ALL HANDS ON DECK must have been the rallying cry that got Mohammed Salah’s attention so much to get the Egyptian Messi to ditch The Pharaohs camp in Cote D’Ivoire and head to Liverpool in the middle of the 2023 AFCON campaign to treat a hamstring injury.
While there is nothing wrong with accessing some of the best sports medical services in the world, it is quite wrong for a star player who is yet to really hit the high marks with his country the way he has with his club over the past seven years to do so and this was a terrible look on Salah who doubles as the team captain.
Beyond the optics, there was no real pressure for Liverpool to rush Salah into a magical speedy recovery since Liverpool’s frontline is more than fortified to pull through a period sans the Egyptian.
Losing to Arsenal will hurt but in Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz, The Reds have more than enough firepower to go against the best in the division and in Europe.
Besides, that 3-1 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium was down to defensive lapses the usually dependable Virgil Van Dijk committed.
In the wake of Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp’s shock announcement to leave the club at the end of the season, there is a bit more clarity to Liverpool’s insistence to have Salah in their halls as soon as possible.
The message was clear after Klopp’s announcement; the big German was leaving and all resources were needed to ensure his departure ends with nothing but immense success that is something akin to the Chicago Bulls’ final year under Phil Jackson.
Like everything Michael Jordan touched (bar his attempt to play pro baseball in the Major League Baseball), his documentary on the last ride with Jackson in the NBA before the legendary band was disbanded was released at the perfect time.
With the world gripped by the dictates of the COVID 19 pandemic and forced to sit at home and spend more time on the screen than practically ever before, The Last Dance documentary scored record viewership and got many to believe and double down on Jordan as the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT).
Phil Jackson had a wild style to him (who doesn’t?) but his overall calm demeanor and Zen-like approach is the direct opposite of Klopp’s brash and chaos-loving style on the sidelines.
The Chicago Bulls group fronted by its core of Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen was old and speeding towards a rebuild which is the direct opposite of what Liverpool is going through after seeing off Firmino, Sadio Mane and Jordan Henderson being and on the brink of doing same with Van Dijk and Salah makes it difficult to pair the 1998 Bulls in the same bracket as this Liverpool group.
However, there is a common denominator to both clubs as Klopp’s imminent departure has already placed the Last Dance vibes on the rest of Liverpool’s 2023-2024 campaign. The big question though is would the Liverpool version be as successful as the Bulls version, and does it even need to be as Chicago’s version?
Well the clear answer is NO because unlike an elite team competing in world football, the Chicago Bulls had just one title to win-the Larry O’Brien title and nothing else. Thanks to NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, the NBA Cup has been recently introduced and has possibly come to stay to add to the number of titles an NBA team can win in a season.
For Liverpool, there are four titles to be won and having inched past the half way mark of the football season, Liverpool is still in play to win all of the Carabao Cup, FA Cup, UEFA Champions Europa League and English Premier League titles.
Arsenal has firmly thrust itself into the EPL title mix by beating Liverpool and that makes the Reds challenge more difficult considering Manchester City have an outstanding game where a win would push Pep Guardiola’s side to the league’s summit.
This version of Man City has shown all season that it is very beatable and has a lot of flaws so losing the top spot to City isn’t the death knell to a league title quest as it was but having Guardiola uncharacteristically talk boisterously about his team’s title prospects is definitely something not to be sneezed at.
For the record, City is on a mission to win a record setting fourth EPL title in a row and possibly repeat as treble winners and Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal is the dark horse that just won’t go away.
On the European front, the jerky nature of the Europa League where the knockout playoff phase could throw a curve ball via tough teams like AS Roma, Olympique Marseille, AC Milan and Benfica who are dangerous enough to knock Liverpool out of the competition.
The magic of the FA Cup means no team, no matter how big it is, is safe from elimination by a small club and there is always Liverpool getting drawn against a top team like Man City or a tough side like Brighton and Hove Albion.
Should the balls not bounce Liverpool’s way, the only realistic title the Reds can win is the Carabao Cup where Klopp’s and his guys play in the final against Chelsea on February 25.
In the midst of a massive rebuild that has taken longer to come along than expected, Chelsea are under a ton of pressure to deliver and thus far its’ young lads have demonstrated that delivering in must win games isn’t exactly a strong point for The Blues so Liverpool walk into that tie as huge title favourites.
Liverpool have been on the brink of winning four titles only to end up winning just one- the FA Cup- and while that was considered an underwhelming way to end the season, a potential repeat this season is sure to be viewed differently.
So when the tears flow, the applause continue so long and so hard, when Klopp gets serenaded with the loudest and most passionate rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone, beats his chest one more time in front of the Anfield faithful and run down the tunnel of one of football hallowed ground’s, Liverpool could hoist just the Carabao Cup to bring the Klopp era to an end.
But what an era it has been under a man who lifted an entire group beat down by an innocuous slip and a melt down at Selhurst Park that cost them a long treasured league title to actually win that title, add more European glory to the wings of the Liver Bird and create a perfect team without needing to be perfect.