“I’m too good” – Former striker reveals what Van Dijk once said to him

Virgil van Dijk once told an opponent he was ‘too good’ for him, perfectly summing up the confidence the Dutchman possesses.

Former St. Johnstone striker Graham Cummins came up against Van Dijk during his Celtic days, before he was widely seen as the world’s best centre-back.

It seems that the 28-year-old always had complete faith in his own ability, however, as a story from Cummins highlights.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, the ex-striker revealed how Van Dijk told him he was simply too good for him when they faced each other:

Van Dijk left the day after we played against [Celtic].

That’s my claim to fame, that’s what pushed the Southampton deal over the line, that he marked me.

We were told in the dressing room, stop him, rather than him stopping you. Get behind the ball when he gets it, because he’ll run the pitch no bother.

The first ball, I tried to sprint with him and he just boshed me out of it. I was out of breath and blowing out of [my] backside and he just turned to me and said, ‘I wouldn’t even bother, I’m just too good.’

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This perfectly sums up Van Dijk as a character, with the Liverpool superstar seemingly so confident in his own ability.

There is a fine line between pure arrogance and simply knowing you are better than your opponents – Van Dijk falls into the latter category.

He is a colossal footballer that doesn’t appear to possess a weakness, whether it be pace, power, quality on the ball, leadership or positional sense.

I think believe he is Liverpool’s most important player by some distance – if he was out for a prolonged period, the team could suffer more than losing anyone else.

The £75 million Liverpool paid Southampton for his services now looks a real bargain.