Eintracht Frankfurt’s Nnamdi Collins on Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk: “The best central defender in the world. I can learn everything from him.”

In partnership with

Get German Football News

·15 de setembro de 2025

Eintracht Frankfurt’s Nnamdi Collins on Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk: “The best central defender in the world. I can learn everything from him.”

Imagem do artigo:Eintracht Frankfurt’s Nnamdi Collins on Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk: “The best central defender in the world. I can learn everything from him.”

In a double interview with kicker, Eintracht Frankfurt duo Nnamdi Collins and Nathianel Brown spoke about their upcoming Champions League campaign.

The pair will make their UCL debuts on Thursday against Galatasaray. The league phase will then see Frankfurt also play Liverpool, Napoli, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Qarabag, Tottenham and Barcelona.

Vídeos OneFootball

On the upcoming campaign, Brown said:

“I’m extremely excited about the game and the Champions League season in general. We want to show what we can do. The Champions League is one of the biggest things for a footballer.”

With Collins adding:

“I feel the same way. I don’t feel any nerves at all. There are no negative thoughts, just anticipation. We’re in good spirits and want to carry that feeling into Thursday’s game.”

On the tough draw that Frankfurt have, die Adler arguably have the toughest out of all the Bundesliga sides, Collins commented:

“These are tough challenges that we’re looking forward to. Of course, it will be more difficult than last season in the Europa League. But we handled the triple burden well there, finishing third in the Bundesliga. I’m confident enough to say we can do it again. We have the potential to have another very good season, including in the Champions League.”

Brown also said:

“We’re undoubtedly facing some top-class opponents. But we’re ambitious enough to go into every game with the mindset of wanting to win. We’re not going to Barcelona or Naples because it’s nice there. We want to show what we can do.”

The Champions League will also give Collins a chance to face his favourite player – Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. On playing against the Dutchman, Collins said:

“I was rooting for Liverpool in the draw. Van Dijk is, in my opinion, the best central defender in the world. I can learn everything from him: his heading ability and timing, his calmness and physical presence, his aura.”

Considering that Frankfurt have made a name for itself as a selling club in recent seasons, with departures such as Hugo Ekitiké, Omar Marmoush and William Pacho all leaving in the past few years. The duo were asked about who they dream of playing for in the future:

Collins:

“I’m incredibly happy in Frankfurt, but I also think the Premier League is great, especially Liverpool FC. You should always set high goals; that’s why we all started playing football. But honestly, that’s not playing a role in my thoughts at the moment. I feel very comfortable at Eintracht and am extremely excited about what lies ahead.”

Brown:

“I’ve been a Barcelona fan since I was a little kid; Barca would be a dream come true one day. But I’m not even thinking about it at all right now.”

Frankfurt had a hot start to their Bundesliga season with wins against Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim, but their 3-1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen on Friday provided them with a much-needed reality check to help them continue to build their season upon.

GGFN | Jack Meenan