Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk slams fixture congestion
The Liverpool and Dutch captain spoke out ahead of his side’s clash with France.
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk has spoken out against the current fixture scheduling for players while on international duty with the Netherlands.
The Dutch captain is a key figure for club and country and has been almost ever-present for Jurgen Klopp this season.
He has returned to a high level of performance as well which has contributed to Liverpool’s strong start of losing just one of their 11 games so far.
Now, he lines up for his country in two European Qualifers - with the first coming against the World Cup final runners-up France before they travel to face Greece five days later, before he will then return to Liverpool where they face seven games in 22 days.
Speaking ahead of Holland’s game against France on Friday, he commented on the current fixture scheduling, claiming something needs to be done or player’s health could be at risk.
“In England we believe the schedules are too busy.” Van Dijk claimed. “The players are getting paid well but it should never come at the cost of our health.
“We keep having to play more and more games. We as players should start saying something about it, contribute to a solution.”
He then found himself embroiled in a conversation that felt more like an interrogation as he was quizzed over salary and a potential reduction for playing less games.
What Van Dijk should be considerng is the fact he will face a game almost every three days upon his return to club football, but, fortunately for the defender, there are two Europa League games embedded in that fixture list which should see him earn some valuable rest between difficult games.
The emergence of Jarrel Quansah has been a real boost for Klopp who can call upon the 21-year-old to replace any one of his key centre-backs for certain games thanks to his calm showings thus far.
But with another international break set for November as well, Van Dijk will endure a non-stop schedule, as will many others, that is beginning to look unsustainable for players around Europe and beyond.