After losing Jordan Henderson and James Milner, captain and vice-captain, Liverpool had to make new appointments. As expected, the captain was Virgil van Dijk, who is also the captain of the Dutch national team and has worn the captain’s mark in the past.
The vice-captain was appointed as Trent Alexander-Arnold, a local-born, academy-educated English defender. Liverpool has stepped into a new era, and the former Southampton defender spoke of his “joy” and “ambitions” in assuming the captaincy.
“Very special. Obviously first and foremost, thank you very much. A really proud day for me, for my wife, for my kids, my family. Obviously it’s been a special feeling and I can’t really describe it at this point. But it’s something that I’m really, really proud of.”
“Obviously I’m captain of Holland, that was already such a huge honour, a proud moment as well. But also to be the captain of Liverpool Football Club is something that I can’t describe at this point. It’s just something that makes me very proud and I will do everything in my power and what I can do to make everyone proud and happy with me and the football club.”
“t’s business as usual but obviously we know we lost players in this last period that were big, big figures in the dressing room especially but also on the pitch. Others have to step up and take responsibility in the team, including myself. But yeah, there is a little bit more that comes along but I’m looking forward to it. It’s obviously going to be not easy at times, it’s going to be difficult on and off the pitch but I like challenges and I like to go for it. Obviously I know what it is to be a captain and now to be captain of Liverpool Football Club, I’m looking forward to it a lot and hopefully we can get a lot of success.”
Liverpool.com
As the Dutch captain mentioned, Liverpool lost a strong captaincy in the same period, both on and off the pitch. However, in addition to Van Dijk and Trent, the team also has players with high leadership skills, such as Andy Robertson, Mohamed Salah, and Alisson Becker.
In the younger generation, Curtis Jones is also well taken care of and shows the qualities of a captain. Dominik Szoboszlai has also worn the captain’s mark for his national team, and Cody Gakpo was captain of his old club.
The burden on Van Dijk will be even greater than last season, but he is surrounded by dependable teammates, and as in the past, the multiple leadership groups will lead the team from all sides to compete for the Premier League title…