Back in college, we had one Liverpool fan among us. He was 27 years old, and the butt of the same joke every time we sat down to watch a Premier League game in the common room. Everyone would laugh at him, even Tottenham fans.
Chelsea fans would go off at the sight of him and that red jersey. Leicester City fans would talk about how Peter Schmeichel won the PL, retired, had a son and that son grew up and then won the league before Liverpool.
I am kidding. There are no Leicester City fans in India. These were all Chelsea fans who jumped ship after Leicester won in 2015.
Anyhow, the Liverpool fan would never walk alone because nobody would let him.
As one of his friends, it made me extremely sad. As a lifelong fan of Manchester United, it was fucking hilarious.
I have spent countless hours with other Manchester United fans and there are a plethora of us everywhere, talking about how Liverpool hadn’t won a league title in our lifetime. We also sincerely hoped that they never would, as did fans of every other club because we would ever fucking hear the end of it.
You could see it in the Liverpool fans’ eyes. If they had the league cup right then, they would have beat us with it and then paraded the city in an open bus, popping champagne and cigars.
Well, last night, it happened. Last night, Liverpool F.C, under Jurgen Klopp. finally won the English Premier League after 30 years.
But to be honest, I actually feel happy for their fans. Even though their fucking gloating’s already giving me a headache and I, along with many others, realise that it’ll last till next year when hopefully someone else wins.
But regardless, I feel truly happy for them. What they have achieved as a team in the last 5 years has been truly incredible.
When Klopp succeeded Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool boss in October 2015, the team was 10th in the table and had been crushed 3-0 at home by West Ham. Twenty-five years had gone by since they had last won a league. The scars of almost winning the title in 2014 had not healed.
That Gerrard slip still gives me immense joy though. It was gold. Not PL gold though. City took that thanks to the slip.
Anyhow, this league title has come after so much hardship for Liverpool that their most bitter rivals can’t help feel good about it. I mean, they almost lost out on the title despite having the best year any English has had in years due to a pandemic.
They have truly outplayed every other team in the league. And despite what people say on social media about them winning because City are having a bad season, you just have to admit that watching Liverpool play has been one of the few joys this season.
Everyone can complain about Van Djikk not being the best defender because Messi made him look silly. But come on guys, Messi is quite literally the greatest of all time. Van Djik is allowed to be fooled by the Gods.
And Mohammed Salah? What about him? What a story he has been. Nobody can hate him. You just can’t. Even the very vocal crowds in England don’t say shite about him. He’s just that inspirational to watch. Then you have Firmino, Mane… I personally love Robertson. They are just good. All of them.
Also, how can you not like Jurgen Klopp? He’s weird and eccentric and he’s won almost everything in the last 5 years. He’s made this possible. He’s become someone they will make a statue of in the port city in Northwest England. A man who will stand among the other great managers at Anfield – Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish.
Klopp is not shy to express his opinion on anything, football or Brexit; if he thinks something, he says it. And he’s universally liked for it.
I could go on about how much I have liked watching Liverpool this season, given that United has been eating shit sandwiches since Fergie left but I won’t be doing their fans any justice. So, I will just conclude by saying, congratulations. If this is the Mt Everest, then I would rather see you here than Manchester City. Cos’ Fuck City.