LIVERPOOL
WORLD SOCCERWORLD TEAM OF THE YEAR 2019
They certainly do like a comeback on
Merseyside.
When Liverpool last won theWorld
SoccerWorld Team of the Year award,
back in 2005, it was on the back of a
remarkable fight back from 3-0 down
at half-time to beat Italians Milan on
penalties in the Champions League
final in Istanbul.
Now,14 years later, a similarly
spectacular turnaround helped
Liverpool win their sixth European
crown–nowthreemorethanany
other English team.
In the semi-final first leg against
Barcelona at the Nou Camp, they
had succumbed to an imperious
Lionel Messi display, whose individual
brilliance probably deserved to be
rewarded by a larger margin than
the 3-0 scoreline. Yet back at Anfield,
and roared on by a capacity crowd
hoping for another European miracle,
Liverpool pulled off the most unlikely
of reversals, capped by a winning goal
from Divock Origi, who stroked home
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s improvised
quick corner to clinch a 4-0 victory.
That dramatic comeback set up
an all-Premier League final against
Tottenham Hotspur at the impressive
Wanda Metropolitano. On the night,
Liverpool’s performance was functional
rather than inspirational, but it was in
stark contrast to the 2018 final in Kyiv,
when Real Madrid had run out 3-1
winners. Then there had been no way
back after a first-half injury to talisman
Mohamed Salah, whose shoulder was
damaged in a tussle with Sergio
Ramos, and a howler by keeper
Loris Karius that gifted Madrid
the opening goal.
Lessons were learned. Brazilian
No.1 Alisson, signed from Roma for a
world-record fee for a goalkeeper of
€75 million in the summer of 2018,
brought a new resilience to a back
line superbly marshalled by Dutch
defender Virgil van Dijk. The exuberant
front three of Salah, Sadio Mane and
Roberto Firmino continued to give
Jurgen Klopp’s side the attacking
edge but the coach could now call
upon new midfield additions in Naby
Keita and Fabinho.
Klopp’s “gegenpressing” tactics
in midfield have been a major factor
in the Reds’ success, but their most
creative players have actually been
the full-backs, Andy Robertson and
Alexander-Arnold.
In addition to their Champions
League success, Klopp’s men have
been unbeaten in the Premier League
since a 2-1 reverse to Manchester City
onJanuary 3, 2019. The only other
defeats in the calendar year have
been the FA Cup to Wolverhampton
Wanderers, the League Cup to Chelsea
and to Napoli in the opening game
of this season’s Champions League
group stage. The 49 points gained
from their first17 Premier League
matches represent their best-ever
start to a league season.
Financially, Liverpool’s success has
been far from miraculous. They have
the seventh-highest club revenue in
the world, the £43.8m paid to agents
was more than any other Premier
League club, while theirs is theleague’s second-highest wage
bill, only behind that of arch-
rivals Manchester United.
The expansion of Anfield’s capacity
to 54,000 has helped contribute to
the financial success, as has the work
of research director Ian Graham,
whose database of players and team
of researchers helped facilitate the
purchases of so-called “undervalued”
players such as Robertson (Hull City),
Salah (Roma) and Fabinho (Monaco),
while the sale of Brazilian playmaker
Philippe Coutinho, to Barcelona for a
substantial profit, enabled big spending
on Alisson and Van Dijk (the latter, like
the former, also a world-record transfer
for a player in his position – £75m).
In December in Doha, Qatar,
Liverpool added the Club World Cup
to their European success, beating
Mexican champions Monterrey 2-1
in the semi-finals and Brazilian
champions Flamengo1-0 after
extra-time in the final –a fitting
end to a year in which the club
has scaled new heights.
John HolmesdaleJURGEN KLOPP