- Premier League reclaims rights on Wednesday
- Largely in the lead, Liverpool will be able to calmly end its march towards the title
- The rumor of a cancellation had made its hole in England after the interruption due to coronavirus, leaving anfield on Anfield the specter of eternal lose
The life of a Liverpool supporter is a curious paradox. First take the European history of the Reds since the turn of the century: a victory in the UEFA Cup in 2001, a Champions League in 2005 after a crazy final and another in 2019 after a remount in Anfield against Barça , each coronation being marked with divine interventions. Same observation in the Premier League, but in the other direction. For the past 30 years, the Scousers have played bad luck on several occasions as a 19th national title held out their arms to them, even if history has especially chosen 2014 as the ultimate masterpiece of lose. A hit in two bands three days from the end. The Reds first squander their lead over Manchester City by sliding past Chelsea at Anfield and then scuttled by conceding a draw at Crystal Palace as they lead 3-0 in the 78th.
“On the day of Steven [Gerrard] 's slide I was in front of the screen when it happened, recalls Gérgory Vignal, who passed through Liverpool at the beginning of 2000. Knowing him [the two men are now with the Glasgow Rangers] must have been terrible for him. He carried the club on his shoulders all these years and that day, he slipped. It's football, we can't explain it, it escapes logic. Why Demba Ba intercepts the ball and goes alone to the goal? It's like that. Maybe he will one day win the Premier League with Liverpool as manager. "
"Best second in history, we don't care"
This mishap has at least served as a lesson to the supporters of the club, who had welcomed the players with "we will win the championship" before the Mourinho Blues activate the air conditioning. Babacar Sall, eminent supporter of the Reds on the networks:
"Clearly, when you support the Reds you know it's never over before the end." In 2014 it was Chelsea and Palace, but we must also remember that last year you were second with 97 points because you have a UFO next to it. We were told that we are the best second in history, but we don't care. As long as there is not written "champion", we do not care. We do not remember those who finish second. We will remember City champion in 2019, not the Reds. "
Let us also acknowledge Jurgen Klopp for having succeeded in convincing his men that they were capable of doing better than an almost perfect season to crush the competition from August. “I don't have the memory of such a dominant team. Even Arsenal, the year of the invincibles, made a lot of draws. But there, a single draw and a defeat, 25 points ahead of the second, it's huge. There will surely be a record at stake, ”marvels Darren Tullet, who will return to English football this weekend on beIN Sports with the Championship.
"If the championship had been canceled, there would have been demonstrations"
There might not have been. Neither record nor title. Nothing. When it's not the slippery lawn or the trembling legs, it's the end of the world in person that comes to taunt Liverpool. On March 9, after a Leicester recital against Aston Villa (4-0), the Premier League closed due to coronavirus. The Kingdom first questions its own fate, that of Boris Johnson, and, once all that has calmed down a little, that of its championship. The hypothesis of a premature end of the season and, worse, that of a null season make their way while the European champions are only six lengths from the long-awaited 19th title. What will say to Arsene Wenger in a burst of leniency that "whatever the decision of England, Liverpool will be champion in everyone's mind".
Obviously, that makes our supporter a great leg: "even if in the idea people recognized us as the best, I told myself that there would inevitably be something missing. Nowhere would he have written "Liverpool champion". And if you're not champion there, frankly, you can no longer be. You tell yourself it's a curse, because seasons like last year and this year you won't do them again. "It would have been too much for Reds fans," adds Darren Tulett. There would have been demonstrations all over the world to protest against the cancellation. Because Liverpool has supporters all over the world. I have friends who are fans of the Reds in Mauritius who said to me: '' Darren, it's not possible, they can't do that to us! '' ”
A crazy party, but when?
June. The storm has passed and the Premier League is about to resume in camera. Liverpool will put on the warm blue at rival Everton, the title will arrive soon enough as long as the dolphin City - who plays this Wednesday night against Arsenal - also loses a few feathers. But the party will have to wait, sanitary circumstances oblige. Babacar Sall: “As Klopp said, if we want to celebrate the title next year on the 13th day, nobody will stop us. I had already taken my plane ticket for May to Liverpool in February. It was obvious that we were going to celebrate this for four days, so I took a ticket from Saturday to Tuesday. In terms of festivities it would have been twice as large as for the Champions League victory, that's clear. "
Grégory Vignal also sees things big. “The celebrations will be magnificent. I remember our victory in Supercup in 2001. I found myself on the bus, I was only 21 years old it was the first time I experienced this. There were so many people that I wondered where I was. It was already an incredible moment, so this title will be magic. As long as the next one arrives only in 30 years, it would be silly not to celebrate it in due form.
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