CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL Gene Gini out to join the Dutch masters
Virgil: Fans talked me into joining
GINI Wijnaldum hopes to maintain a glorious Dutch heritage in the European Cup final here tonight.
Since Johan Cruyff inspired Ajax to their hat-trick of cups in the 1970s, players from Holland have graced this stage in style.
Now the Liverpool midfielder wants to join them. After all, it’s in the genes.
He said: “It’s the biggest game of my career and I hope I can follow Holland’s tradition and win it as a Dutch player.”
Following Cruyff came the holy trinity of Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard spearheading AC Milan’s successes in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Ronald Koeman scored the winner for Barcelona in 1992, a 17-year-old Patrick Kluivert scored the only goal of the game to give Ajax their fourth win in 1995, and Arjen Robben hit the winner for Bayern Munich in the 2013 final at Wembley.
It will be a hard act to follow but Wijnaldum does not lack confidence.
The former Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven man said: “Liverpool are a great club with great supporters and we’ve been waiting for a moment like this.”
These are the kind of occasions he wanted when he signed for Liverpool two years ago following relegation with Newcastle.
The 27-year-old knows success against Real Madrid this evening will afford Jurgen Klopp and his players hero status.
But he acknowledges it will take consistent trophy winning at home and abroad to put them up there with the greats from the club’s golden past.
“It’s true, when I came here I was dreaming of moments like this,” said Wijnaldum.
“If you win a Champions League it’s historic. How many players can say they have won a Champions League? There are not a lot.
“When I came here I wanted MAN TO EMULATE: The late, great Johan Cruyff led the way with Ajax MARK HUGHES last night became Southampton manager on a permanent three-year contract.
Hughes has been handed a bumper deal keeping him at St Mary’s until 2021 as reward for saving the Saints from relegation from the Premier League.
Hughes, 54, only signed until the end of the season when he replaced Mauricio Pellegrino in March.
The Welshman’s assistants Mark Bowen and Eddie Niedzwiecki have also been given full-time deals. to help this club win more trophies than they already have. There are players here that won a lot, they’re legends. “If you take Kenny Dalglish, I don’t think one Champions League win will put you up there with him. “You have to play a lot more games, win a lot more trophies and then you will match up with the big legends.” Despite Real’s record in the competition (they have won the European Cup/Champions League on an incredible 12 occasions) and their obvious favourites tag, Wijnaldum is convinced Liverpool can cause an upset. That is provided they do not make the mistake of thinking Cristiano Ronaldo is the only danger. “Ronaldo will always be a threat for every team he plays against,” said Wijnaldum. “He gives Real confidence because, even if he is not in form, he can be dangerous. “But if I look at Real as a team, I see a lot of good players. That’s why we have to be aware of everyone. They have so many good players, so much quality, almost all of them are worldclass players. It is not only Ronaldo.
“Even if you take Ronaldo out of the equation they have a lot of quality where they can create chances or score goals.
“You have Toni Kroos, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos at set pieces. A lot of them can make the difference.
“It is not only our front three, midfield or the defenders – we have to do it as a team and we have to play the perfect game to win.”
He warned: “We are playing against a team with a lot of confidence. They have already won it two years in a row, so they know how to manage a final and have experience of a final.
“It will be difficult and it will be a big challenge, but the way we came to the final – the results we had, the way we have been playing – we also believe we’ll win.” VIRGIL VAN DIJK revealed how Liverpool fans at the Champions League final in Cardiff last year persuaded him his future was at Anfield. Van Dijk, then a Southampton player, went to the final with a friend. He recalled: “I never really go to big games to watch but I was in Cardiff. The sponsors hooked us up with two fantastic seats and it was two hours from where I used to live so we thought, ‘Let’s go’. “A lot of people in hospitality were Liverpool fans and they were saying, ‘Join, please join’. It was funny to see how big the support was. “That sort of thing stays with you. Influence? That is a big word, but it does something to you.” Liverpool duly forked out £75million in the January transfer window to secure the centre-half, seeing off Chelsea and Manchester City. “There was a lot of attention,” said Van Dijk, right. “There had been a lot of talk about different clubs. It could have been different fans coming up to me and saying, ‘Come to us,’ but 90 per cent were Liverpool. “That says a lot and the people who were with me were like, ‘Woah, there are so many Liverpool fans, it’s all over the world’. It was incredible.” As for tonight’s final, Van Dijk said: “I knew Liverpool belong here. It is a Champions League club with Champions League fans, with a Champions League culture in the way we want to achieve things. “To actually be in the final, it is fantastic and hopefully it can be even better.”