My journey as a Liverpool FC supporter

Agueroooo was the moment I started paying more attention to Premier League football. I was already supporting Liverpool, so two years later, I suffered when Gerrard slipped, I witnessed Džeko’s brace from a few yards on Goodisson Park (the first Premier League game that I attended), and, another two days later, Crystanbul.

The next milestone was the arrival of Klopp, the normal one. I went to Anfield for a few European matches, I enjoyed the comeback against Borussia, and I slowly began to believe. But two lost finals later (2016 Sevilla and 2018 Ramos) I said it’s time to chill. It seemed like Liverpool won’t be successful anytime soon, in a time when football is a business and success is more about revenue and less about trophies.

So I did not see the 2019 Champions League trophy coming. I did not dare to hope, not even after that corner taken quickly. Never give up, sure, but I was still chill. I did not try to be on the stadium for the final, but winning it hit me in an unexpected and unrepeatable way.

Next season was supposed to be the one when the Premier League trophy is coming our way. And just when I was about to admit that I was transformed from doubter to believer, that Anfield game against Atletico happened, and then, the Covid stroke. Time to chill, again. The Premier League title eventually came, but winning it felt more like the moment you get a present only after you remind your loved ones that it was your birthday.

The coming seasons consolidated my theory that football remains a business first and foremost, and that the trophies are just a happy side effect. Like in the ‘Three body problem‘, the pre-Covid stable era turned almost overnight into a chaotic era: empty stadiums, broken legs, 2-7 defeats, last minute winning goals scored by the goalkeeper, dreams on quadruples and another final lost against the inevitable Madrid.

The departures of Wijnaldum, Origi, Mane and Firmino hurt, the YNWA rendition on the Santiago Bernabeu felt bittersweet, and Klopp’s departure became unavoidable (at least for me). So long, and thanks for all the fish.

And then comes Arne Slot, and with the same squad inherited from Klopp, manages to bring the Premier League title on Anfield, this time full and bouncing. A possible black swan event: historic, improbable (maybe less so for Ted Lasso), but that can, retrospectively, be explained. These explanations might come in another post; now it’s time to celebrate. If I learned something since that Aguerooo moment is that success comes and goes. So I’m enjoying this period without caring too much about the future.

Time to enjoy! 🍾

Pete Wylie – Heart as big as Liverpool