Liverpool’s Defensive Pillars: Are Alisson and Van Dijk the World’s Elite?
The 2024/25 season was so exceptional under the Reds’ new head coach, Arne Slot. In their success, Reds’ goalkeeper Alisson Becker and Virgil Van Dijk played a pivotal role, and strengthened their defensive line. After the departure of their most pivotal strikers, Liverpool earned a good amount of money, €142 million from the transfers of Philippe Coutinho and Luis Suarez. Under the previous manager of Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp decided to invest the money to bring a new goalkeeper and a better defender to strengthen their defensive line, as their main goalkeeper Loris Karius’s disastrous performance against Real Madrid in the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League final. So, Liverpool’s previous boss, Jurgen Klopp, decided to bring AS Roma’s key goalkeeper, Allison, and one of the most promising defenders, Virgil Van Dijk.
How Alisson and Van Dijk revolutionized Liverpool under their rebuild:
In the 2017/18 season, after losing the UEFA Champions League final and the horrible performance of their main goalkeeper and the defensive line, Klopp wanted to replace the old ones with the new and promising talent. And he decided to buy the Brazilian promising goalkeeper from AS Roma, and a Dutch promising defender, Virgil Van Dijk. And after their addition to the team and fitting into Klopp’s quick counter-attacking system, Klopp got instant success, as in the first season after adding them, Liverpool won the UEFA Champions League in the 2018/19 season, and a season later, they won their long-awaited Premier League, as Virgil Van Dijk and Alisson Becker played a key role in their defensive corners. In the 2019 season, Van Dijk won the FIFA Best Player award and secured second place in the Ballon d’Or ranking, behind Lionel Messi. From the 2018/19 season, Virgil Van Dijk carved his name as one of the best defenders in the world, and Alisson proved himself too and carved his name as one of the best goalkeeper in the world, with his stats and goalkeeping attributes, forced the pundits and the football enthusiasts to compare himself with the greats like Manuel Neuer. Both players proved their costly price tag with their performances, and with the in-depth football analysis, both players’ stats were better than the other defenders or goalkeepers who played for the Reds. Alisson and his wealth of experience has proved invaluable for the Reds in the past 7 years. A top-notch professional, his winning goal against West Bromwich Albion in the 95th minute was a testament to his professionalism. This performance was the weekend after the passing of his father, displaying his commitment to the club and the game of football.
Why Alisson and Van Dijk are still important for Liverpool:
In the 2024/25 season, after Jurgen Klopp’s departure, and with the new head coach, Liverpool gave tough competition to all the teams and won the Premier League. In the new system, both players have proved themselves again. With major changes in the tactics, Van Dijk played a key defender role, who is good at holding the ball and clearing the ball as well, and Alisson played a pivotal keeper role, with his good ball distribution skills and shot-stopping skills, Liverpool’s defensive line was unbeatable. The defender and goalkeeper duo also helped in Liverpool’s quick counter-attacking play style, with their ability to play long balls, which has assisted Salah, Gakpo, and Luis Diaz in scoring more goals. Although players like Van Dijk and Alisson are irreplaceable, Liverpool is on a mission to find a replacement for the best, as Mamadarshavili is set to join Liverpool this summer transfer window, and Ibrahima Konate is playing with Van Dijk from two seasons and he is ready to take the place of one of the best defender in the world. However, it will be hard to replace one of the best goalkeepers in the world and one of the best defenders in the world for Liverpool, and the hierarchy of the Reds knows this too, that bringing the fresh legs will be difficult to replace with the world’s best.
