Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk is struggling to act as a ‘leader’ for the Netherlands, according to two-time Eredisivie winner Kenneth Perez.
Van Dijk captained his country for the first time in a friendly defeat to England in 2018 and led Louis van Gaal’s side to the last 16 of the World Cup last year.
His club form has declined over the past year and although he has been one of the world’s best defenders for over five years, he has still divided opinion in his home country.
And the latest to jump on the anti-Van Dijk bandwagon is former Denmark international Perez, who has scored 105 goals in 325 appearances in the Dutch top flight.
Perez says Van Dijk should not be the “undisputed” captain under Ronald Koeman as Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong would be a more suitable captain.
“I don’t consider him the undisputed leader of the Dutch national team at all,” he said.
“I think Frenkie de Jong is, to be honest, much more of a leader in terms of how he presents himself and how he plays.
“He is an undisputed starter and a star player at Barcelona.
“I think ‘undisputed’ is strongly emphasized with Van Dijk.I don’t think he looks like a leader at all.
Van Dijk missed a fourth-minute penalty in Sunday’s European Championship qualifier against the Republic of Ireland.
It’s been a difficult start to the season for the 32-year-old, who was sent off in Liverpool’s third Premier League match of the season against Newcastle United.
Another Dutchman who criticizes Van Dijk for his performances with the national team is journalist Johan Derksen, who believes that the defender can no longer cope with playing at the highest level.
Derksen told Today Inside: “I’m very tired of that Netherlands captain.When a performance is missing, he uses all kinds of clichés to explain what went wrong.
“Can you still handle the level? No, he’s out of breath.I never saw him as a star.
He looks good, but I don’t think he’s a very good defender. He was only strong in the air.
