I often get asked: “Why do you support Liverpool?” In fact, if I had a pound for every time someone asked me that I could probably afford the over-inflated prices I’ve been quoted for a match ticket for Saturday’s night’s Champions League final.
My allegiance for the red side of Merseyside began aged three, in 1975, when Derby County were crowned champions of the old Division One. My next door neighbours were big Liverpool fans, so I followed suit, as did a plethora of silverware for a team then managed by the late and great Bob Paisley in the years that followed.
I’ve been a regular at Anfield these past few seasons, with my son always by my side. We are always made to feel part of one big family, and he chants the Kop’s songs day and night.
Although I have yet to attend a European final, the tag of “favourites” for this weekend’s showpiece doesn’t sit comfortably with me.
As our song goes, “We’ve won it five times”, but we’ve also lost a couple. My son was born a couple of months after that famous victory in Istanbul in 2005. It was the one and only time I gave up on my team. I watched the first half of the final against AC Milan in a pub with some friends, but stormed out at half-time, with the game seemingly lost at 0-3. By the time I arrived home Gerrard had pulled one back, and the rest is history.
The fact Liverpool have beaten Spurs home and away in the league this season will count for nothing on Saturday. It will come down to who plays the match, rather than the occasion better.
As Ronny Rosenthal, who played for both Liverpool and Spurs, told me: “Liverpool are the better team, for sure, but in a one-off game the result can go either way.
"Anything can happen. I’m expecting an open game. Liverpool go into the game in better form. They also have more squad depth, with like-for-like options off the bench, and Harry Kane is not 100 per cent fit.”
When Jurgen Klopp first arrived at Anfield, he asked fans not to be dreamers, but to turn into believers. Jurgen, having attended the second leg of the semi-final against Barcelona, we believe.
The team’s spirit and unity have taught young and old to never give up. Now go and finish the job.
