, glaring mistakes, the perennial feeling of being late, unfocused, inaccurate. These bad performances have led to the rise of comments such as "van Dijk is finished," but some people even exaggerate and go so far as to say that "van Dijk is a one season wonder".
Everyone has the right to enjoy sports in the way they prefer, but I frown upon those who analyze it with superficiality. Football is a team sport, the impact of each individual is closely bound up with the team context, what their teammates do, what their opponents do, and why not, with luck. Especially when it comes to the individual performance of defenders, we cannot ignore a holistic analysis of the team's out of possession phase, because the contribution of the individual defender depends on the structure, approach and choices of each element of the XI.
A defender can simultaneously be one of the best in the world in a specific tactical context and one of the worst in the opposite tactical context. The easiest example is Maguire, impressive at Leicester and ridiculed at Manchester United. The difference between the two contexts? In the former, he was able to hide his limitations and enhance his strengths by being protected by the general structure of the team; in the latter the exact opposite was often the case, and United's defensive problems that arose in the offensive half of the pitch fell on the defensive line, which remained constantly exposed.
Defenders normally need to be protected in order to perform at their best; if exposed to risk they struggle. A lot. And this is where van Dijk's almost unparalleled level and defensive omnipotence comes in: in an extremely aggressive and intense system like Klopp's Liverpool, in which the slightest (rare) mistake in the high pressure could have created chasms that left the defensive line in an enormously dangerous situation, VVD at his best was such an outstanding player that he could single-handedly make a defensive line elite even when exposed. For Nietzsche, the Übermensch is a being who is able to completely affirm life: someone who says ‘yes’ to everything that comes their way; a being who is able to be their own determiner of value; sculpt their characteristics and circumstances into a beautiful, empowered, ecstatic whole; and fulfill their ultimate potential to become who they truly are. VVD, in a similar way, in his best years was willing to say yes to every difficult situation he had to face.
The mere presence of the Dutchman instilled fear in opponents, who rather than venture into a 1vs1 against him (a generally favourable situation) preferred to slow down and play it behind. In this sense, the episode involving Lautaro Martinez in last year's Champions League round of 16 is among the most illustrative.
But in general there are plenty of examples of van Dijk handling almost impossible situations impeccably, such as in the case of a famous 1vs2 against Tottenham. Virgil has changed certain aspects of the game, he is the master example and the model everyone aspires to when it comes to 1vs1, defending with a high line and dealing with complicated situations with extreme coolness.
By now, however, the prime is gone. The years are passing by (32) and the knee injury certainly didn't help. If earlier Liverpool (one of the best defensive teams in the world in their best years) could implement a hyper offensive pressing and take risks with the awareness that van Dijk could solve any situation, today things are different. Like any defender, in order to be able to perform at his current best, he now needs a structure that helps him, protects him and does not leave him constantly exposed. However, this is not the case at all: Liverpool is no longer what it once was, some key players have aged and no longer have the athleticism of the past (Henderson), others have become less important (Firmino), others have left (Mané). Nevertheless, the Reds continue to implement a very aggressive and brave defensive system, but without having the manpower to afford it anymore, which leads to the defensive line having to defend in overly complicated situations (don't just think about van Dijk, think also about the difficulties Trent Alexander-Arnold is having).
Given Liverpool's defensive problems and van Dijk's biological decline, does it really make sense to criticise him to this extent? We are basically disproportionately criticizing a player for losing his superman (or better übermensch to not create any ambiguity with the guy wearing the blue suit with the red cape) status and becoming a simple man, which should make you realize how good of a player he was in his prime. Has van Dijk's performance been disappointing up to this point? Absolutely, but the focus should be: is Liverpool's out-of-possession approach helping or troubling their defensive line?
John Donne wrote that 'No Man is an Island'; we could adapt this to football and say that No Defender is a Defensive System. Except Virgil van Dijk, he used to be. He simply cannot be anymore.
Marco, this is fantastic. Both the analysis itself and the way you bookended it in Nietzsche and Donne is wonderful.