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Sharuko on Saturday
SOMEHOW, they found a way to transform chaos into vintage art, to convert fantasy into reality and produce probably the biggest shock since David floored Goliath in that defining battle in the Valley of Elah, which has come to glorify the spoils of an underdog.
Possibly the greatest comeback since Lazarus was brought back to life, certainly the finest feel-good story in football since Leicester City were champions.
And, clearly the biggest leap in faith since a rag-tag team of Dynamos players came within 90 minutes of becoming African champions 21 years ago.
Some will argue the events in Amsterdam on Wednesday night were more dramatic, and a bigger comeback fairytale than what unfolded at Anfield, and they could have a point and their views need to be respected.
But, that was something done without the shadow of Lionel Messi in the background, without the history of Barcelona to deal with, and beating Ajax Amsterdam can be a fine achievement, but eliminating Barca is a greater feat.
Pure grit defying logic, determination making a mockery of the talents of possibly the greatest footballer who ever lived, reducing him into a shell, a shadow, a tortured soul.
The sheer collective will of a united family, relentlessly driven by a pursuit to write another glorious chapter of their wild European night at Anfield, powered by a fiery desire to ensure they didn’t miss or mess their date with destiny and a never-say-die attitude that shamed non-believers.
Divock Origi, once a Kenyan and now a Belgian, adding another page to a season in which his goals have been worth their weight in gold.
No Mo Salah, the irresistible Egyptian Pharaoh our boys will face in Cairo on June 21, but, so what?
No Bobby Firmino, the Brazilian star whose immense value is hardly appreciated, the one who used to share a dressing room with Knowledge Musona at TSG Hoffeinhem in the Bundesliga, but so what?
This is Liverpool — the Fab Four — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison, also known as The Beatles, used to be the face of this city in the Swinging Sixties, and on Tuesday night, each of those Fab Four was represented by every goal these Rampaging Reds scored.
If anyone tells you this was all about what Barcelona did wrong, and not what Liverpool did right, then that person will be lying because, in both legs, the Reds were the better team. And, at the end of the match, that explosive release of emotion in front of the Kop, as players and fans connected by a bond that makes them such a beautiful family sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone,’’ was one of the finest sights this game will ever produce.
Even the crestfallen Barcelona fans, some with tears in their eyes, could not help but join the fun as they saluted an opponent who had paraded the value of belief, the virtues of courage, the beauty of a never-say-die attitude, and reaped the dividends they thoroughly deserved.
As a Manchester United fan, this is very difficult to write, but as a human being and a football supporter, celebrating such magical occasions is a reminder that I haven’t lost my senses, and amid all the mockery I will receive from the Liverpool fans, it’s important to separate emotion and reality.
THIRTY YEARS AFTER HILLSBOROUGH, LIVERPOOL SHOW HOW THE DEPARTED ARE RICHLY HONOURED
Liverpool’s refusal to be swallowed by the might of Barcelona on Tuesday night and emerge triumphant in a test where many would have given up long before the contest, could not have come in a more fitting year for Bruce Grobbelaar’s former club.
For this year marks the 30th anniversary of Hillsborough, that tragedy in Sheffield during an FA Cup semi-final game, where 96 Liverpool fans died.
No single occasion has had a defining impact on Liverpool more than Hillsborough, the worst British sporting disaster in history, and some experts say it transformed the Reds from being a serial domestic champion to one that would find it difficult to win the league.
That they have won just one league title since then, secured a year after the disaster, is used to explain why Liverpool have struggled to be champions since that tragedy.
Ten-year-old Jon-Paul Gilhooley was the youngest to die and his cousin Steven Gerrard was so inspired by the tragedy that he vowed to be a professional footballer and rose to captain Liverpool to Champions League success.
Another man with Stevie G’s name, Gerard Baron, was the oldest to die, at 67, exactly 17 years after his brother Kevin had played for Liverpool in 1971.There were two sisters, a father and son, three pairs of brothers and two men who were about to be fathers, among the victims of that tragedy in which 766 people also suffered serious injuries.
Stephen Whittle couldn’t go to the match because of work commitments, and sold his ticket to a colleague who died in that tragedy, and he felt so guilty. Always blaming himself for the death of his friend, he committed suicide in February 2011.
And, in a fitting honour to the memory of those who perished in that disaster, Liverpool provided a display that fitted the occasion, which fitted the year, and blew away Barca.
There are a lot of lessons for football, including our football, from the events on Tuesday night in particular, and Liverpool’s extraordinary season in general.
One is that there is great reward for those who refuse to be intimidated by the profile of opponents, those who choose to fight no matter the odds against them, those who value teamwork more than the star quality of an individual, or two individuals, in the opponents’ fold and those who fight fire with fire.
That it’s those teams, whose real value is in the power of their collective efforts, likely to do better than those that are purely dependent on one particular genius, who becomes the be-all-and-end-all of everything for them, the beginning and the end of their interests.
That, even for a team like our Warriors, there is no reason to be paralysed by fear and, simply because they are set to take on the record seven-time AFCON Cup winners in their fortress in Cairo, Mo Salah in his homeland, they have no reason to be swallowed by fear.
That, if they really believe, dreams can come true, heroes can emerge from anywhere and there is a certain impact player like Origi somewhere among their players, a certain fearless player like Gigi Wijnaldum maybe not be as good as a Dutchman, but certainly as effective as him.
That, for all the beauty of attacking football, defence remains a virtue, and for these Warriors, it’s a part of their game which is one of their strongest points given they didn’t concede a goal from an opposing player at home in the 2019 AFCON qualifiers.
It’s a weapon Liverpool rode on for their success on Tuesday night, in a game where just one goal from the opposition would have been fatal, with their defensive players once again flexing their muscles to show that it’s not a fluke they have conceded a goal at home in the Champions League in 457 minutes, in five straight home matches in the tournament.
And, for our mainstay players like Knowledge Musona, who have been pushed from one European club to another, loaned from one side to the other, and played for clubs that have been relegated, there is no reason to feel any shame and begin to question their pedigree.
After all, one of the heroes of Tuesday night, Wijnaldum, came to Liverpool from a Newcastle that had been relegated, Andy Robertson arrived at Anfield from a Hull City that had been relegated, Joel Matip arrived on a free transfer from Shalke, Xerdan Shaqiri came from a relegated Stoke City and James Milner was a free transfer.
NOW, FOR THE FINAL SHOWDOWN TOMORROW, AND GOODBYE PREMIERSHIP
If you want to get a proper perspective of how long Liverpool haven’t won the league, you have to consider that their skipper Jordan Henderson was not even born when the Reds last won the championship, with the midfielder being born just a month after that last triumph.
And, he isn’t the only one — Toni Kroos, who has already won the World Cup, Joe Allen, Marcos Rojo, Wojcien Szczesny, Kyle Walker, Mario Balotelli, Kieran Trippier, IIkay Gundogan and Danny Welbeck — were also only born in the year Liverpool last won the league title.
It was the year Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years, the year Namibia became independent after 75 years of South African rule, “Driving Miss Daisy” picked the Best Picture at the Oscars, and the year Knowledge Musona and Khama Billiat were born.
But, while all the neutrals want Liverpool to win, fate appears to be working against them — Vincent Kompany scoring his first goal from outside the box in his career to win the game against Leicester City on Monday night, choosing this vital game to score his first goal this season.
If you don’t believe in fate, how do you explain that Lucas Moura, the Spurs hero in Amsterdam with his hattrick, who only played because Harry Kane was injured, and Origi, the Liverpool hero who played only because Salah was injured, both wear the number 27 shirt?
Even more critically, Liverpool will have to defy history for them to win the championships, because — from Eric Cantona in 1993 with Manchester United to Benjamin Mendy last year with Manchester City — all clubs that have won the English title have had a helping hand from French players.
No team without the French influence has ever won the English championship in the era of the Premiership, and Liverpool — who haven’t featured any Frenchman in their campaign this season — will have to be the first to do that.
And, towards the end of a decade, it appears a team usually wins back-to-back league championships, Preston North End in 1889 and 1890; Aston Villa in 1899 and 1900; Sheffield Wednesday in 1929 and 1930; Portsmouth in 1949 and 1950; Wolves in 1958 and 1959; Liverpool in 1979 and 1980; Manchester United in 1999 and 2000 and United again in 2008 and 2009.
Manchester City won last season.
Well, win or lose, Liverpool have been awesome and it’s hard to believe now that they will say goodbye to their fans tomorrow at a stadium that used to be Everton’s home ground and used to be called Anfield Road.
That land was leased to Everton in the late 1800s by the Orrell brothers, who were local brewers, and the Toffees played their first professional club game there on September 8, 1888.
Four years later, Liverpool would come into being.
On January 25, 1892, Everton left Anfield Road and moved to the other side of Stanley Park, where they now have a home at Goodison Park.
Interestingly, Liverpool wanted to be called Everton Athletic at the time and would later take Anfield Road as their home ground, the same stadium which provided the stage for Tuesday’s miracle and tomorrow’s closing chapter.
Whatever happens tomorrow, whoever wins tomorrow, what we can’t divorce ourselves from is the reality that this Liverpool team has provided world football with the kind of breathtaking attacking football, at times chaotic, but all the same irresistible, which has made watching the English Premiership such a beautiful thing.
It’s hard to write this, for a Red Devil like me, but it’s proper to do it and, believe me, I’m from the old school that grew up enjoying such jokes like, “you’re trapped in a room with a lion, cobra snake and a Liverpool fan, you have a gun with two bullets, what should you do, well, you shoot the Reds supporter twice.’’
And, such stuff like, “why don’t they drink tea at Anfield, because all the cups are in Manchester,’’ but, their recent performances have earned my respect.
To God Be The Glory!
Come on Warriors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Khamaldinhoooooooooooooooooooo!
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