Jurgen Klopp, Virgil van Dijk Suffer Through Uncomfortable Reunion on International Stage

New Germany manager Jürgen Klopp was in no mood to entertain criticism of his side from old acquaintance Virgil van Dijk after Thursday’s draw with the Netherlands.

Only six players have ever played more games under Klopp than Van Dijk, who was an integral part of the former boss’s successful Liverpool teams in years gone by. The pair were, however, on opposite sides on Thursday when Klopp’s Germany took on a Dutch outfit with Van Dijk in the heart of defense.

The spoils were shared as Cody Gakpo, one of several Liverpool representatives in the Dutch setup, struck a stoppage-time equalizer that Van Dijk felt should have been the winner. The 35-year-old branded Germany’s refusal to stop play for an injury to Brian Brobbey and instead go down the other end and open the scoring through Felix Nmecha in the 32nd minute a “disgrace.”

Klopp is no stranger to supporting Van Dijk in the media but, with his allegiances now elsewhere, had some strong words for his former soldier.

“It certainly wasn’t a disgrace,” he bit back. “The goal was completely legitimate. I don’t have a guilty conscience. And I would have one if it weren’t legitimate. I would have taken it anyway, but I would have had a guilty conscience. I don’t have one.

“I would have told my players that they had to keep playing [if it were the other way around]. They didn’t. And we took full advantage of it with a really excellent move. Great cross, great run. Felix was where he needed to be—and he smashed the ball in.

“It certainly wasn’t a disgrace, but when emotions are running high, you can say anything in the heat of the moment.”

Did Van Dijk Have a Point?

Virgil van Dijk — Van Dijk was left fuming by the failure to stop the game. | ANP/Getty Images

While modern etiquette may suggest players should kick the ball out of play following an injury, the harsh reality is that is not a written rule. It is down to the referee’s judgment, with suspected head injuries the only thing that would necessitate a stoppage.

“For another 100 years it will still be a misunderstanding that spectators expect the ball to be put out of play,” Klopp stressed, “but the lads are actually instructed to keep playing.”

New Netherlands manager Xavi suggested his players were tricked by the sight of referee Alejandro Hernández Hernández with the whistle in his mouth, leading to some of them to stop playing, but he did try and diffuse the tension.

“It was not a big deal, either,” the former Barcelona boss admitted.

Similarly, Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich suggested Van Dijk was speaking with the emotion of a frustrated teammate, rather than with the logic of the rules in mind.

“I think that is not a reflective answer from him,” Kimmich said. “The referee stops the game, especially when a player has a head injury. It is the referee’s responsibility to determine whether the player is seriously injured.

“I didn’t hear a whistle, so the game continued completely correctly.”

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