I like Dejan Lovren. Always have. Don’t get me wrong, there have been at least two or three occasions when I wrote him off as not being good enough, but show me one man not named Jurgen Klopp who claims he hasn’t and I’ll show you a liar.
Hell, even big Dejan himself has admitted there have been times when he thought he was no good. Perhaps that’s why he tries to mask his insecurities by being overly bullish and running his mouth at the most inopportune of moments?
I thought he was done after the Tottenham debacle in October. I didn’t think he could come back from that but he did. How did he do it? Because whatever anyone wants to say about Lovren, one criticism you can’t throw at him is that he doesn’t have character. He gets knocked down but he gets up again. You’re never gonna keep him down.
The amount of shit he’s had would have broken many players, but he seems to be able to shrug it off and get on with his game. I admire that about him, always have. It’s just that any time he was doing well the implosion was usually just around the corner. Maybe it still is, but when I watch the defenders at other top six clubs they’re all prone to fuck ups as well. I’m taking Lovren over most of them.
Klopp has been very supportive of him and part of that is because of the role he asks Lovren to play and how it is a high risk style that he demands from him. Lovren is expected to be aggressive and try to win the ball at virtually all times, whereas defenders in other teams have the luxury of dropping off and playing it safe and letting their midfielders deal with it.
Lovren himself explained all that in great detail after he was wrongly blamed by many for the 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford. I’m not going through all of his quotes again as I’ve done it several times to the point where I’m even boring myself now, but I thought it was quite revealing and it does put many of his mistakes in a different light.
They’re honest mistakes, a result of trying to do too much and thinking he can win every ball. If that’s what Klopp is drilling into him then no wonder he’s far happier with Lovren than the fans are.
Klopp told Lovren after that Spurs nightmare that if he believed in himself as much as he believes in him then he’d be world class. Towards the end of the season when he was asked to talk about every member of his squad before the CL Final, Klopp actually then referred to Lovren as a ‘world class centre half’ but highlighted the occasional loss of concentration as his main flaw.
There’s no doubt he looked much more secure after the arrival of Van Dijk, who offers a calming presence back there when things get frantic. Lovren needs that as he can be a bit excitable at times. The example I’d use to sum that up is Man City at home in January. We were 4-1 up and Lovren had been fucking monstrous that day.
Late on City got back into it though and our composure went. City’s third goal came when Lovren chased someone out to the wing, then chased him back across the box, and when the ball was played to the opposite flank and then crossed back in, he couldn’t get off the ground as his legs had gone. The ball dropped over him and Bernardo Silva scored.
An honest mistake made with good intentions, but with Van Dijk alongside him I don’t think that happens. Big Virg would tell him to chill out and not go chasing around needlessly at that stage of the game. Many thought Van Dijk’s arrival would end Lovren’s Anfield career, but it might actually be the making of it.
He ended the season in great form and for me was man of the match in the Champions League final. Loads of fans still don’t trust him and would see him replaced, but I’m way beyond that now. I’m not saying there aren’t better centre backs out there, but I guarantee that any list you or I could come up with would be much longer than Klopp’s, as he genuinely thinks Lovren is top drawer.
Best Moment:
Celebrating a goal in front of the Kop by nicking Mo’s celebration.
Worst Moment:
Making that big chinned slobbering goon look like Brazilian Ronaldo back in October.
Rating:
8/10. Possibly generous given the start he had but he gets a bonus point for not letting the Spurs game ruin him and for playing like a boss in the biggest game of his life.
The Future?
The immediate future is him and Virgil. You may not like it but barring injury that’s the way it’s going to be.
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