Virgil van Dijk Quotes

As a defender, we take pride in getting clean sheets.

Ashley Cole is a fantastic defender. I have seen him keep the best players in the world quiet.

I do like to play and pass the ball. But first and foremost I see myself as a defender: blocking, tackling, heading.

I'm an attacking full-back.

There are plenty of good central defenders around and I enjoy watching them.

If Messi has the ball, he is fantastic to watch and difficult to stop. You have to double up on him, triple up on him even, stay with him constantly to block his way to the goal.

I'm a defender first and foremost - blocks, headers, vital tackles, or even just the communication side of it, which is massive but doesn't really get recognised.

Any good attacker will always beat a defender who's face-marking you.

I am not a player who goes on mazy runs - I like to defend. I like to do a job for the team.

One thing was crystal clear to me: if you're centre-back, you first of all have to perform your task.

I've played against Messi a lot of times, and I've already conceded goals through my legs with him.

Presnel Kimpembe has everything to become one of the best defenders in Europe.

Considering Messi's quality and everything he represents, I don't think I've seen him playing with a guy following him around the pitch the entire time with the sole purpose of not letting him play.

Pique has been a great centre-back.

I would have played Tom Finney in his overcoat - there would have been four men marking him when we were kickin' in.

It's the striker's job to put the ball in the net and it's up to us to make important tackles and blocks.

I'm an attacker, and forwards always want to score.

I promised my mother that I'd be a famous footballer one day after seeing players such as Croatia's Davor Suker and Serbia's Predrag Mijatovic shine in France.

When I first came to Arsenal, I didn't know how to defend.

I always say that someone who doesn't score isn't a forward.

For me, the defender I respect the most is Giorgio Chiellini. He's one of the best defenders in the world. I really like the way he plays football on the pitch, the way he defends. He lives for the game. He transmits a sense of tranquillity to his team-mates. I have always admired his way to play.

There are strikers all over the world who wouldn't get the goals if they didn't have a creative midfielder or someone that enjoys making assists.

Sometimes you'll go up against keepers like Casillas - the 'penalty killer,' as many of us call him. Other times, there's that one defender that, for 90 minutes, just destroys you. There is one in particular who will always stand out in my mind. Nemanja Vidic.

My roles for Arsenal and Sweden are very different.

I defend my goal as if it were my home. I do my best to defend it and not to allow anyone to score goals or penetrate that. It's true.