In the spotlight, Virgil van Dijk, who stepped in and clogged all the shutters, shimmered, but there was something about the smile. He walked around the pitch with his teammates, held the Champions League trophy in a firm grip, but looked more relieved than happy. So did Jürgen Klopp. Liverpool had won. They had beaten Tottenham and were the best in Europe in 2019 - but were they in the golden sky? Not really. Not yet.

Last year's title was a confirmation for Klopp. He has stumbled on the finish line with Dortmund and Liverpool, and as he now worked his way all the way forward no one could argue that the sympathetic, brilliant coach was also a winner. Still, something was missing.

Ever since 1990, Liverpool has stepped up in the Premier League desert, thirsty for the title. I visited the city two years ago and during a guided tour at Anfield, the guide clarified what was going on:

“Europe in all honor, but the league title weighs so much heavier. It's been so long ... ”

Klopp's transformation

The setbacks have been many. Six years ago Steven Gerrard slipped and saw Chelsea run into a goal that killed his dreams. Last season Liverpool took 97 points, forced 89 goals, lost just one match - and finished second behind Pep Guardiola's grinding machine from Manchester. The hunt has gone on. The supporters have been standing and screaming, singing that song about never going alone.

"You'll never walk alone" is about keeping your head high in the dark and storm, moving on with the larch's silver song ringing in your ears. With hope in the heart. Until 2015, Liverpool was an almost-team, a club that is certainly one of England's greatest of all time but needed the right man in the right place.

Klopp stepped in and started putting pieces into his puzzle, locking Alisson Becker between the poles, getting the maximum out of a not-so-famous midfield, releasing the energy from the world's best outer backs and forming the continent's most feared attack trio.

Since arriving, Klopp has equipped the defensive, hit right in the recruits, restored the order at Anfield as a place where the guests may not win. He has focused on the diet and on fixed situations, emphasizing the importance of a "good morning" and picking after him at the dinner table. The details and the whole, the whole and the details. From doubters to believers. Best in Europe. Best in the world. But not the best in England.

It meant a lot to them to win the Champions League last year. Yet they were not there until now.

Worthy winners

A paused Premier League season has resumed and the time question has been answered. Now that Liverpool have secured the title, there are no question marks to straighten out, no doubt that the players of Europe's premier football team have become prophets in their city.

There is Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané, bearing in the breaking of a thirty-year curse, and there Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson dance as boys and men. Jordan Henderson has the strap around his arm, Bobby Firmino has used the self to submit himself to the team, Fabinho is the octopus he was recruited to become.

And in the spotlight is Virgil van Dijk. He will hold the trophy in a firm grip, with the coach at his side. Jürgen Klopp is happier than relieved now, and to the tones of a silver song he is in the golden sky.

It has taken Liverpool three decades to become a champion. There has rarely been a more worthy winner.

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ARCHIVE: So SVT's reporter believed before the PL start (August 9, 2019)

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Premier League review ahead of the premiere