Van Dijk names surprise ex-Arsenal and Chelsea star as toughest ever opponent

13 January 2024 , 23:56

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Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk (Image: Getty Images)

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has named former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud as his toughest opponent, admitting the 37-year-old "always manages to score" against him.

Giroud is widely considered to be one of the most underrated players of his era, despite winning the Champions League, World Cup and Euros in an illustrious career that has seen him overtake Thierry Henry to become France's all-time leading goalscorer.

However, Van Dijk is well aware of Giroud's quality, ranking him as the toughest attacker he has ever played against in an interview with France Football. "Olivier Giroud. Every time, you think you've got a hold of him, that you've got him well marked, but he always manages to score in one way or another: with his head, his foot, his knee," he said, as per GFFN.

"He has often scored against me." Van Dijk also namechecked Sergio Aguero, Erling Haaland and Gabriel Jesus as three other particularly tough strikers to defend against, adding: "They all make your matches very difficult."

It is not the first time Van Dijk has described Giroud as one of his toughest opponents. In an interview with former Manchester United captain Gary Neville on The Overlap in November 2022, Van Dijk said Giroud was his "bogeyman".

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"I always felt like I got him, but somehow, he always managed to score," the Dutchman said. "Whether it was for Arsenal, Chelsea or France, he always scored.

"I said to him when we won the league, we won 5-3 [against Chelsea] we were 3-0 up or something and he scored a scrappy goal, I think it was against the crossbar and fell down, scrappy goal, I said to him: 'You scored again?!'

Van Dijk has named Olivier Giroud as his toughest opponent (Getty Images)

"So I would say he is the guy that scores against me, and just that annoying person. There's so many fantastic strikers I've played against, [Lionel] Messi, Aguero, Haaland is a difficult one because he has everything, but I'm going for Giroud as he's my bogeyman - annoying!"

Giroud and Van Dijk have faced each other a total of 14 times, with the forward scoring six goals in those games. And the pair look set to lock horns once again at Euro 2024, with France and the Netherlands both drawn in the same group.

Van Dijk is currently the captain of his national team, while Giroud has admitted he will likely retire from international football after the tournament. He told RMC Sport last year: "If we win it, I'll bow out. It will probably be the case if we don't get to the end as well. I'm making the most of every minute."

Matthew Cooper