'I think': Kenny Dalglish answers who is Liverpool's best centre-back ever - Virgil van Dijk or Alan Hansen

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For a club with a history as rich as Liverpool’s, it can be difficult to pick between their greatest players of all time.The Reds are England’s most successful football club, with legends stretching back to their foundation in 1892.While the most trophy-laden period came in the 1980s, the current Liverpool squad boasts more than a few legends within it as well.One of the most notable of these is Virgil van Dijk, who has arguably been the best defender in the world since his arrival in January 2018.Van Dijk is comfortably one of the best centre-backs in Liverpool history, with the great stalwart of the 1970s and 80s – Alan Hansen – possibly the only one able to rival the Dutchman.Having played for many years with Hansen at Anfield and seen Van Dijk up close for Liverpool and his beloved Celtic, Reds icon Kenny Dalglish has now attempted to answer which centre-back was better.Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty ImagesKenny Dalglish appears to pick Virgil van Dijk over Alan HansenDalglish and Hansen were teammates for Scotland as well as Liverpool, and are known to be great friends off the pitch.Nevertheless, when asked by Gary Neville on The Overlap to answer which of the Reds’ two greatest defenders should take the crown, Dalglish appeared to side towards the current Liverpool captain.READ MORE: Kenny Dalglish names ‘brilliant’ Liverpool star as the best he has ever played with“I think for myself he’s [Van Dijk] probably more physical, he’s more capable of playing,” said the former No. 7.“If somebody wants to barge into him it’s no problem, he’s maybe a wee bit stronger than big Al [Hansen].

“Big Al used to come out with the ball at his feet and go like that [beckon towards Dalglish], that meant ‘I’m struggling.'”“I remember watching Virgil play for Celtic, they used to break out from the back and go forward, they scored a goal at St Johnstone I think, he went forward, had a couple of dribbles and wrapped it into the net. We could do with that here, I never saw big Hansen do that.

I saw him try and set me up at Old Trafford, he used to get terrified when he went through.”Van Dijk can’t match Hansen’s trophy haulAlthough he does not give a definitive answer to this question, Dalglish does seem to be leaning towards Van Dijk in this particular question. Given the level he has reached with Liverpool, many will probably come to the same conclusion.Nevertheless, while Van Dijk may just edge Hansen when it comes to overall quality, the 34-year-old will never match his predecessor’s trophy haul.Hansen was part of a truly dominant Liverpool team during the 80s, racking up eight league titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and three European Cups.Van Dijk will no doubt have his eyes on adding one or two more to his trophy haul before he departs the club, but he likely won’t come close to Hansen in that regard.