New EPL champions who played uncommon football during the season
- Waited for 30 years to touch the EPL trophy again
- Sensational Ceremony On Wednesday Evening
- Motivation for former winners like Arsenal
Everybody knew that Liverpool won the English Premier League (EPL) several months back before the dawn of the dreaded Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which shut down economies the world over including the business of football. They had to wait for weeks before the British government approved gradual ease on the lockdown, which made it possible for the EPL restart leading to Wednesday when they were handed the trophy.
They had to wait for 30 years to do that and so on the D-day, Jurgen Klopp according to MailOnline report had emerged from the darkness, with a baseball cap on backwards and a smile as big as the River Mersey. This was it. This was the moment. You could say they have been waiting for this moment since June 25 but, really, they have been waiting for this since May 1990. The manager’s megawatt grin signified the start of the celebrations: Liverpool were now officially set to be crowned champions.
There were no fans inside Anfield, the consequence of this devastating Coronavirus pandemic, but the show was about to be spectacular. Red lights like lasers illuminated the scene and they were determined to make the most of a momentous, historic occasion. Before Klopp had emerged, Sir Kenny Dalglish, in a red face covering, and Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters, wearing a black and white mask, had brought the trophy to a plinth and placed it in the middle of a temporary stage that had been erected on The Kop.
You have never seen a trophy presentation of this nature – one where handshakes had to be refused (from Masters) and hand sanitiser was at the top of a set of stairs, all necessary precautions to try and combat this deadly disease. ‘Everything would be better with fans but we’ve known for six months it would not be possible, but I didn’t think we’d even do this a few months ago,’ said Klopp.
‘I couldn’t be happier; it would be perfect if the stadium would be full but we cannot change it. We do it for them. The circumstances may have been unique but that did not detract from the glee and the relief of this enormous achievement. Following Klopp were his backroom staff then, one by one, the players who have ended this 30-year gap between titles. From Alisson Becker, the imposing goalkeeper, to titans such as Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. Some wore red sunglasses; others had their mobile phones recording to capture every minute for posterity.
Then, finally, up came Jordan Henderson. The captain would have struggled to have contain himself during the preceding 90 minutes – he was shattered to miss the dramatic 5-3 win over Chelsea through injury – and he looked stony-faced at first. But then there was a wink from Dalglish, the man who signed him in June 2011, and Henderson had the trophy in his hands. He walked slowly to the rest of the group, who had their hands waving in anticipation, and he began to shuffle his feet.
It is now trademark for Henderson to do a jig at a trophy presentation – he did it in Madrid, he followed up in Istanbul for the European Super Cup and the completed 2019 by dancing in Doha after Liverpool had won the Club World Cup. This one, however, was something different. Slowly his feet began to move then quicker and quicker before, finally, he hoisted the trophy to the heavens, roaring his delight and gripping it so tight that you didn’t think he would ever let it go.
Who could blame him? Last May, he had walked to The Kop after the final home game against Wolves, carrying his two daughters Elexa and Alba, wondering whether Liverpool were ever going to cross the line. ‘Getting 97 points last season and not winning it was hard to take; we had unfinished business,’ said Henderson. ‘The walk up the stairs was amazing. The lads deserved this moment. It was special having our families here and to finish the season like this was special. This has been my dream.’It has been his dream, but it has also been the dream of every other Liverpool fan since May 1990. Finally, they are there.
‘We won it by a mile and it is well deserved,’ said Virgil van Dijk. ‘Nobody can say anything about us.’ Well, actually, they can. They can say they are champions. Klopp and his band of history makers have brought the glory days back.
