Following Sunday’s League Cup final, in which Liverpool beat Chelsea to lift the trophy for the 10th time, football fans have been left arguing amongst themselves as to who was better, Virgil van Dijk or Vincent Kompany— and the debate is as furious as it is funny.
The Dutch centre-back scored the only goal to win the EFL Cup for the second time and once again proved to be the difference for Liverpool, but his decisive action also sparked the debate amongst Scousers and more as to where he lands amongst the greatest Premier League centre-back of all time.
Well, it wasn’t much of a debate for half of Merseyside, as a number of posts on social media were quick to proclaim van Dijk as the very best in history, brushing past plenty of other options like John Terry, Nemanja Vidić and more, but most notably it would seem, Man City legend Vincent Kompany.
Safe to say people on both sides are staunchly defending both center-halves just as much as each other and it’s produced some classic online footy fan discussion and downright outrage in some cases.
The 32-year-old’s trophy cabinet now includes two EFL Cups, a Premier League title and the Champions League, an FA Cup; a Charity Shield, the UEFA Super Cup and a Club World Cup, not to mention multiple personal accolades.
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By no means a bad haul whatsoever, but now let’s compare it to Kompany‘s tally here during his time in Blue: four league titles, four EFL Cups, two FA Cups and a pair of Charity Shields. More domestic success certainly, but van Dijk’s done it in Europe too — depends on how you weigh everything up.
One of the key differences noted by many supporters between the two in the wake of van Dijk’s man-of-the-match performance was that whereas he scored a winner in the Carabao Cup, Kompany scored an absolute iconic screamer to go top of the league and effectively beat Liverpool to the title in 2018/19.
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As for scoring winners in cup finals, many a player has achieved that feat (defenders included) and beyond just the current Burnley manager himself, the floor has also been opened plenty by fans who think there is a laundry list of other names that come ahead of the Liverpool star.
No, lol. Nemanja Vidić (4x TOTY, 2x POTY), Rio Ferdinand (6x), Tony Adams (4x) Vincent Kompany (3x, 1x), Sol Campbell (3x) John Terry (4x), Jaap Stam (3x) & Gary Pallister (x7) all have cases or are clearly better than van Dijk.
I’ve been saying it for years so don’t think it’s reactionary. Van Dijk is the best centre back I’ve seen in the Premier League. Everyone loves nostalgia and never give players their flowers until they’re gone. I watched Terry, Vidic and Kompany get clowned regularly. Not him.
Deserve to be locked in a mental asylum if you’re gonna try to claim Steve Bruce, Tony Adams, Kompany and Steve Bruce are better than Van Dijk https://t.co/s9rQLHigu2
We’re not even going to pretend to have an answer to this one, we’re just going to sit back and enjoy the to-and-fro whilst waiting for the next one to inevitably roll around soon enough.
All we will say is that Kompany captained one of the most dominant sides this country has ever seen and we’ll comfortably stick our neck out and say that ‘Vinny, don’t shoot!’ moment wasn’t just better than VVD’s extra-time header but is probably one of the most iconic goals in Premier League history.
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So go on then, who do you think will go down as the better defender, Virgil van Dijk or Vincent Kompany?
Manchester City star Rodri warns that players are ‘close’ to going on strike over too many games
Danny Jones
Manchester City star Rodri has come out to warn that professional footballers could soon go on strike over the number of games they are now playing each year.
The Blues’ Treble and Euro 2024-winning midfielder is one of Pep Guardiola’s most heavily relied-upon squad members and has been absent for the start of the new Premier League campaign thus far, and has once again made his feelings known on the issue of fixture congestion.
Now in what is widely accepted to be the ‘prime years’ of his career, Rodri is only just back in training following an injury in the final between Spain and England back in July; his return to the press conference table saw his addressing the possibility of a potential player strike.
Speaking ahead of Man City’s opening game of this year’s Champions League competition, the 28-year-old said that the number of games in each season is simply becoming “too much”.
"You can play 40-50 games at a top level but not 60-70" 🗣️
Rodri says the increased workload for players in the current schedule is "too much" ⚽ pic.twitter.com/rie3CWKDnL
When asked by a reporter if he believes it will get to a point where players might consider going on strike, he said: “I think we are close to that. I think it’s the general opinion of the players and if it keeps [going] this way, there will be a moment where we have no other option.”
Although Rodri couldn’t give an exact number that he thinks is suitable, he estimated that “40-50” is the top limit for players to keep performing at the highest level, insisting that anything more and you inevitably drop because “it’s impossible to sustain the physical levels.”
The Spanish international, who joined City back in 2019 and has gone on to be part of the greatest period in the now record-breaking side’s history, went on to add: “We have to take care of ourselves. Someone has to take care of us because we are the main characters in this sport, this business, whatever you want to call it.”
He also argued that not only is it a worry for players’ fitness and well-being – with the growing number of games being directly correlated to people becoming more injury-prone – but also for the overall entertainment and “the quality of the show.”
Rodri is by no means the only one either; just earlier this past February, the PFA’s (Professional Footballers’ Association) chief executive Maheta Molango said: “For us, we’ve reached a stage where it is not just about the health of the player, it is about us killing the product.” The calls are growing louder.
🚨🔴 Alisson on new Champions League format: “For the supporters, amazing. But sometimes nobody asks the players what they think about adding more games…”.
Naturally, on the other hand, many fans argue that these are professional athletes on hundreds of thousands of pounds a week and, in the case of teams such as Man City, it’s the club’s responsibility to rotate the squad and use youth players so as to manage fatigue and adequate rest.
Rodri’s right: ‘the beautiful game’ is still a business and whether or not the higher-ups see it within their best interests to stem the increasing flow of games for the sake of player welfare and/or the quality of the most televised sport in the world, the narrative isn’t going anywhere and strikes now sound more plausible than ever.
Do you agree — are professional footballers now expected to play too many games?
You can watch an extended look at his press conference and comments on fixture congestion here:
Rodri on a potential players’ strike over the bloated fixture lists.
Manchester breaks the all-time Davis Cup attendance record despite GB disappointment
Danny Jones
The 2024 Davis Cup wasn’t to be for Great Britain but Manchester and fans all over the country can still be proud that we did our bit as it has been confirmed that we set an all-time attendance record.
GB crashed out of this year’s tournament on Sunday following Dan Evans’s defeat against Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, which sealed a 2-1 loss against the North American visitors and saw the home team fail to progress to the quarter-finals for the second time in three years.
Team captain Leon Smith’s side got off to a winning start in their hard-fought opener against Finland, but after the fatigued were knocked back by Argentina in the second match, it was always going to be a tough task.
Nevertheless, the crowds continued to improve throughout the week after a rallying cry from Smith and it culminated in 15,700 tickets sold for Sunday alone, meaning that a Manchester crowd bigger than Wimbledon’s Centre Court filed into the AO Arena to watch the action.
Record Breaking! 🏆🎾 A new @DavisCup record in Great Britain 🙌 15,700 attendees at the @AOArena 🥳 Thank you everyone for an incredible week of tennis! 🌟 pic.twitter.com/rfLKP6DU0T
What a way to answer the call when the national team needs you – can always count on the Mancs.
Better still, it wasn’t just the closing fixture that surpassed previous feats of attendance: a total of 37,000 sporting spectators turned up to the AO Arena over the course of the six days of play, cementing not only a new record for the arena but in the entire history of the Davis Cup.
With the legendary arena still fairly fresh from its £50m redevelopment, including new state-of-the-art facilities and additions like The Mezz, everyone in attendance was able to soak up the electrifying atmosphere.
Hosting the competition once again after the rousing success of the World Cup of Tennis’ return to Manchester for the first time in 30 years in September 2023, it didn’t disappoint and provided the perfect backdrop for creating global sporting history.
Both the athletes and the supporters inside the arena were on top form from start to finish, with an atmosphere to be very proud of.
By the final day, the atmosphere was incredible. (Credit: Supplied)
Commenting on their new personal record and impressive feat on behalf of the entire Davis Cup and LTA (Lawn Tennis Association), the AO commented: “This underscores the arena’s growing reputation as a leading, must-attend and must-play destination for major sporting events and entertainment.
“The milestone also highlights Manchester’s thriving cultural footprint on a truly global scale, and the city’s continued commitment to hosting high-calibre events with enormous success”, they continued.
“The Davis Cup is a tournament renowned for drawing significant global attention and attracting the biggest names in the sport. AO Arena’s record-breaking attendance not only enhances Manchester’s profile on the international sporting stage but is also set to attract further prestigious events to the city.”
Having already proved ourselves as a tennis-loving crowd, we sincerely hope we see the Davis Cup come back to Manchester for yet another visit very soon and GB can rest assured that we’ll be cheering them on every step of the way – we know they’ll come back stronger next time.
🌟DAVIS CUP MANCHESTER…THAT’S A WRAP!🌟
It wasn’t to be for Team GB this year, but another amazing tennis showcase in our city – with a record crowd attendance. Best of luck to all finalists.
Danny Jones -
26th February 2024 
