Moreno exclusive
I fought to be part of the future at Liverpool
Alberto Moreno is enthusiastically scrolling down his phone in search of a video link. It is a clip from Jurgen Klopp’s first home game, against Southampton in October 2015. Sadio Mane is dashing towards goal for the visitors when Moreno makes five yards, slides in with a textbook challenge and sends his current team-mate to the turf.
Moreno is laughing animatedly. “Remember this tackle? Don’t you remember? I will show you. Look. I am faster,” says the Spanish defender, still sniggering. “This was incredible. I was like Usain Bolt. I was behind him and I caught him up. I’ve shown him this and he says he did not I know I was coming.” Evidently, the clip has been replayed often in Liverpool’s dressing room. “I like joking about it with Sadio,” he says. “It is
‘We can be in the final mix for the Premier League title’
amazing watching Sadio and the way he runs. Never mind chasing him, I get tired watching him.
“It must be a nightmare for any defender. And now you have Salah on the other side?” Moreno makes a gesture pushing forward with flattened, parallel hands. “Vroom, vroom,” he laughs.
A few minutes in Moreno’s company is evidence of a most colourful character – not just because he has arrived for the interview in a pink tracksuit. His vivacity may offer a clue as to why his Anfield career is on the cusp of revival. He started just two Premier League games last season but did not submit, train poorly or seek a move. Many thought Andy Robertson’s arrival from Hull would facilitate Moreno’s return to Sevilla, but Klopp rejected an £11million bid and announced he was “100 per cent back”.
Moreno has started the season as the preferred option, a restored status that will be underlined should he start against Manchester City today.
“The lowest point came at the start of last season when I was not playing,” says Moreno. “I was training hard and well, and then the manager decided James Milner would be left-back. I was not happy. I was not featuring, my head was not in the right place and I did not feel good.
“This impacts on your family as well. They were unhappy, too. We were all feeling down. But in life, and in football, I am a fighter. I never give up and when you are down you have to use that motivation to work harder. I found strength from my family, my partner Lilia and my daughter Carla, who was born this time last year. Just looking at her face was my motivation. It lifted me.
“Yes, it is tough, but you only know how you will react when you face the situation of not playing.
“Everyone has problems in life, don’t they? The problems of a footballer are nothing. Recently, I have been involved with some of the charities the club supports, such as poor Owen Mcveigh [an 11-year-old Liverpool fan] who passed away with leukaemia. His family are trying to help other sick children. When you hear of these things, it gives you strength because you realise what you have been going through professionally is nothing in comparison. It made me emotional because I would look at my own daughter and feel sorry for those children. Life is more important than anything else. You tell yourself to show the same fight these people have shown against much greater adversity.”
Moreno still has work to do to consolidate his position, especially as Klopp is likely to rotate often. “To be honest, when we signed Andy Robertson it gave me more strength and made me focus even more,” says Moreno. “In the summer training sessions, the manager started using Milner in central midfield, so that was also encouraging. I knew there was an impetus to keep working and things would work out. I felt good and thought I can stay here and I can do a job here. I knew in pre-season I had a future here. Obviously, I feel much happier.”
Sevilla’s arrival in the Champions League next week could bookmark a transformative year. Moreno is reminded of his error in the Europa League final against the same
opponents, which many saw as the game-changing moment and could have signalled the beginning of the end for him on Merseyside.
“People talk about my mistake, but I am a defender and I am in a lot of situations in a game,” he says.
“Every defender can make a mistake. Sergio Ramos or Thiago Silva have made mistakes and they are two of the best defenders in the world. Individual criticism is not fair or just, but you have to take it.
“You do not lose a game with one player. There are 11 players who win or lose together. That final is the past. Players do not spend long dwelling on defeats.
“Sometimes on social media it is people who have not been to the game who jump on it. They will read a few comments and say something, but it is not always a true reflection. What you do is work harder because I love this club, I want to be happy here and I am happy here, so I wanted to get through it. Yes, I am from Sevilla and my friends are in Sevilla, but I never had the intention to leave. I am at a great club. Why would I want to change?”
The next step for Moreno is to be a consistent member of a trophy-winning team.
The return of his closest friend at Anfield, Philippe Coutinho, will help. “The squad missed him because he is one of the world’s best players,” he says.
Regardless of the outcome at the Etihad, Moreno knows the merits of pausing before looking too far ahead. “Let’s hang on a minute,” he says. “We are only three games in, but what you cannot doubt is we have a great group of players and a great team. Although we can be involved in the shake-up for the Premier League, it is a bit soon to be talking like that.”
There is another cheeky smile. “But as we say in Spain, it costs nothing to dream.”