In the locker room, after most of the players had backed up and left, two remained in the ice-baths. One of them was Sadio Mané and the other was Fabinho. They both sat there, looking up to the ceiling, reflecting about the game. Mané looked over at Fabinho asked about a teammate of theirs named Georginio "Gini" Wijnaldum and said, "Gini told me that we are going to qualify, what do you think?" And then Fabinho said, "I think we are going to qualify." Mané responded with "Good, then we are three." One week later, in the Liverpool locker room before the players went on to the pitch for the second leg, the manager, Jürgen Klopp said to them, "It is impossible [to win] but because it's you, we've got a chance." Liverpool won 4-0. The whole team, staff and trainers, stayed after the game and sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" with the Kop.
About a decade and a half earlier, in late May of 2005, Liverpool heard the halftime whistle and headed to the locker room with their tales tucked between their legs. They were losing 3-0 to A.C. Milan in the Champions League Final. The whole world was watching them be humiliated. Then manager, Rafa Benítez, said that the team just needed one goal to get back in the game. The team stretched out and cooled off during the remaining minutes of halftime and began to think about what they had to do to get that goal. As they came back out onto the pitch, the Liverpool section of the stadium was covered in red smoke and flares with the scarves held up high and the fans belting out that same anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone." That goal came nine minutes after the second half started. Liverpool won the game on penalties and the game and it is considered the one of the greatest comebacks in the sports history.
 |
| Fans singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" as the players return from halftime |
 |
| Jamie Carragher celebrates with the fans after winning the Champions League final |
When Liverpool had beaten Manchester City 3-2 on the anniversary of Hillsborough in 2014 to go top of the Premier League with only a handful of games left in the season, it was emotional. The game was close, psychical, and incredibly tense for both teams. The team was huddled together around club captain, Steven Gerrard, who had been trying his whole career to win the Premier League. With tears in his eyes he told his teammates to forget what had just happened and go into the next game against Norwich City with the same intensity. He then said, "We go again." Liverpool ended up losing the league title. They had the trophy practically in their hands and tied one of their last games to a weaker side named Crystal Palace, 3-3 after leading 3-0 with ten minutes left. There is something about Liverpool and the scoreline isn't there? Even though Liverpool did not ultimately taste glory that season, the catchphrase, "We go again" became a battlecry amongst fans. To this very day, regardless of what the outcome or result of a certain game is, the mindset of every Liverpool fan and player is, "we go again." Meaning we move on to the next challenge. The past is the past and now it is time to focus on the task at hand. Get up and dust yourself off, it is time to play again.
 |
| Team huddle after beating Manchester City 3-2 |
 |
| Luis Suárez cries after tying Crystal Palace 3-3 |
To say that this is the attitude of Liverpool would be an understatement. It is the culture and identity of the club. At the end of each game, regardless of what the score is, the fans sing "You'll Never Walk Alone" beginning right before stoppage time ends and is typically sung through the final whistle. If you ask me, I think it is that is the identity of the city as well.
What comes to my mind when I think of the city, besides soccer, of course, would be a multitude of different things. The city has produced some of the best music in history like The Beatles, as we all know, as well as, Echo and the Bunnymen, A Flock of Seagulls, The La's, and plenty of other first wave alternative groups. The flourishing art scene mixed with the club's dominance during the late 70s and early 80s and the fact that the city was a major trading port for most of its existence made the city and therefore the club undeniably attractive. That is not to say that there were low points.
When I say low points, I mean incredibly low. It is hard to pinpoint an exact moment as to when the city and club saw their own downfalls. It is perhaps best to start with the city. When Margaret Thatcher was elected as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, she implemented a number of regulations that saw the decline of many working-class and industrial cities in the northern parts of the U.K. Liverpool, being a port city in the northwest of England, was directly feeling these effects. The citizens of Liverpool rioted in the streets demanding change, especially the black community, in what became known at the Toxteth Riots. Liverpool was literally burning from the inside. Unemployment had reached depression level numbers and many fled the city looking for other jobs and opportunities. Yet, the club was somehow still finding success domestically and across the continent of Europe so the city, or at least the part of the city that supported Liverpool and not Everton F.C., had something to sing about.
Eventually, things calmed down a bit in Liverpool and across the United Kingdom. However, the club was starting to face their own adversities. In 1989 the Hillsborough Disaster happened leaving ninety-six Liverpool supporters dead, the 90s witnessed Liverpool decline and drop in the league as they were finishing the seasons in mid-table regularly. A club that was once considered the best in the land was now viewed as mediocre and underwhelming to watch or support. The 2000s brought financial troubles to the club as they were hundreds of millions of pounds in debt with no where to turn and faced what seemed to be certain bankruptcy.
Today, Hillsborough still lingers on in the minds and hearts of all associated Liverpool but they finished in second place last season with a record breaking 97 points (only point off from first place), have been to the Champions League final four times since 2005 and have won it twice, and are currently seeing financial success under new ownership. Some might call this reliving the glory days but I think these present moments are adding onto the history of the club, not recreating it. The club decided to not roll over but instead, to walk on.
Even when the city was decrepit and falling apart, fans died at games, the squad had become shambolic and washed up, and the club was seemingly about to fall apart, the fans and club still walked on. Whatever was thrown the club's way, they marched through it and came out on the other side.
When I think of this club, my club, I think about the fortitude that it exudes on a daily basis. Reflecting on all of the challenging moments that the club has faced, it was not those moments that defined them, it was how they responded. I know that there are going to be more rough patches up ahead and it will not be pretty to watch, but I know how the club will react to those testing times.
In a little over a week the Premier League season will kick-off (8/9/19) again and Liverpool have the opening game under the lights at Anfield. I will obviously be watching it and I am excited for the new season to start. I know players will get injured, memories will be made, and there will be both plenty of highs and lows to come. As a fan, I know what I have to do and that is get behind the club and support it each game regardless of their outcomes. The players will also give it their all every match. I also know that the fans will still protest for the justice that the ninety-six victims of Hillsborough deserve. Many trophies and rewards are on the line, some players will be retiring at the end of the season, some will be starting their careers next week. All of them will get to hear the rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone." Next Friday's opener should be a great game. It is against Norwich City, the team Gerrard said we have to go against with intensity. So, the only thing I as a fan can say to that is, "We Go Again."
No comments:
Post a Comment