One Manchester City defender has revealed Virgil van Dijk is the player he used to look up to while he was growing up.
Usually when a player is asked about which player they admired as a child, the expected answer is one of the past legends of the game.
One of Liverpool’s defenders might pick Steve Nicol or Alan Hansen, two players who were exceptional during their time at Anfield.
However, younger players in the modern game did not grow up watching these old stars. In fact, many of them have had the chance to play either alongside or against their football idols, because they have not yet retired.
This is true of Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol, whose favourite player growing up may come as a surprise.
When the Crotia international was asked about who his football idol was as a boy by Manchester City, he responded: “[Virgil] van Dijk.”
Gvardiol and van Dijk may both play in the same league, but there is a 10 and a half year age gap between the pair. In fact, Gvardiol was only 11 years old when the Dutchman got his first taste of Champions League football while he played for Celtic.
While it makes sense for Gvardiol to have grown up watching and taking inspiration from van Dijk, naming the Liverpool captain as his idol is bound to cause controversy.
Manchester City and Liverpool might not have a rivalry on the scale of Liverpool and Manchester United’s mutual hatred, or the Mersyside derb. However, there have been plenty of incidents of tensions between the club’s supporters on matchdays when the two teams have faced off.
This is likely due to the Premier League season when it has been Liverpool and Man City battling for the title, a familiar tale during the reign of Jurgen Klopp.
However, Gvardiol only joined the Cityzens in 2023. He previously played for Dinamo Zagreb and RB Leipzig, so perhaps this teams’ supporters will forgive him for selecting van Dijk.
On top of this, van Dijk may be a hero to many Liverpool fans now, but his career began at Groningen.
Had Gvardiol’s idol been someone like Jamie Carragher, a player who devoted his entire career to Liverpool, the reaction from City fans could be a very different story.
Van Dijk should be pleased he is inspiring the next generation, even if that inclues players who join his rivals. It just goes to show how important a player the 34-year-old has been over the years, not only to Liverpool, but to English club football as a whole.
