Mignolet; Clyne, Skrtel, Lovren, Gomez; Can, Lucas, Milner; Firmino, Benteke, Coutinho
29th of August, 2015. West Ham’s Diafra Sakho cooly slots the ball past Simon Mignolet at the Anfield Road end, capping a miserable day at the office for Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool under the shadow of the construction works of the new main stand. I was with my mate, we’d gone on my parents season tickets as they were away on holiday. We trudged out, bemoaning the lack of fight in the team. The highs and inevitable disappointment of 2013/14 were still fresh in the mind. Elsewhere on the same day, last seasons star man Raheem Sterling opened the scoring for Man City in a win over Watford to cap a miserable day. The mood around Anfield was quiet and hopeless, resigned to maybe the odd battle for 4th.
We headed into The Park pub for a couple of post game pints to drown our sorrows, and quickly got chatting to a rather lively group of Scandinavian gents. They were singing, dancing and drinking - it was like we’d just won a semi. They explained how a group of them fly over 2 or 3 times per year, stay for the weekend and go the match. Our original plan was to have a couple of pints while waiting for the crowds to calm down, but we ended up sticking around for a good few hours chatting about the reds and sipping Irish Whiskey with our new found mates. We ended up on the last train home, with dizzy heads and sore throats after an evening of chatting, singing and laughing. I headed home to my Nan’s house, where I was staying for the weekend. I sat and had a brew with her and my staunch Evertonian Grandad who couldn’t resist a chuckle when hearing about the stereotypical Norwegian reds I’d had a great afternoon with. We stayed in touch with the lads, hoping to meet up one day in the future.
Mignolet; Flanagan, Toure, Sakho, Moreno; Henderson, Lucas, Can; Milner, Firmino, Lallana
January 2016, my Nan was unexpectedly taken into Hospital and one Monday afternoon we had the call to say she was approaching the end of life. The day after, we played Stoke in the League Cup and I took the same mate again. You'll Never Walk Alone is a song that's always connected my family, particularly to my Nan, who was as red as they come. She had seen us in our true glory days, often remarking how she loved Roger Hunt and his "lovely pair of legs". Singing before the game was tough as I did it through tears, but felt comfort in knowing that as long as I had Liverpool FC, I would have that connection. I am very grateful she got to see us under Jurgen, who in her words was a "big handsome fella". After she passed, I would often go to visit my Grandad and watch the footy, especially on days when us and the Blues were both on the telly. He was old school, he appreciated good football and would rather see a Merseyside victory than anyone else. He passed away a few months later, but we found some comfort knowing he wasn't without the love of his life for too long.
Karius; Gomez, Lovren, Matip, Moreno; Can, Henderson, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane
The next time I heard from one of the Norwegian lads was September 2017. He text, saying he had a spare for the upcoming Champions League game against Sevilla. When we met, it was outside an Anfield with a much changed mood, a more hopeful crowd excited to see what was to come this year. The name on everyone’s lips was Mohamed Salah, who had been amongst the goals already and was beginning to look like a shrewd signing. In the shadow of the new main stand, Salah scored in an eventual 2-2 draw. Not a victory, but the feeling around the whole stadium had changed. Salah, Mane, Firmino and Coutinho were on their way to becoming the Fab Four.
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Shaqiri; Salah, Firmino, Mane
The 2018/19 season, after the heartbreak of Kyiv, and a mate of mine went travelling so handed over his season ticket for the year. By now, we had a formidable team and were fighting on all fronts. We were a joy to watch under Jurgen. In December of that year, my Grandad on my Dads side was taken into hospital. Whenever we would visit, the first thing he’d ask was for us to show him the latest highlights on the iPad. The last highlights he saw were of the 1-0 win over Everton, with Origi’s last minute winner. During that game I was sat 3 rows in front of my parents, and you can imagine my surprise to see my dad’s head appear next to mine as he flew down all 3 rows after the goal to celebrate with me. His relationship with his Dad was built on a mutual love of the reds, and unbeknownst to us at the time that was the last game that my Grandad would’ve seen in his 80+ years as a red.
Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Salah, Firmino, Mane
June 2019, and its Champions League final day again. We had a party in the house where I invited my still rather new girlfriend, and I don’t think she was prepared for the scenes that evening. Smoke bombs in the garden, jagerbombs in the house, tears of joy and hugs for all. Jurgen Klopp has made us Champions of Europe again. For my Nan, it was a bittersweet moment as she knew how much her late husband would have enjoyed it. But she carried on his passionate love of the reds, and has been there through all of our recent success cheering on Jurgens Liverpool. For my Dad, he toasted the heavens and knew his Dad would’ve been watching over the reds that night. What a team, what a party.
Jurgen Klopp is an outstanding human being, and for me his era contains so many memories. He took over when I was in my early twenties, and he leaves with me recently turning 30. I don’t live in the house where the European Cup final party happened in 2019, I’ve since moved out and bought my own home, with the girl I brought along to the festivities who is now my wife. I owe so much of my happiness over those years to Jurgen Klopp and what he stands for. The notion that someone "gets" a football club is thrown around lazily these days but Jurgen truly understood what this football club is about. He managed to maintain the old fashioned feel of the club and honoured our traditions, whilst on the pitch crafting a team built to compete with the modern giants.
He came here with a project, and left with a legacy, and I along with countless others will be forever grateful for Jurgen's reds.
