Home Football Rafael van der Vaart CRITICIZES Netherlands captain Van Dijk for not showing ‘passion’ after ‘DISGRACEFUL’ defeat by Austria, as fans slam the centre back for his ‘lazy’ defending for the winning goal

Rafael van der Vaart CRITICIZES Netherlands captain Van Dijk for not showing ‘passion’ after ‘DISGRACEFUL’ defeat by Austria, as fans slam the centre back for his ‘lazy’ defending for the winning goal

Football — 06/26/2024

Rafael van der Vaart criticised fellow Dutchman Virgil van Dijk following the Netherlands’ s/h/o/cking 3-2 loss to Austria in their Group D match at Euro 2024, which saw them finish third.

Before Wednesday’s game, the Netherlands had already guaranteed their spot in the round of 16; nonetheless, they put on a poor performance, falling behind three times.

Van Dijk was caught several yards behind his team’s defensive line in the game-winning goal, as former Manchester United player Marcel Sabitzer raced through to give Austria the victory.

Van Der Vaart thought that Van Dijk’s behaviour on the field was reflected in the Netherlands’ “disgraceful performance,” which he strongly criticised.

“We performed as Virgil van Dijk just spoke!” Van Der Vaart stated upon his dismissal from NOS, the Dutch television network.

Rafael van der Vaart was highly critical of Virgil van Dijk after the Netherlands lost to Austria

Rafael van der Vaart was highly critical of Virgil van Dijk after the Netherlands lost to Austria

Van Dijk was at fault for the winning goal and Van Der Vaart slammed him for not showing 'passion', while fans hit out at his 'lazy' defending

Van Dijk was at fault for the winning goal and Van Der Vaart slammed him for not showing ‘passion’, while fans hit out at his ‘lazy’ defending

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.“We were forced to witness a reprehensible performance!” I want our nation’s captain to demonstrate some PASSION!Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo’s goals put the Netherlands back into the game twice, but they were unable to respond after Sabitzer’s goal. Fans also noticed that, although playing Sabitzer well onside, Van Dijk’s placement for the game-winning goal was highly dubious.A fan said on X that VVD was really indolent.That is so incredibly awful, said another who concurred, and one X user said, ‘He is angry entirely, played everyone onside.’After three successful seasons at Liverpool, Van Dijk is regarded as one of the best defenders in the world, but one fan is not convinced by his stature in the league.”One of the most exaggerated and inflated defenders in history,” they proclaimed..

It was also pointed out that the response to Van Dijk’s mistake would not have been so kind if Harry Maguire had been similarly caught out.

‘If this was Harry Maguire etc etc etc,’ one fan said.

Van Dijk and Co must now wait to learn their last-16 opponents, although they are set to be on the opposite side of the draw to France, Germany, Spain and Portugal.