Former Netherlands international Rafael van der Vaart caused a stir with his stinging criticism of Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk – and now Jurgen Klopp has entered the fray

Jurgen Klopp has dismissed Rafael van der Vaart’s comparison of Virgil van Dijk to a Boeing 747, insisting that the ex-Tottenham midfielder’s opinion doesn’t matter. Van der Vaart slammed his Netherlands compatriot Van Dijk after the 2-2 draw with Japan at the World Cup.

The Dutch surrendered two leads in their World Cup opener, with Daichi Kamada’s late goal seeing the points shared in Texas. Ronald Koeman’s team were heavily criticised for their performance and tactical approach as they tried to defend their lead.

Van der Vaart led the backlash on Dutch TV, slamming Koeman’s overly negative approach while reserving a particular barb for the Liverpool and Netherlands captain. “I must honestly say that I was a bit shocked by Van Dijk,” he said while analysing the final goal.

“That turning… It was a bit of a Boeing 747. I hope he will run a little faster during the tournament.” Van Dijk opened the scoring against Japan and was awarded the man of the match award. He dismissed the criticism of the team’s approach and the 5-1 thrashing of Sweden, featuring braces from Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo, on Saturday put the debate to bed.

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However, Van Dijk’s former Liverpool manager Klopp wasn’t willing to let it lie. Appearing on Germany television as a pundit for the Sweden match, the head of global soccer for Red Bull took the opportunity to return fire at Van der Vaart.

“I don’t know if it’s worth naming Rafael van der Vaart at all,” Klopp said on MagentaTV. “But if he ever says something positive about a player, I’m willing to take him seriously again.

“You have the feeling that he sees something, which then has to be expressed in a flowery way and then he goes against it. But it’s not that important.”

The Van Dijk comments weren’t the only thing from Van der Vaart that made headlines following the draw with Japan. The 43-year-old former playmaker was forced to apologise after saying that the Japanese players “look alike”.

With Brobbey and Gakpo thriving at the other end of the pitch, Van Dijk was much less busy in the win over Sweden. He was burnt for pace by Anthony Elanga, who scored a consolation for Graham Potter’s side, but overall enjoyed a much better night, having been up against his Liverpool team-mate Alexander Isak.

There was a concern after the match, though, with the 34-year-old defender revealing that he suffered an injury. “I took a hard hit to my hip, and I couldn’t feel my upper leg anymore, so that was a little bit crazy,” Van Dijk told NOS.

“But it was probably just a pinched nerve. I think it is not too bad, but we will see shortly.” Van Dijk will hoping to be fit for the Netherlands’ final Group F fixture against bottom side Tunisia in Kansas City on Thursday.

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