For even the most optimistic of Liverpool fans, no one could have imagined how well this season would pan out.
With just Sunday’s Premier League finale against Wolves and the Champions League final against Real Madrid in Paris to come, by the time the players head off on their holidays, the Reds will have played every possible game this campaign. With two trophies already in the bag, Jurgen Klopp’s team are already legends but could reach levels of immortality that have never been seen before with an unprecedented quadruple.
And for Liverpool legend Ian Rush, the club’s all-time record goalscorer, who netted 346 times in 660 appearances for the Reds, and was part of the famous treble winning team in 1984, he couldn't be prouder of the the club. “If you asked me at the start of the season and said Liverpool would win two trophies - I’d have taken that all day long,” Rush told the ECHO. “So no matter what happens I think Liverpool have had a fantastic season and if you can get the quadruple you’ll have to say it is the best Liverpool squad ever. All we can do is see it as two finals - one at Anfield and one in Paris.
READ MORE: 'I'm so proud' - Ian Rush responds to stunning new Liverpool mural
READ MORE: Richarlison sends 1.37am message to Jamie Carragher after Everton survive relegation
READ MORE: Lionel Messi gives Sadio Mane major Liverpool transfer warning
“We did do the treble in 1984 but that was very difficult and if they do the quadruple they'll definitely go down as the best squad ever. That goes down to how good they’ve been this year - they’ve not just been good but they’ve also been entertaining as well. I always say it’s never the team it’s the squad and if you’re going to win two trophies let alone four it’s not about the 11 on the pitch, it’s the squad. And I think Jurgen has rotated his squad fantastically well.”
Rush won 20 trophies during 15 years at Anfield across two spells, including the famous aforementioned treble in 1984, where the Reds won the old First Division, the League Cup and the European Cup. His 660 appearances put him sixth on Liverpool’s all-time appearance holders and the former striker compared the iconic Liverpool side of the 1980s and Klopp’s team. He said: “It’s different of course but they’re both two great squads and what I like about it is the team spirit. In our side it was fantastic and I think the team spirit here today is fantastic as well. With Jurgen and the staff it’s like the modern day boot room [a famous meeting room for the Liverpool coaches between the 1960s to 1990s] and that’s what makes it special.”
Ahead of next Saturday’s Champions League final against Real Madrid in Paris, it is a repeat of the 1981 European Cup final which was held in the city. Rush was just 19 at that time and didn’t feature in Paris but was part of the travelling Liverpool squad in what was his first season at the club. He said: “It’s fate really when you think about it. Liverpool against Real Madrid in the final. When they game got moved to Paris it brings backs memories from 1981. What Madrid have done to get to the final is incredible. It also brings back memories from Kiev so we’ll be looking to beat them. They’ve also got the manager there who used to manage Everton so I think he’ll be trying to get one over on us as well.”
Rush was speaking after a new mural was unveiled in his honour on Anfield Road courtesy of MurWalls which pays tribute to one of Liverpool's finest ever players.
