We all scoffed a few months back when quotes from a Turkish coach did the rounds, claiming that former Tottenham defender Davinson Sanchez is better than Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.
Maybe we’ve not been paying enough attention to the Turkish Super Lig, because on the evidence of this outrageous 20-second clip maybe there was something to it. Sanchez has apparently turned into the second coming of Ronaldinho since moving to Galatasaray.
“Sanchez is a better centre-back than [Van] Dijk,” former Turkey international and Galatasaray legend Servet Cetin claimed back in September (via Ajansspor).
“In England, centre-backs play locally, they do not disturb their positions. They don’t get into the ranks of the right-back or left-back. They always take a position in the centre. They usually play heavy. Because they are physically good, they intercept the ball in the centre.
“But they falter when they have to open up. Van Dijk had a very difficult time against Baris Alper Yılmaz in the Turkey vs Netherlands national [team] match.
“Sanchez, on the other hand, has a one-on-one game. He has pace, plays in a wider area and doesn’t miss men. He does a much more difficult job. He gets off the ball very well. Sanchez is a much better stopper than van Dijk.
“Maybe people will say come off it, but it doesn’t matter if it’s Liverpool. For example, Sami Hyypia came to Turkey and was not liked. So, Sanchez is better than Van Dijk and many other centre-backs in the Premier League.”
With all due respect to Mr. Cetin… that’s clearly nonsense.
Van Dijk has reiterated his claim as the best centre-back in world football, the bedrock of a Liverpool side that top both the Premier League and Champions League tables with an exceptionally good defensive record on both fronts.
However, in Cetin’s defence… Have you ever seen Van Dijk do this?
What the fuck is happening at Galatasaray…
— george (@StokeyyG2) November 10, 2024
The clip begins with Sanchez deftly taking the ball down with his back to goal before pulling off a perfect Maradona turn to evade his man and burst into space.
His first ball into the danger area is blocked but he then nonchalantly plucks the ball from the air, sending a perfectly floated ball to a team-mate as if he were a seasoned volleyball pro.
Sanchez’s team-mate, seemingly inspired by the ridiculousness he’s just witnessed, then connects cleanly with the ball after executing a brilliant bicycle kick… only for the lethal shot to come cannoning back off the post and back into the path of Sanchez.
At this point, both the commentator and the noise from the stands has reached fever pitch, a thousand brains broken by this piece of performance art that’s seemingly a tribute to the Brazil team of 1970.
Simply taking the ball down and recycling possession would’ve been too simple. It was only fitting for this move to break down in spectacular style, with Sanchez chesting it down at the perfect height for a sensationally athletic volley.
He couldn’t, could he?… No, actually. The final shot goes miles clear of the bar and the delirious fever dream is suddenly over, Sanchez and company are brought back down to earth and begin sprinting back into their defensive shape while the match director cuts to the delirious fans in the stands. What have they just witnessed?
A reminder, if you needed, that Davinson Sanchez is a centre-back.
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Since leaving Tottenham, Sanchez has already won one Turkish Super Lig title, with a key role as they won 33 of 38 matches and notched a club-record 102 points last term.
They’ve picked up where they left off so far this season, picking up 31 points from 33 available, opening up an early five-point lead over Fenerbahce and inching Jose Mourinho towards a mental breakdown in the process.
Maybe they’ve turned into a footballing version of the Harlem Globetrotters because this is all a bit easy for them.
If these 20 seconds are illustrative of Turkish football, we’re cancelling Sky Sports subscriptions, giving up on the Premier League and getting a dodgy box installed.
Rest in peace all the automatons that have been coached within an inch of their life by risk-averse tacticians. Goodbye to every footballer who makes that extra pass because they’ve been told not to shoot if the opportunity is below a certain xG.
We’re all about the Turkish Super Lig now. Where Davinson Sanchez looks like Ronaldinho.
By Nestor Watach
