Virgil van Dijk describes the most difficult opponent of his career as “my bogeyman.”

Olivier Giroud has been cited by Virgil van Dijk as his most challenging rival.

The two have squared off 12 times in a variety of club and international competitions, with Giroud playing for France, Arsenal, and Southampton while Van Dijk represented the Netherlands, Liverpool, and Southampton.

The Dutch center-back has prevailed four times in those encounters compared to Giroud’s ten. The last time Van Dijk and the French shooter faced off was in a Premier League match between Liverpool and Chelsea in May 2020, which the Reds won 5-3.

It was the sixth time that day that AC Milan’s current “number nine” scored past Van Dijk, and the likelihood of them facing off again is high given that both are still competing in the Champions League and that Les Bleus and the Netherlands may face off in either the quarterfinal or championship of the upcoming World Cup.

When asked to select his most challenging opponent during an interview with Gary Neville for The Overlap, Neville responded in an unexpected way but for good reason.
He said, “Funnily enough, [Olivier] Giroud.

“I always thought I had him, but he always found a way to win. He consistently scored, whether it was for Arsenal, Chelsea, or France.

“I remarked to him when we won the league, we won 5-2, and we were 3-0 up or something and he scored a rough goal. I believe it was against the crossbar and fell down, scrappy goal, and I shouted to him: ‘You scored again?!'”

Therefore, I would argue that he is the person that scores against me and is simply plain annoying. I’ve played against so many great strikers, including Messi, [Sergio] Aguero, and [Erling] Haaland, who is challenging because he has it all, but I’m going with Giroud because he’s bothersome and my nemesis.