Speaking on the Pitch Side Podcast, Virgil van Dijk has named Roberto Firmino as the best player he’s ever played with.
Van Dijk has, of course, played with some truly world-class footballers during his career, from Mohamed Salah to Arjen Robben, but he says that Firmino is the best of the bunch.
Not only has van Dijk seen first-hand just how amazing the Brazilian is, he says that it’s so difficult to play against Firmino in training as a defender.
Firmino the best
Van Dijk named the attacker as the best footballer he’s ever played alongside.
“I would say at Liverpool probably Bobby Firmino. Yeah. Also knowing how difficult it is to play against him as a defender. He drops deep and all of this stuff. So I can say Bobby Firmino. Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Thiago. It has been a joy to play with all of these guys,” van Dijk said.
A player’s player
Roberto Firmino is certainly a player who is more appreciated by his peers than the wider footballing world.
Some of the things he does on the pitch ultimately go unnoticed by the viewing public, because, quite simply, we’re often not football savvy enough to understand what we’re actually watching from players like Firmino.
However, when you can read the game the way van Dijk does, it’s much easier to apprecate a player like Firmino.
The Brazilian is an expert at interpreting space, linking play and making the entire team tick, and that’s why he’s so appreciated by all of his teammates and every manager he’s ever worked under.
When all is said and done, Firmino will go down as one of the Premier League’s great underrated players.
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