Thiago Alcantara is ready to put heartbreak behind him and feature in his first cup final for Liverpool when they take on Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday.
Liverpool's magician in the middle of the pitch was cruelly denied the chance to start in the Carabao Cup final at the end of February after picking up a hamstring injury in the warm-up. The Reds went on to beat Saturday's opponents, Chelsea, in a penalty shootout.
Thiago was pictured soon after kick-off in the Carabao Cup final in tears on the Liverpool bench while being comforted by Alisson Becker. The Reds number six is hoping to give the fans a day to remember.
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Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com, Thiago explained: "It came to my mind that the last season was very hard for myself to try to be here and not having the fans in the stadium, not having this fun that this sport gives to you. We fought a lot to arrive in that moment, that you can play in a final, and then suddenly because I had a bad thing, a bad neck problem and it caused just like a chain of movement that in the end caused me an injury in the hammy.
"It's a moment where you are just frustrated. You just calm down a bit, you try to be cold enough to face the final. It was as it was. We won it and, for sure, it's bittersweet that you don't play that game, but you're happy for the team.
"Lifting a trophy is a special moment but it was more for the frustrating situation that everybody had the last few years. It was because of what we have been through and was a kind of celebration of overcoming that situation."
Thiago is one of the most decorated footballers around, but the FA Cup is a trophy that is missing off his incredible CV.
"We came from other countries – not just me but other players – and just met this amazing competition, the oldest in the world," added Thiago. "We are really excited to play – not just the competition itself but a final. We're ready for it.
"It doesn't matter if we didn't win [it] before or for a long time. It's just about a trophy that we can win and we add in our backpack this new challenge. We're looking forward to it. Wembley is an amazing stadium. It's special itself but then you know that Wembley is used for special moments. There's different context and we're ready to go to London."
