Klopp fires back at Van der Vaart after 'Boeing 747' dig at Van Dijk

Jurgen Klopp publicly rebuked Rafael van der Vaart on German television after the former Tottenham midfielder compared Virgil van Dijk’s movement to a Boeing 747 in the wake of the Netherlands’ 2-2 draw with Japan at the World Cup in Texas.

Van der Vaart sparked the row while analysing the late equaliser that denied the Dutch a winning start to their campaign. “I must honestly say that I was a bit shocked by Van Dijk,” he said on Dutch TV. “That turning… It was a bit of a Boeing 747. I hope he will run a little faster during the tournament.” The comments landed despite Van Dijk having opened the scoring and been awarded man of the match in the same game.

Klopp, appearing as a pundit for Red Bull’s MagentaTV coverage of the Netherlands’ subsequent 5-1 win over Sweden, used the occasion to return fire. “I don’t know if it’s worth naming Rafael van der Vaart at all,” the former Liverpool manager said. “But if he ever says something positive about a player, I’m willing to take him seriously again. You have the feeling that he sees something, which then has to be expressed in a flowery way and then he goes against it. But it’s not that important.”

The thrashing of Sweden — featuring braces from Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo — largely rendered the debate about the team’s defensive approach moot, though Van Dijk was caught for pace by Anthony Elanga, who pulled one back for Graham Potter’s side.

Van der Vaart’s post-Japan comments had already drawn separate criticism after he was forced to apologise for saying that Japanese players “look alike”.

The row was further complicated by an injury concern for Van Dijk after the Sweden match. “I took a hard hit to my hip, and I couldn’t feel my upper leg anymore, so that was a little bit crazy,” the 34-year-old told NOS. “But it was probably just a pinched nerve. I think it is not too bad, but we will see shortly.”