Klopp dismisses Van der Vaart as 'attention-seeking' after Boeing 747 dig at Van Dijk

Jurgen Klopp has rounded on Netherlands head coach Rafael van der Vaart, dismissing his criticism of Virgil van Dijk as unworthy of serious attention after van der Vaart compared the centre-back’s movement to a Boeing 747 turning on a runway.

Van der Vaart made the remarks despite the Netherlands recording a comfortable 5-1 win over Sweden in their second 2026 World Cup qualifier, having drawn their opener 2-2 with Japan. Rather than focusing on the result, the former Netherlands attacker singled out van Dijk’s mobility. “I was quite shocked by Van Dijk,” van der Vaart said. “I thought, ‘that doesn’t look good.’ Especially while turning… a bit like a Boeing 747 turning. I hope he starts turning a bit faster during the tournament.”

Klopp, who managed van Dijk at Liverpool until stepping down two years ago, was swift and pointed in his response. “If he ever says something positive about any player at some point, then I’ll be happy to take him seriously again,” the German said. He added: “You get the feeling he sees something, and then it has to be formulated in a flowery way. And then he’s really against it. But that way, it’s really not important.”

It is not the first time Klopp has stepped in to defend a former Anfield player since leaving the club. Late last year he publicly backed Mohamed Salah after the Egyptian forward attracted widespread criticism for a candid interview about his Liverpool future.

Despite van der Vaart’s reservations, van Dijk and the Netherlands currently sit top of World Cup qualifying Group F on four points. They are level on points, goal difference and head-to-head record with Japan, but hold the superior position by another tiebreaker. The Dutch face bottom side Tunisia on Friday looking to extend their lead at the summit.