Defence beats attack as Virgil Van Dijk caps stunning year with UEFA prize

A passion for preventing goals, great coaching and Liverpools world-class forwards are what Virgil Van Dijk believes helped him become the first defender to win UEFAs Mens Player of the Year award on Thursday.The 28-year-old Dutchman comfortably beat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have won this award five times between them, in a poll decided by coaches from the 32 teams that made last seasons Champions League group stage and 55 leading football journalists.Signed from Southampton in January 2018 for 75million, Van Dijk was named the PFA and Premier League player of the year last season and was also man of the match when Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-0 in Madrid to claim their sixth European crown.And now he can add two more gongs to his collection, as he was unsurprisingly named Europes best defender at the Monaco award ceremony which doubled as the Champions League draw. 2018/19 UEFA Men's Player of the Year #UEFAawards | #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/B6PurZkmK7 #UCLdraw (@ChampionsLeague) August 29, 2019Speaking to reporters afterwards, a clearly delighted but typically composed Van Dijk said: Im very proud that Ive been given the honour of this award the other two guys are world-class players who have been doing it for years.Ive been a defender since I was very young. I love it when good strikers dont score against me. Preventing goals, thats my passion.As a defender, you get better with experience and hard work. In training, Im against world-class strikers, who make things very difficult, week in, week out.They make me better and I make them better. Thats how I see it, at least. Its just a great environment to be in."First of all, I need to thank all of my teammates." The moment @VirgilvDijk won the #UEFA Men's Player of the Year pic.twitter.com/Cgi1ZEoMl0 Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 29, 2019One of the key statistics attached to Liverpools run to the Champions League title last season was that Van Dijk was never beaten in a one-on-one battle all season. But he was also recorded as the competitions fastest player, had the second highest amount of clearances and chipped in with two goals.Asked if having a defender for a manager at Liverpool in Jurgen Klopp was an advantage, he said: I have Ronald Koeman with the national team as well he was also a pretty good player.Its an advantage that I have such great managers. Fantastic managers who I can learn from, on and off the pitch. Thats what I try to do. I look, listen and try to take everything in. @LFC #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/3nh07rvjUc #UCLdraw (@ChampionsLeague) August 29, 2019On a great night for Liverpools rearguard, Alisson Becker was named as UEFAs goalkeeper of the year for a Champions League campaign that saw him keep six clean sheets in 13 games and eight key saves in the final.It was an amazing season with two titles for me individually with the Champions League and Copa America (with Brazil), he told reporters.The coaches at Liverpool have really helped me and Im just looking forward to another season. More hard work, like last season, so we can achieve great things. Thats why I play football.Wins the 2019 UEFA President's Award Gives bizarre cryptic speech to confuse everyone in attendance.Eric Cantona, ladies and gentlemen pic.twitter.com/qNgZB0cFoW Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) August 29, 2019But the first prize of the evening went to one of Liverpools nemeses, Eric Cantona.The Manchester United great won the Presidents Award for his contribution to the game, on and off the pitch, and he lived up to his maverick reputation by emphatically ignoring the dress code and delivering a speech that reminded many of his famous reference to seagulls and trawlers.Speaking afterwards, he said: It was very subjective but Im happy its a great honour.Football is not subjective: when you play, the best one wins. This was different but Im very happy.(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
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