Virgil Van Dijk (Breda, 1991) is one of the best centre-backs in the world, but he knows that when his team, Liverpool, face Villarreal this Wednesday, it won’t be easy. The Dutchman, the axis of the ‘Red’ defense, does not hesitate to praise his rivals and warns: “It’s going to be a very intense tie.”
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Van Dijk, who is looking for his third European Cup final and his second Champions League, spoke to Efe before the Yellow Submarine visits Anfield to face one of the best teams in the world.
Question: What do you expect from the tie against Villarreal?
Answer: “It will be very difficult because Villarreal is a very difficult team. Obviously I have seen the games against Bayern Munich and they are a fantastic team defensively. The players work hard, have a lot of experience and, above all, play like a collective.
Q: Which players would you highlight?
His centrals are incredible. Raul Albiol and Pau Torres. They are very experienced and fantastic. Then in the center of the field they have the calm and the touch of (Dani) Parejo and up top I highlight their speed.
Gerard Moreno (if he arrives) is very fast and can surprise you. We already know a lot about Danjuma from his time at Bournemouth. It’s going to be a very complicated matchup, but this is the Champions League semi-final. We knew that it was not going to be easy.
Q: You have studied Villarreal a lot.
A: Well, it’s that we were going to play against whoever played us in the semifinals, we were going to know them very well, because in this round only the best remain. There is no easy rival in a semifinal.
We are aware of the difficulty of these games and these rivals. The return there in Spain is going to be very hard and we expect it to be very intense. We have prepared very well to try to win the tie and be in the final.
Q: Are you favorites to be in the final?
A: No, these are press debates that we prefer not to listen to. We do not listen if they tell us that we are favorites or not. We will play this Wednesday as we try to play every game, that is, going out to try to win and, if we can, reach the final. Villarreal is a great team, with great fans and a great coach. We really want these two games to start now.
Q: The arrival of Luis Díaz in winter has given them an important boost.
A: He is a footballer with a lot of danger. He is capable of producing very dangerous moments with his overflow and his creativity. The other day he gave an assist, he scored. And he’s only been here two months. Normally the adaptation period is hard, because he has just arrived, but he is an extraordinary boy and a great person. He has been able to put his great quality at the service of the team very quickly.