THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
Robertson: We want lots more trophies
ANDY ROBERTSON used the word “momentum” in the aftermath of Liverpool winning their first Club World Cup.
Adam Lallana had called it an “addiction” earlier in the week, while James Milner said they wanted to win so many trophies that nobody would remember when they lifted what.
There were two themes all week in Doha from the Liverpool camp. One was promoting the importance of this competition and defending their decision to prioritise it over the Carabao Cup.
They proved the right decision was made and showed how much it meant to them as they celebrated Roberto Firmino’s extra-time winner that finally saw off Flamengo.
The second theme was about keeping the winning habit going and the importance of adding more trophies to what looks set to be a large haul for this squad.
Next up in that quest is the Premier League title, not to mention defending their Champions League crown.
Football is relentless and the discussion on the red half of Merseyside this morning will already about Leicester on Boxing Day – another chance to strike a blow on a title rival.
“That’s three for 2019,” said Robertson. “In the calendar year, we have won the Champions League, Super Cup and now this. To win three in any calendar year is special – and these are big ones.
“The Champions League is absolutely massive. The Super Cup and the Club World Cup are massive to us.
‘‘But we’ve got to take the momentum into 2020 – and hopefully there are a couple more trophies to come.”
A tense night at the Khalifa International Stadium was perhaps a demonstration of how important winning this trophy was to Liverpool.
We knew it meant so much to the Brazilians beforehand and you could see that as they fought for every ball, tried every dirty trick and played some impressive football. Liverpool got the winner when
After extra time
Sadio Mane teed Firmino up and the Brazilian dropped his shoulder to fool keeper Diego Alves and a couple of defenders before slamming home.
There had been chances for both sides to win it in normal time but it was the Reds who struck the crucial blow.
“It’s an incredible feeling to win it and it makes this week worthwhile,” said Robertson.
“We took it seriously, even though maybe people back in England didn’t.
“The whole of South America was behind Flamengo. So many fans came over and made a fantastic atmosphere for them.
“In England they wanted us to prioritise the Carabao Cup but you don’t get many chances to be world champions – we took ours and rightly so.
“To get here you need to win the Champions League and we know just how hard that is.
“We needed to take it like we’ll never be back and now we’re world champions for 2019.
“Manchester United were the only English winners beforehand, so hopefully we have changed perceptions.
‘‘Hopefully other English teams will be here in the future as that will mean we are successful in the Champions League.”