Van Dijk and Hansen: A Liverpool Legacy In One Embrace
The image was brief, but it echoed across decades. Virgil van Dijk, towering in the present, beckoned Alan Hansen into the spotlight of Liverpool’s title celebration. One hand on the Premier League trophy, the other on the man many thought would never be surpassed. It was not a ceremonial gesture. It was a statement. And on The Daily Red Podcast, Dave Hendrick gave it context few others could.
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Respect From One Colossus to Another
Hendrick didn’t deal in vague praise or sentimental framing. This was layered history, carefully laid out. “Alan Hansen for many years was the greatest centre-back that this club had ever seen and arguably the greatest centre-back that Britain has ever produced.” He listed the roll call — “eight league titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups, three European Cups, six-time PFA Team of the Year” — adding pointedly, “that’s back when that actually meant something.”
But on that day, under the haze of confetti and legacy, Hendrick recognised something different in Van Dijk’s actions. “Virgil standing in front of the Kop holding the trophy and beckoning Alan Hansen to come over and join him… that was the moment.”
More Than Just a Trophy Lift
The weight of that gesture was not lost on Hendrick. “It was the look of somebody who’s not looking at just a peer but looking at someone that they view is almost above them.” This wasn’t some staged photo op. This was lineage. Hansen to Van Dijk. Past to present.
And Hendrick made no attempt to disguise how highly he rates Liverpool’s current No. 4. “He’s the best centre-back I’ve ever seen. Not just for Liverpool, not just in the Premier League. I mean, ever.” The conviction was absolute. “He’s the most complete. He’s the most consistent. His run as the best centre-back in the Premier League is unparalleled.”
Era-Defining Greatness and a Fairer World
If football was just, if time bent in favour of logic rather than chaos, Van Dijk would have more medals than he currently does. “In a fair world, yesterday Virgil’s picking up Premier League title number four, maybe even number five if he doesn’t tear his ACL.” Hendrick didn’t hide his frustration with external factors. “If City weren’t a big bunch of cheats, we win it in 22.”
But what cannot be stolen or stained is what Van Dijk represents. Hendrick underscored that too: “We hear about managers that just get Liverpool Football Club. We don’t hear it enough about players. But Virgil gets us and he gets it.”
Legacy Forged in Red
For all the talent, for all the tactical intelligence and physical dominance, Van Dijk’s truest triumph may lie in something less quantifiable: reverence. Reverence for what came before, for the club’s foundations, and for its future.
“Yesterday felt like almost the passing of the torch,” Hendrick said. “From then until Virgil arrived, Alan Hansen was unquestionably the best centre-back that ever played for the club.”
That title may now be shared. Not because Hansen has been diminished. But because Liverpool, once again, knows what greatness at the back looks like.
