For those of you who woke up with a sense of disappointment this morning after England’s World Cup exit, Croatia defender Dejan Lovren might just put a smile on your face after he has claimed that he is one of the best defenders in the world.
Regular watchers of the English Premier League will have seen Lovren in action for Liverpool over the last few years, and must be thinking that the Croatian is having a laugh.
However, following Croatia’s run to their first ever World Cup final thanks to their extra time victory over England on Wednesday, it seems as though he is actually being serious.
While he has actually looked like a decent defender out in Russia, the 29-year-old has often looked out of place in the Liverpool defence, with only the £75 million arrival of Virgil van Dijk having seemingly solidified Jurgen Klopp’s back line, as they embarked on a run to the 2018 Champions League final.
Now after reaching a second major final in less than two months, Lovren thinks he has been proven to be a world beater.
“It’s something special for me,” Lovren told beIN Sports.
“From my point of view, people said I had a difficult season but I don’t agree.
“I took Liverpool to the final of the Champions League. Now with my national team we are in the final.
“I think people should recognise that I am also one of the best defenders in the world and not just talk nonsense.
“It was quite tough in the first half. We couldn’t control the ball. They had some good chances but in the second half we did much better. We took spaces on the side and found some good crosses.
“In extra time we showed that even with fatigue we were still able to play our game.
“This is something that we will never forget. People are crying and are happy in our country now. This is something historical for us.
“We will never forget this. We beat our record from 20 years ago. We had this weight on our shoulders all the time. Now people will never forget us.
“Now we have a chance to do something even better and hopefully we can do it on Sunday.
“(Luka) Modric is the best midfield player in the world and if we win this World Cup he deserves the Ballon d’Or.”
