3 Reasons why Virgil van Dijk deserves to win the Ballon d'Or 2019

3) A perfect season, a perfect defender

Van Dijk's 2018-19 season was flawless

Some people will argue that it is much harder to create a goal than to stop an attack. That argument does have its own merits, however, it has often been said that the art of defending is less appreciated than the art of scoring.

A winning goal is seen in almost every other game, and that goal is easy to celebrate, it is easy to see its value. The value of a well-timed tackle or the importance of an aerial duel won is not as easy to see, and therefore the appraisal for the defender gets lost in transition.

It is harder to see a defender's merits because you cannot say that he stopped 50 goals as compared to the 50 that Lionel Messi scores.

When Nicolas Pepe successfully dribbled past van Dijk in the Premier League this season, it was a cause for celebration for rival fans. Since his arrival at Liverpool, the Dutch defender had gone over 50 games without an opponent dribbling past him - a stat unmatched since these observations were recorded.

The defender has built such an aura and reputation around himself, that if an attacker is to even get past him, he is lauded as having performed a miracle. The focus, however, should not be on Pepe getting past him, it should be on the fact that van Dijk reads the game so well that he does not need to dive into a tackle for the most part.

Of course, the centre-back then caught up with the Ivorian and the attack eventually came to nothing.

Van Dijk is a physical freak of nature. Tall, muscly, great at positioning, and by far the best in the world at the art of jockeying - forcing the attacker to take the ball towards a position favourable to the defender.

The defender is very much a modern centre-back, but he has that old school style about him. He is composed, his interceptions are timed and vital, he can pass the ball long, he is a set-piece threat, and the list goes on.

The 2018-19 season was an anomaly, in the sense that you barely see a defender having such a flawless year. Not only was van Dijk at the heart of Europe's best defence, but his playing style also forced forwards to change their game. Instead of attacking Liverpool directly, many teams resorted to cutting out wide and trying out their luck with Robertson or Alexander-Arnold.

In the last Champions League campaign, van Dijk was clocked as having produced the fastest single sprint of any player in the competition (at 34.5km/h) – a stat that serves to showcase his insane natural ability. In the unlikely case that you do get past him, he will probably catch up to you.

He was not dribbled past by anyone, and he faced the likes of Messi, Eden Hazard, Sergio Aguero, etc. He won most of his aerial duels, he stopped more attacks than you can care to count, and he was a nightmare for any forward.

Troy Deeney of Watford summarised van Dijk better than anyone else can - "He’s the best by far,” he explained in an interview with Graham Hunter in 2018. “[He’s] 6ft 6inches tall, quick, confident with the ball at his feet, and doesn’t mind a physical battle. He’s the closest thing we’ve got to a complete defender in the Premier League.”

In another interview that year, Deeney added: “I hate going up against him. He's too big, too strong, too quick, too good on the ball, loves fighting.."

We all know the prowess of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and we know they are capable of scoring 50 goals a season with ease. However, the fact remains, that van Dijk's year as a defender is probably unmatched in recent memory.

As good as Messi was this season, he ultimately did fail to lead his team to the Champions League - and it was van Dijk and Liverpool who stopped him. Even in Sergio Ramos' peak season, the centre-back is remembered for scoring that header vs Atletico Madrid, or for the brace at the Allianz Arena.

Van Dijk is more disciplined, stronger, and faster - it is his defending that makes the headlines, and he has brought attention back to the importance of a strong defence. The fact that van Dijk is even in the conversation for the Ballon d'Or as a defender encaptures his greatness - none of Ramos, Gerard Pique, Jerome Boateng, and other great defenders of this era have managed that.

It has been 13 years since Fabio Cannavaro won the award as a defender and Van Dijk is the closest that has come to claim the crown since then. It will be tough for any defender to replicate van Dijk's last season, and for the focus that he has brought to the art of defending as well as the impact he has had, he well and truly deserves to win the Ballon d'Or.