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03 Feb 2020 16:28:13
Often been told how good a player Alan Hansen was, he was a little before my time so I've only seen what's on youtube and DVDs but I like to go with the opinion of the people who watched him live and they say he was a smasher. Question for the fans on here who watched him live, do u think Vvd has reached his level yet or surpassed his level? Vvd best center back I've seen at liverpool in my lifetime, just like to hear if some of the older ones think differently? Cheers.

Agree0 Disagree0

03 Feb 2020 17:20:01
Before my time too mate but my Dad (a Leeds fan) insists that he's the best centre back to grace the game in the last 60 years bar none.

03 Feb 2020 17:49:42
For me its Hansen. So many years at the very top level, an abundance of medals, awful pitches compared to now, heavier footballs and boots yet he still strolled thru the midfield as if the other team wasnt there.

03 Feb 2020 17:59:04
He was. Ubleiveable mate could dominate now.

03 Feb 2020 18:21:04
VVD is better in the air, faster, better long passer, stronger, scorses more goals. Hansen was better positionially and bringing the ball out of defence.

Could Hansen have transformed the whole back 4 on his own? Yes but I don't think to quite the extent VVD has. If I have to start next season with just one it would be VVD.

03 Feb 2020 19:13:49
I agree with Mark08. Hansen was majestic and, like VVD, he made defending look easy. He was probably better than VVD at bringing the ball out of defence and carrying it into and through the midfield but I suspect VVD is under orders from Klopp not to do this. But Hansen came into a team of English and European champions and made them better; VVD (and Alisson) came into a team of nearly-men and transformed it into the phenomenon that we have become. When faced with Hansen, opposition forwards possibly had the perception that they could somehow get the better of him, perhaps if they were particularly fast or particularly good in the air. When faced with VVD, it seems that opposition forwards just accept that there is no way to beat him. And they are right of course!

03 Feb 2020 19:38:51
Good points all.
You’d have to say that Van Dijk’s physical qualities are absolutely extraordinary and he’s the complete modern centre half in an era when players are quicker and fitter than ever.
However Hansen was not quite 23 when he played in the 1978 European Cup Final, and his longevity until his final title in 1990 was impressive.
VVD is at his peak now, so comparison with Hansen at a similar age in around 1982/ 83 is relevant. And that was when Hansen put in one of his definitive performances in the 0-5 thrashing of Everton at Goodison.
Big Virgil could have played in those great Liverpool teams though, no doubt about that, and he’d have been as dominant as he is now.

03 Feb 2020 19:47:32
An older liverpool fan I know said to me that Hansen wasnt a center half he played number 6 which I presume is the fab role in todays team. I didn't know so didn't want to question him but every book I've read or show I've seen has described hansen as a center half?

03 Feb 2020 20:19:54
Alan Hansen did indeed wear number 6 but he was, of course, a centre back/ centre half. If the guy you know thinks that only number 5s are centre halfs, I wonder what he made of Phil Boersma, Ray Kennedy, Ronnie Whelan, Jamie Redknapp, Steve Staunton, Ronny Rosenthal, Craig Johnston, Barry Venison, Nigel Spackman, Jan Molby, Milan Baros and Gini Wijnaldum? He would not have been impressed with their defensive discipline!

03 Feb 2020 21:08:05
Think he was more talking about the position a number 6 played back in back line mate. He was talking about positions that r not talked about in today's football like inside right. I presumed the fab role but I was wrong.

03 Feb 2020 21:34:43
That last time we won the league Hansen lifted the trophy and we have not won it since he retired. In my eyes the second best Liverpool player in my life time only behind King kenny. His reading of the game was the best I have seen and played for a long time with bad knees and could not train a lot. VVD needs to win a lot more to be classed as good let alone better.

{Ed025's Note - hansen was brilliant grino i agree..

03 Feb 2020 22:22:31
Hansen better on the ball van dijk better defender. Would yous agree?

03 Feb 2020 22:31:34
Hansen had it all great technique his positional sense was fantastic it was like he knew where the ball was going to be before it was kicked, and best of all for me was when he had the ball coming out of defense midfield players backed off him letting him stroll through the park and giving him loads of room for a shot on target. He was great in the air but he wasn't the fastest but again his positional sense made up for that. Hansen was surrounded by players of the same caliber as himself every one if them class. Now Vvd is again something of a similar mold to hansen but the difference is that Vvd has brought each and every one of our defenders up to his class while Hansen had them already in the team when he was transfer. It's a close call but I would give e it to Hansen ag the moment.

03 Feb 2020 22:44:47
Agree Grino except for your last comment, VVD is far better than good. Hansen is the best defender I've ever seen, and saw him in the flesh a number of times as a kid. If VVD continues at this level for a few more years, then I'd find it hard to pick between them.

03 Feb 2020 23:07:31
Just thinking, if Jocky Hansen broke into the side at 22 that would make him the same age as Joe Gomez now. That’s a good comparison.

03 Feb 2020 23:35:50
Hansen was absolutely class as is VVD . Unfair to say one is better than the other maybe best to wait til VVD's Liverpool career is over before we can really compare . At this moment Hansen is more highly rated for me with 8 league titles and 3 European cups .

04 Feb 2020 01:36:39
Grino, I can’t agree with your comment that VVD needs to win more to be classed as a top player. Ability is what counts, not trophies.
It’s the same old argument that suggests Djimi Traore was one of Europe’s best and that Le Tissier, Signori and Tom Finney were rubbish.
Having said that, I still think VVD is our second best center back of all time.

04 Feb 2020 08:21:14
Has to be Hansen for me, as much as VVD has been great and reminds me of Hansen in the way that he is so composed, he hasn't done it at the top end of football for the length of time Hansen did.
Both brilliant defenders though and VVD has time on his side to become a great. Lots of good and fair points though lads.

04 Feb 2020 11:50:36
People have misunderstood Grino I think.

For me he clearly meant Van Dijk needs to do more to be considered "as good as Hansen". Not he needs to do more to be considered "good".

Grino, lad. That's the importance of punctuation 😜 I agree with you though. VVD needs 8 league titles and 2 Champions league to catch Hansen in terms of success. Even if he plays to 40 years old that looks unlikely!

04 Feb 2020 12:43:25
The difference is Hansen done it when he was a kid and kept on doing it.

04 Feb 2020 15:02:37
Couldn’t and wouldn’t compare Jocky with Virgil but what I would say is what a pairing they would of been together . Mind you Mark Lawrenson was some Center back to put them three together nothing would get past them.

04 Feb 2020 15:43:02
Hansen was definitely a Centre Half but he was so good at anticipating the play that it must have seemed at times like he played the Fab role as well. For me they are on a par with each other’s abilities balancing out. They might come from different eras but the class and dominance shines from both of them. We have had the pleasure of watching so many truly great players down the years; this current team are just a joy to watch.







 

 

 
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