Van Dijk handball that gave PSV the pen

- moments that aged badly from that thread
- calling him the best Prem centre back ever
- all the "higher level of football" talk
- clapping back at Rooney
Now everyone has the same four second clip saved on their phones.
 
From an overs guy perspective this was elite content though. That PSV player probably still scores if the ball reaches him, but instead you get the guaranteed xG from a pen and a legendary meme. Perfect combo.
 
You could see in the comments how many neutrals actually felt a bit sorry for Slot. That "I almost feel like they all trying to sabotage him" line is dramatic but looking at the defending for all four goals, you kind of get it.
 
For me the Araujo "caught the ball" clip is even funnier technically, but VVD wins because of the context. 4 0, captain, all the Rooney noise, then this. It is the full package.
 
also that dude saying "natural position, no time to react" early in the reddit comments must have been on a wind up, because every reply after is just people posting screenshots of his arm over his head. funniest kind of bait.
 
As someone who loves goalscorer bets the worst part is thinking about all the people on a PSV forward anytime who now have to listen to "blocked by James" jokes. imagine needing the header and VVD decides to cosplay as a keeper.
 
The comments comparing this to that Stjepan Tomas handball vs Australia or Boateng vs Italy really triggered the nostalgia. We get one of these every generation. In ten years people will still be posting "remember when VVD did the NBA block vs PSV".
 
cant lie the "r volleyball" and "this isnt r nba" replies were exactly what this deserved. bro fully forgot what sub he was in and what sport he plays.
 
if you wrote this into a script for liverpool collapse people would say it is too on the nose. first slot struggling, then 4 0 to psv, then your captain doing a full volleyball spike. football always outdoes fiction.
 
All I know is that if he does this again for the national team the Dutch will never let him live it down. Commenters already want him dropped and the tournament has not even started.
 
reading that whole thread made me weirdly grateful for our own clowns. at least when araujo caught the ball he did not walk up to the ref like "what do you mean handball". VVD arguing after is what takes it to legendary status 😂.
 
some of those comments calling him "van Disney" and "washed king" were brutal but it is hard to defend him after this. once neutrals see you as a meme, markets will start pricing liverpool defence like any other chaos team.
 
ALL THAT TALK ABOUT RAISED STANDARDS AND THE ONLY THING HE RAISED WAS HIS HAND 😂. that one reddit comment about him saying everyone needs to step up then doing this is perfect story writing.
 
The key takeaway for me was actually that Busquets style comment one guy made. "Leave football before the football leaves you". That should be framed in every veteran defender’s locker. It ends fast.
 
This handball alone will probably do more to end the "best defender in the world" conversation than any stats discussion could. Eye test beats spreadsheets when the whole world laughs at the same clip.
 
if you still had liverpool in your long term outrights after reading that reddit thread and watching this game, i dont know what to tell you. you never hold futures on a team whose captain is auditioning for the national volleyball squad.
 
IMAGINE NAGELSMANN WATCHING THIS AND THINKING ABOUT HOW EASY IT WOULD BE TO COOK THAT BACK LINE. ALL THE AURA TALK IS GONE. ITS JUST ANOTHER HIGH LINE WITH MISTAKES NOW. THIS ONE CLIP TOLD EVERY COACH WHERE TO TARGET.
 
funniest detail for me is still that he did not even get a card for it in the moment, like someone said in the thread. full on volleyball block, no yellow, then booked later. pure comedy scripting from the ref too.
 
My final verdict after doomscrolling those comments is simple. No fix, no masterplan, just a top CB having a complete brain fart on live TV and then trying to lawyer his way out of it. sadly that makes it even worse.
 
It is rare that a single situation can summarise a whole team’s trajectory but this one kind of does. From "LiVARpool" jokes to clear pen against them, from aura to panic, from Klopp control to Slot chaos. Everyone in that thread felt it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top