Rafael van der Vaart says he has no problem with Klopp.

The Dutch legend said he doesn't mind the former Liverpool manager criticizing his comments about Van Dijk. Earlier this month, during the Netherlands' 2-2 World Cup draw with Japan, Van der Vaart compared Reds captain Van Dijk to a Boeing 747—a remark that drew a sharp response from Klopp on German TV's Magenta TV. Klopp said at the time: "If he ever says something positive about a player, I'll start taking him seriously again."

Van der Vaart said he would be happy to play under Klopp and understands him defending his captain at Anfield: "Jürgen Klopp is a great coach and a very good person, and I respect him very much. He is a manager I would love to have played for. All players would go through fire and water for him, and I also like his passion for football. I will always listen to what he says; he has done a lot for the game. As for what he said about me, I don't care at all. I'm not the type to get angry. I just criticized a specific moment from Van Dijk, and Klopp is, of course, his coach, so it's perfectly normal for him to defend him. I respect that."

Van Dijk will captain the Netherlands in their World Cup round of 16 match against Morocco. Van der Vaart added that he is sometimes misunderstood: "As a person, I largely speak from my feelings and my heart. Questions are asked of me, and I answer honestly. I communicate with the person asking the question; I'm not evasive. I understand the question and say what I see, not what I feel obligated to say. That's how I was as a player, and that's how I am now. I don't speak to make headlines; in fact, I dislike that even more. But I watch matches, and sometimes you like a player, and sometimes you don't. It's not about disliking their personality—it's about evaluating their performance."

"I am positive about many players, but if I see something I don't like, or if they play poorly, I should have the right to say so. I have to speak about what I observe. Some media colleagues avoid criticism because they'll see the players again the next day, but that's just how it is. I also encounter a player the day after I've said he played poorly, but everything is fine when we meet. He knows himself that he didn't play well. That's how it was when I played." He added: "When legends like Cruyff criticized me for playing badly, I would still chat with them normally the next time we met. It's part of the job, and one of my responsibilities is to share my honest assessment of the game. That's all there is to it."

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