“I can’t believe, today was a good day,” American urban poet O’Shea Jackson (Ice Cube) famously told us in the early 1990s. Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk shared the same sentiment about his homecoming to Southampton yesterday; and in regards to another Sunday Premier League result.
Van Dijk moved from Southampton to Liverpool in the January transfer window, and in doing so, moved up from a team in the relegation zone to one chasing Manchester United for second place. VVD is thought to have forced through his move from St. Mary’s to Anfield, and the contentious manner in which the protracted transfer saga transpired, elicited massive boos from Saints supporters during the Reds 2-0 away win.
Many fans feel that Virgil van Dijk has directly contributed to the peril in which the south coast club currently finds itself. Reds boss Jurgen Klopp believes that Van Dijk handled the hostile reception very well.
“You just enjoy it,” Van Dijk said of hearing the boo birds out in full force. He also said that he doesn’t think most fans know the whole story behind his transfer.
“It’s the only thing I think you can do. I think it is a bit unfair because no-one really knows what happened over the summer and the last few months but I just kept my head down and enjoyed it.”
Van Dijk added that he’s “definitely” worried about Southampton avoiding relegation/staying up in the Premier League, he “cares for the club.” Not sure many Saints fans will actually believe that though.
Later in the same interview, when the Dutchman was also informed Manchester United lost to Newcastle 1-0, he responded as a true Liverpool man would, fully embracing the rivalry. “Did they? Oh… unlucky,” he coyly responded, smiling.
“I didn’t know, it’s good for us, obviously.”
Yep, everything fell into place for Van Dijk yesterday. “I had a good day,” he told the official club website.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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