Rio Ferdinand in 'nuts' era claim over van Dijk, ex Celtic ace clash vs Rangers record breaker sparks odd quip
Rio Ferdinand and Andy Cole have been left debating how former Celtic star Virgil Van Dijk would fare up against a Rangers record breaker of yesteryear.
The Man Utd legends were chatting on Ferdinand’s own podcast ‘Rio Ferdinand presents’ over the football topics of today, mainly south of the border. But Glasgow links soon crept into the discussion when talk of how the Liverpool defender would cope in a different generation cropped up.
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Hide AdStrikers like George Weah were discussed and pored over before Ferdinand was left wondering how the Liverpool man would fare against a man like Duncan Ferguson. In his playing days, the ex-forward became a Rangers record breaker when they signed him for a fee of £4m in 1993, the highest UK transfer fee at that time, remaining the last Ibrox player to achieve the feat.
Liverpool and ex Celtic man wouldn’t have it easy
Van Dijk arrived at Celtic in 2013 and made the Premiership look easy as he enjoyed two fine years in Hoops before earning a move to England in Southampton, where Liverpool picked him off from. Now he is one of the world’s best defenders.
Up against the likes of former Everton star Ferguson and ex-Celtic player Dion Dublin though, Ferdinand and Cole wonder if the script would be different. Ferdinand started: “That era was nuts. There was no days off. You play them games and it’s two up front. We always compare eras and I look at Van Dijk. I would love to see Van Dijk... I think he would be able to adapt but I just don’t think he’d be able to make it look as easy as he does now. He’s got two guys roughing him up every day.
“Andy Cole was strong, he’d be backing into you and elbows out. I think Virgil would still be one of the best ones around 100% but it wouldn’t be looking as easy as it is now. Now it looks like he has the slippers on with the cigar out, chilling.
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Hide AdCole then brought the former Rangers man into the fold, with an odd turn to talk about the Liverpool defender’s hair: “It’s crazy how the game has moved on, to look at an individual and he makes it look so comfortable. As I was sitting here I am laughing to myself, I am saying to myself, can you imagine Van Dijk against big Dunc in a Merseyside derby? I’m not sure how long his hair is going to be in that position.”
Ferdinand then said: “Or Dion Dublin pulling off on the back post respecting no centre-back?”
Cole added: “Then it’s totally different as you had more mavericks when we were playing. When you look at someone like Matt Le Tissier and looked at some of his goals the other day, he’s flicking it over people’s heads.”
Van Dijk love for Celtic
The Dutch defender has always been fond of time in Glasgow. Van Dijk told The Rest is Football last year: “It was time for me to make that the next step. I left with my wife at the moment and obviously things are different. You are away from your family, you are on your own, it’s a different culture and language.
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Hide Ad“But it’s not crazy different as Scotland and Holland is not like five or six hours away from where you lived before, but it was definitely a big change. We had our first kid in Glasgow and we really enjoyed it over there. It prepared me for what came next.”
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