Virgil van Dijk finds himself on the receiving end of a playful taunt that is starting to get under his skin, courtesy of two Liverpool teammates.
In his debut season as Liverpool’s captain following Jordan Henderson’s departure, van Dijk showcased his leadership qualities with a decisive goal in the recent Carabao Cup final.
However, even the steely Dutch defender is not immune to banter from his colleagues. Summer signing Alexis Mac Allister disclosed that both he and Mo Salah have been playfully repeating the phrase ‘Anda Pa Alla Bobo’ to van Dijk.
This phrase carries significance, as it mirrors an incident involving Lionel Messi and Wout Weghorst during a tense World Cup quarter-final clash between Argentina and the Netherlands in 2022.
Speaking on DS Sports’ ‘Can Pass’ program, Mac Allister revealed, “Me and Salah, all day long are saying ‘Anda Pa Alla Bobo!’ [What are you looking at fool] to Van Dijk. We are driving him crazy and we also do that among ourselves.”
The context behind the phrase traces back to Messi’s frustration directed at Weghorst after Argentina’s victory over the Netherlands, a match marred by heated exchanges and a flurry of yellow cards.
In a post-match interview, Messi uttered the phrase in Spanish, essentially telling Weghorst to “Get out of here fool!” Messi’s actions, captured in Netflix’s ‘Captains Of The World’ documentary, included snubbing Weghorst’s attempt to shake hands.
Reflecting on his behavior in a subsequent interview with TyC Sports via the Mirror, Messi expressed regret, stating, “I don’t like what I did…I don’t like the ‘keep moving’ and all that. But well, they are moments of huge tension and huge nervousness and everything happens very fast.”
While acknowledging his actions, Messi emphasized that his reactions were spontaneous, acknowledging the pressure and intensity of the moment.
