Believe Us by Melissa Reddy

Author:Melissa Reddy [Reddy, Melissa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2020-10-26T17:00:00+00:00

7

Lose Big To Win Big

‘He just knew the bigger picture. He could see it clearly … He knew going forward that we were going to get better.’

Jordan Henderson

Every so often, Pep Lijnders replays a conversation in his head that sparks a smile and a disbelieving shake of his head. It traces back to the end of April 2018. Liverpool had scorched Roma 5–2 at Anfield in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final and Jürgen Klopp was on the phone shortly afterwards. The manager had called to persuade the Dutchman, then head coach of NEC Nijmegen, to re-join his backroom team and made an unforgettable prediction. ‘He told me in the third or fourth sentence when he called me that we would conquer the world together,’ Lijnders says. ‘I never thought he meant this literally.’

The 37-year-old was particularly struck by the conviction of the words and the clarity with which Klopp spelled it out, detailing the growth of the group and the change in psychology. Liverpool would ultimately achieve success on an unparalleled scale for a British club, becoming the first team to simultaneously be champions of Europe, champions of England and champions of the world.

But a month after Klopp had dialled Lijnders, the Merseysiders were on the canvas in Kiev. Real Madrid had floored them in a weird, wretched Champions League final that was decided by an injury, an unloved player and an apparently concussed one. Half an hour into the fixture, Mohamed Salah was in tears as he walked off the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex pitch clutching his left shoulder. Sergio Ramos had locked the Egyptian’s arm and rolled him judo-style in a challenge that went unpunished but looked suspiciously filled with intent. Gareth Bale, viewed as an annoyance rather than an asset in Madrid, came off the bench on the hour, and within five minutes, had scored a scintillating overhead kick. The scoreline read 1–1 before that triumph of athleticism and technique. Real scored the opener after goalkeeper Loris Karius inexplicably threw the ball against Karim Benzema and watched in agony as it rolled behind him into the net. Sadio Mane equalised shortly after, but Bale banished any hopes of an upset with that piece of mastery which was followed up with a speculative 30-yard effort that Karius, once again at fault, failed to hold and fumbled into his own net.

The victory marked Real’s record thirteenth win in the European Cup, their fourth in five seasons and third on the spin. For Klopp, the writing was vastly different. He had lost six of his seven major finals as manager, with only the DFB-Pokal at Borussia Dortmund in 2012 breaking the trend. The defeat in Kiev was Klopp’s hat-trick of failures with Liverpool, and while he initially needed time alone after fulfilling his post-match media duties, it was not related to the result or his unflattering record.

The Reds boss had seen his family and friends inconsolable in the stands and caught a glimpse of Ulla attempting to comfort Karius’ devastated mother.

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