[ad_1]
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk won the European Footballer of the Year Award in 2018-2019, UEFA announced on the sidelines of the ceremony that took place on Thursday night in Monaco, in France.
Van Dijk defeated Portuguese duo Cristiano Ronaldo, star of Juventus and Barcelona captain Lionel Messi, to become the first defender of history to win the trophy.
Dutchman Virgil van Dijk has made his name among the giants of the game in Europe after the great performance of the player with his team and won with him the title of the Champions League at the expense of Tottenham in the final, in addition to winning the title Player of the Year in the Premier League and became the first defenseman to win since John Terry with Chelsea in 2005.
The Dutch defender also won the European Super Cup at the expense of Chelsea on penalties, and the former Southampton player took part in the summer of the European Championship with the Netherlands.
A defender has never won the title of European footballer of the year. Placing the Liverpool defender on the list of short-listed candidates is therefore a major feat.
The Dutch defender played 59 games for Liverpool last season with nine goals and four goals. He is also the oldest player in the world with 4465 minutes.
He also managed to take possession of his rivals' ball while participating in approximately 70% of the bilateral meetings, both on the ground and on the docks in the air during the past season.
[ad_2]
Source link
