ALL’S WELL THAT HENDS WELL
How Europa final agony set Klopp & Henderson’s men on the road to Kiev glory mission
FOOTBALL has changed since Neil Ruddock’s Liverpool adopted the phrase, “Win or lose, first on the booze”.
So the party for players and staff at the team hotel immediately after the Europa League final in 2016 was a sober, sombre affair, the dampness of that filthy night in Basel reflected in the “celebrations”.
For Jordan Henderson, that defeat is still as raw as ever, even if the pain has long been eased by the soothing balm of this season’s remarkable Champions League travels. Kiev is a long way from Switzerland, both literally and metaphorically.
There is a reason the defeat still lingers for Liverpool, thanks to Jurgen Klopp. Because if it was a low point in their journey under the German, then it is also marked the base camp from where their incredible return to the summit of world football was launched.
“After the game the manager was obviously down but when we got back to the hotel, he had something different about him,” the captain recalled. “He had something about him that felt it was the start of something.
“He spoke to us, looked at the bigger picture and the future and he felt it could be a big moment in our careers – to learn from the experience.
“It was the worst feeling ever, but Jurgen had this sort of vision that in the future we would get to another final. And he said if we got to another final we would be ready.
“At that moment I sensed he could see, that he was confident we would do it.”
To make the wound deeper, Henderson missed that 3-1 defeat by Sevilla, injury confining him to the bench, and subjecting him to
more torture, even if he now accepts he was not fit enough to play.
Two years later, and he is not only playing, but leading the side Klopp has shaped in his image, in the sense of a selfless team ethic that is always more important that individual brilliance, even if you are Mo Salah.
For Henderson, the defeat, somehow, was pivotal in making Liverpool. “It was such a disappointing night and hurt so much you wanted to go home and switch off for a few days,” he said.
“But Jurgen said we had to use it. I definitely remember that night. You can see how he’s taken the team forward since then. He wanted to use that experience of that final to keep us together and as a positive going forward.”
And how. Only three players from the squad that night will start in Kiev against Real Madrid, but Henderson and James Milner provide a seamless bridge to that evening, and those feelings.
Now, the skipper says, Liverpool will not fear another agonising post-match party, even against a Madrid side aiming to lift the trophy for a third time in a row.
“Throughout the season there has always been that belief in the team that we can beat anyone. That is what we feel - we have to go and show that on the pitch against Madrid.
“Manchester City have been brilliant in the Premier League. They’re a fantastic team. We beat them over two legs. We’ve a lot of belief in ourselves as a team, we need to use that on Saturday. If we do we can definitely hurt them.”