Liverpool’s challenge for an unprecedented quadruple might have ended in a domestic cup double, but that doesn’t stop the 2021/22 season from being the most extraordinary of campaigns for Reds fans and Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Winning the League Cup and FA Cup, Liverpool finished just a point short of Man City in the Premier League title-race. Meanwhile, an exceptional goalkeeping display from Thibaut Courtois kept them at bay in the Champions League as Real Madrid scored the only shot on target to run out 1-0 winners at the Reds’ expense.
Having challenged for all four major trophies right down until the last day of the season, rival fans will mock Liverpool for falling short when trying to achieve the impossible. Meanwhile, considering the Premier League and Champions League are the Reds’ priorities each season, it would be understandable if supporters were left bemoaning an anti-climatic end to the season.
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The scenes that marred the trip to Paris before, during and after the Champions League final as supporters were treated abhorrently by French police as they waited to enter the Stade de France, scapegoated by cowardly UEFA for the 36-minute delay to kick-off and then targeted by preying locals will only add to such deflation. What could have been the greatest of all seasons was not supposed to end like this.
The supporters who travelled to Paris to cheer on their side in their tenth European Cup final have been let down by those entrusted with their care. Had it been a normal Champions League final where football was the talking point rather than the after-thought, fans would have been in full-on party mode, paying tribute to Klopp’s side and sharing their gratitude for this exceptional season where they threatened to win it all.
Instead, those making the pilgrimage to the Stade de France, whether they successfully made it to their seats or not, were left bruised as they feared for their safety, shellshocked at the treatment they had both witnessed and been inflicted to. Scarred by past traumas, as a result a subdued travelling Kop was left asking, ‘Why us?’ while chasing updates on their peers, never truly able to take part in the proceedings in front of them as a result.
Meanwhile, those left outside were forced to concede defeat and flee to safety. Some things are far more important than football and this corrupt, inept organisation’s latest tarnished final.
It was a stark contrast to the scenes at the fan park at Cours de Vincennes just a few short hours earlier, or back home on the streets of Liverpool, where supporters soaked in the occasion and, with a smile on their face, beer in one hand and embracing a loved one with the other, reflected on a season that the likes of which not even the all-conquering Reds of yesteryear had ever witnessed before.
The morning after the night before came and went as supporters started to return home, still seething at how they had been treated and portrayed. But at the end of the storm, there’s a golden sky.
Back on Merseyside, supporters gathered to honour Klopp’s side as Liverpool’s victory parade got underway. In the comfort of home soil, these scenes would not be soiled. This is the celebration this side and its supporters deserve.
Rival fans might taunt the Reds for being left to celebrate in such a manner for ‘just’ FA Cup and League Cup victories. But this parade was never about the trophies. Having been robbed of true celebrations by a global pandemic after winning their first Premier League title in 2020, while spending a year away from their side and loved ones as football took place behind closed doors, it was always just about enjoying the ride and celebrating the story.
With reports emerging that Sadio Mane wants to leave Liverpool, and with the likes of Mohamed Salah out of contract in 2023, it does feel like the Reds are coming towards the end of a chapter. And they will be aggrieved that they don’t have more to show for their efforts and talents.
Yet this great Klopp side has been crowned champions of Europe and reached three European Cup finals. They’ve ended a 30-year wait to be champions of England and were even crowned champions of the world. European Super Cup, League Cup and FA Cup trophies have also followed and while supporters don’t know what is around the corner, they have had the time of their lives following this Liverpool era. Imagine being us.
And with the German signing an extension until 2026, the story isn’t really over. A new chapter is just beginning.
What unfolded in Paris was despicable but that doesn’t define this side. And while Stade de France wasn’t the Liverpool celebration it promised to be, Cours de Vincennes certainly was and Sunday’s parade will be too.
These are the memories we should cherish. The smiles, the laughs, the songs and the cheers, shared from Carrow Road to the Strand across 10 glorious months. UEFA and the French authorities cannot take that away from us.
The horrific scenes that took place outside the Stade de France will not be forgotten and the club are quite rightly demanding action. UEFA and the French authorities have a lot to answer for and that time will come.
But rather than let those images be the defining sight from this season, let one other image from Paris be the heart and soul.
After winning the FA Cup, as Kostas Tsimikas followed in Caoimhin Kelleher’s footsteps by becoming an unlikely shootout hero for the Reds, Jurgen Klopp paid tribute to his entire squad and suggested a new final tradition.
“I love that the boys came on, the boys delivered and the boys contributed because I know they contribute but it’s nice if they then get the public reward as well,” he said. “It’s as important to start as it is to come on and make the difference. If you see the line-up, the pictures of the team in the Champions League will be made before the game, not after the game.
“You bring out these guys together and have a nice picture with the pennant with Liverpool FC on it. They do the picture before the game and not after the game but maybe they should do that as well because it is as important who finished the game as who started the game.”
While there was to be no post-match squad photo in Paris, Klopp got his wish of sorts before kick-off as, after the customary starting XI pre-match picture, the rest of his 23-man squad joined them for a second picture. The class of ‘22.
Every single one of them has played their part in this quadruple challenge, from the Egyptian King to the Greek Scouser, and they can all hold their heads up high and be proud of what they have achieved. Even though they lost in Paris, as they’d find out when touring the city, trophies in hand, their adoring public certainly are.
Let this be the image of the season. Of a side who gave their all from the first kick to the final whistle and nearly achieved the impossible.
