Troy Deeney has revealed that Vincent Kompany and Virgil van Dijk are the toughest defenders he has ever faced in his career.
However, the former Forest Green Rovers player-manager reflected on swapping shirts with the Liverpool legend on two occasions when he brought up the Belgian icon, who signed for Manchester City for £6 million (The Mirror) in 2008.
In March last year, Pep Guardiola praised Ruben Dias for how selfless a player he is, much like how the four-time Premier League-winning captain was.
Troy Deeney says Vincent Kompany and Virgil van Dijk are the toughest defenders he has ever faced
Despite being a tactically intelligent and ball-playing centre-back, Vincent Kompany was known to relish his battles with every type of striker.
From Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Luis Suarez, the Manchester City legend had gone toe-to-toe with every profile of number nine and gave them a tough time on the pitch.
Troy Deeney has now admitted that alongside Virgil van Dijk, Vincent Kompany was the most challenging opponent he had ever faced.
“It’s actually two [shirts I have] of the big man. My guy, Virg [Virgil van Dijk]. Obviously, Southampton Virg and Liverpool Virg. But he’s probably one of, if not the best defender I’ve played against, between him and [Vincent] Kompany”, he said on his YouTube channel.
In the five times, Troy Deeney faced Vincent Kompany when both started for Watford and Manchester City respectively, the former did not manage to score even a single goal.
Bullying Vincent Kompany was virtually impossible
When Troy Deeney was in the Premier League, he had a reputation for bullying centre-backs but Vincent Kompany was clearly not one of them.
Kompany’s physical stature and switched-on footballing brain meant even the most intimidating strikers had a difficult time trying to figure out how to get the better of him.
The retired colossus embraced the old-school style of defending by booting the ball out of danger and engaging in crunching tackles but at the same time, he was always composed and made the right decision, which must have been frustrating for Deeney.
As a result, bullying Vincent Kompany until the end of his career was out of the question.
