Lovren is having the last laugh
THIS is a moment when an interview could end abruptly. Dejan Lovren’s eyes have narrowed and his gaze is fixed on his inquisitor, as the topic of dealing with criticism is introduced.
Lovren was once an emblem of Liverpool’s unpredictability, an expensive recruit who looked the part but would lapse when it mattered.
To give an idea of where his reputation was 12 months ago, manager Jurgen Klopp had to publicly defend the club’s reason for handing him a new contract.
This Saturday, however, the 28-year-old centre-back will head into the Champions League final against Real Madrid as a defensive totem for the Anfield side.
Lovren’s partnership with Virgil van Dijk is flourishing and his form helped Liverpool finish the domestic campaign with 17 clean sheets, their best return since season 2009-10.
Nobody is criticising the Croatian international any more. So how did he cope during the difficult times following his arrival from Southampton in 2014? The question is met with a pause, just long enough to leave you wondering what might happen next. Then comes the response. ‘Your words,’ he says, specifying the media rather than an individual. ‘Your words. When people say I am not good enough, I will just show you I am good enough. It is as simple as that.
‘I like when people talk bad about me. When I have the confidence of the manager, I don’t need anything to reassure me any more.
‘Of course you will have one or two situations where you don’t play well, but which defender doesn’t make mistakes?
‘Sometimes, people make it out to be bigger than it is. But it is how it is with me.
‘I struggled a lot in my life from day one and, you know, there is belief within me. It will never go.
‘People would mock me at school. As a teenager, they said: “You cannot play like a defender”. People said I didn’t have a left foot, that I wasn’t quick enough.
‘You know what? All these small things, they push me. I don’t have a left foot? I will hit better today with my left foot than my right. I always work on these situations.
‘It helps me, to be honest. And criticism, even if I don’t like it, I like to hear it. I know what to improve at the end.’
There is no question that Lovren has improved and there is something symbolic about the fact he will square up to Cristiano Ronaldo and company on Saturday for there is a score to settle that dates back to October 2014.
When Liverpool returned to the Champions League four years ago, they were paired in the same group as Madrid. The draw was greeted by Liverpudlians with glee, a sign that a five-year break from Europe’s elite competition was over.
The reality, though, would prove horribly different.
Brendan Rodgers’ side were outclassed at Anfield, losing 3-0.
The return in the Bernabeu, meanwhile, was a farce with Rodgers selecting a skeleton team, having prioritised a Premier League game against Chelsea.
Liverpool lost 1-0, but the scoreline did not reflect the gulf in class.
What is to say the same won’t happen in Kiev this weekend?
Lovren pauses again. He played in that game and experienced the full power of Real Madrid. Now, though, he expects a completely different outcome.
‘The only thing that is similar to that night is the name — Liverpool,’ he says. ‘When you look at the players and everything, we have changed a lot.
‘Me and Jordan Henderson are the only players left who played against them.
‘I am so much more confident in the team now than I was then.
‘I feel that the team is ready to battle against every team in the world.
‘We showed that against Manchester City (in the quarter-finals). City showed all throughout this season that they are one of the best teams in the world but they came up against Liverpool. Nobody has played a team like us.
‘Real Madrid didn’t play against us (in 2014) like we play today.
‘We are totally different now. If you ask every player what they want to achieve in life, the answer is to win the Champions League.
‘We want to make history and we want to lift the trophy with Klopp.
‘People talk about us winning (the European Cup) five times, five times.
‘There is always something you can change.’