Origi targets one more chapter in tale of great feats
Striker with talent for vital goals aims to star on biggest stage, he tells Chris Bascombe in Doha
Most footballers are content with one career-defining moment. Divock Origi is trying to work out where to place at least four from the past 12 months in the right order. There are a couple of historic goals against Barcelona to consider, those which triggered and completed the mother of all European comebacks. Then there is the late strike in the Champions League final which confirmed Liverpool’s victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
Instead, as he mulls it over in the lobby of his five-star Qatari hotel, Origi settles on a more parochial affair as his top rated, eternally grateful for Jordan Pickford’s assist last December. “Definitely the Everton one – minute 90 plus six,” says the 24-year-old, grinning broadly. “I remember going into the airport in Manchester.
“There was an Everton fan on border control and he said to me, ‘I’m not going to let you in’. I was like, ‘What?’ It was all good, friendly banter. It’s the goal they speak about most in the city. It’s amazing. I love it. It shows the heart of the supporters. It’s Liverpool, you know.”
But surely he has replayed the Barcelona winner more often? “I see it on Instagram,” he says. No mobile phone clips? “No. I like to visualise it.
“If I want to relive something, I close my eyes, go in silence and I can see it again. People ask me about my favourite goal and I say it is not easy to choose. The derby goal was a very different emotion than scoring in the final. I put it in a bank of experience.”
It will be no surprise if Origi has one more decisive swing of the boot left in 2019. The Qatari-based fans flocking to the Khalifa International Stadium for the Club World Cup final against Flamengo tomorrow want to shower applause on Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and, especially, Mohamed Salah. The game may be decided by Liverpool’s version of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – a backup player with the knack of leaving his imprint on the biggest stage.
“That is what people say. It is good for the storytelling,” says the Belgian. “More and more I realise how grateful I am to be in such a team in such an era. Maybe at the end of my career I can say I shone my best light to help this team.”
How different those stories would have ended had Origi joined Wolves in 2018.
Even though he signed a new deal last summer, there is a balance between craving more game time and preserving a reputation as the ultimate gamechanger in the biggest fixtures.
That Origi has delivered so often after being summoned from the sidelines is not coincidental, Klopp’s deputies Peter Krawietz and Pep Lijnders are credited for directing the striker to opposition weakness mid-match.
“You get a feel for the flow of the game and that helps,” he says. “Is a defender being aggressive, or maybe he backs off? What system are they playing? Is someone looking tired? What is their body language?
“Against Everton [in the most recent derby], I remember the focus was trying to exploit the space at the back. We have so many different qualities.”
That feeling of growth made him reject those guaranteeing him more starts. “For me it is always about evolving and where that progression ends we don’t really know,” says Origi. “I worked off my gut feeling and my gut feeling was to stay. When I make a decision, I just go with it. If I start doubting something, it is not good.
“We had discussions with the club and obviously there were some other talks, internally with the management.
“But to grow my career, I knew what I needed to do. I just had to go back to that feeling. It was generally just me making the decision.
“I do know that I’m very ambitious, but at the same time I’m someone who puts the team first.
Even as a striker that’s my nature. Just keeping those two things in combination, keep evolving and we will see after my career how that goes.
“In life, I’m about truth. So, if I’m in front of a goal, I will try to make the best decision. If there’s another striker in a better position, then I’ll assist.
“Maybe that’s because I played on the wing when I was younger. If I have to shoot and take the responsibility then I have to make that. Sometimes I make the wrong choice, but that is my mindset.”
Origi says the squad is as hungry for the Club World Cup as others. “We want that badge on our jersey,” says Origi. “As Liverpool, you have to come to win.
“You could see in the Fifa meeting with the referees and they showed a video of the tournament – I remember the games of Neymar with Barcelona in this competition. I used to watch.
“As a group we spoke and we were like, ‘Man, we really want to win this thing’. We will do everything to do that. Momentum is important in football. The fact we won these different cups and put in the work – that was a manifestation of what came up. Now we have to continue. It’s positive and reflects who we are.”