Virgil van Dijk is widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs in the modern era, although one European pundit has offered a wildly contrasting take.
Former Galatasaray and Turkey defender Servet Cetin was a guest analyst on Radyospor (via Ajansspor) when he made the jaw-dropping claim that former Tottenham flop Davinson Sanchez is better defensively than the Liverpool captain.
The 43-year-old declared: “Sanchez is a better centre-back than [Van] Dijk. In England, centre-backs play locally, they do not disturb their positions. They don’t get into the ranks of the right-back or left-back. They always take a position in the centre. They usually play heavy.
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“Because they are physically good, they intercept the ball in the centre, but they falter when they have to open up. Van Dijk had a very difficult time against Baris Alper Yılmaz in the Turkey v Netherlands match [at Euro 2024].
“Sanchez, on the other hand, has a one-on-one game. He has pace, plays in a wider area and doesn’t miss men. He does a much more difficult job. He gets off the ball very well. Sanchez is a much better stopper than Van Dijk.
“Maybe people will say come off it, but it doesn’t matter if it’s Liverpool. For example, Sami Hyypia came to Turkey and was not liked. Sanchez is better than Van Dijk and many other centre-backs in the Premier League.”
We’re all entitled to our opinion, of course, but this claim from Cetin has to be one of the most outlandish to ever make it to air.
At this point we’d like to offer a gentle reminder that Van Dijk came second in the Ballon D’Or vote in 2019 and, upon arriving at Liverpool the previous year, transformed our defence from worryingly porous into a formidable unit which shipped just 22 league goals in one season.
Since returning from the Jordan Pickford-inflicted ACL injury, the Dutchman has regained his status as one of the foremost centre-backs in world football, standing out as an uncompromising and vocal leader at the heart of the Reds’ line-up.
As for Sanchez, one ignominous day in April 2023 summed up his miserable time with Tottenham. In a home fixture against Bournemouth, he was booed by Spurs fans upon coming on as a substitute and then jeered again when he was hauled off just 23 minutes later (The Athletic).
Jamie O’Hara labelled the Colombian ‘one of the worst’ players ever to represent the north London club (talkSPORT) and had also been described as ‘shocking’ by Jermaine Jenas after a particular error-strewn performance against Wolves in 2022 (Match of the Day, via TEAMtalk).
The 28-year-old might be enjoying some welcome redemption at Galatasaray since his departure from England, but for Cetin to claim that he’s superior to Van Dijk is quite an extraordinary statement.
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