Liverpool greats confident of club’s success in Europa League
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LIVERPOOL greats Patrik Berger and Vladimir Smicer of the Czech Republic are betting on their former club to win the UEFA Europa League trophy this week when the English Premier League side takes on its La Liga opponent Sevilla in the final in Basel, Switzerland, on Wednesday.
“The chance is 50-50,” said Smicer. “Sevilla has the experience of playing in the finals while for Liverpool only Alberto Moreno (former Sevilla player) has that experience. Sevilla knows about the atmosphere and what they should do to win the trophy.
“But Liverpool has also been playing really well recently, so I think we have got a good chance. All small details are now working in Liverpool’s favor. We are free of injuries and the team is in its best form,” said the former attacking midfielder.
Berger appeared more confident.
“For me, it’s time for Liverpool to raise another trophy. The only pity is that the stadium in Basel is not big enough to take in the huge amount of Liverpool supporters.”
The Czech duo were in Shanghai to help launch the Reds’ flagship online store on JD.com, one of China’s largest e-commerce platform. Both of them were key players for Liverpool, winning multiple honors in the late 90s and early 2000.
Smicer is best remembered for his role in the Liverpool team that lifted the Champions League trophy in 2005, a game that has come to be known as “Miracle in Istanbul.” Smicer scored a goal from 20-yards out and then a decisive penalty during the shoot-out as Liverpool rallied from 0-3 down to stun star-studded AC Milan team in the final.
The former players also believe that getting current manager Jurgen Klopp on board was a key factor in Liverpool’s revival this season.
“Klopp has been the difference,” said Berger, who was a Liverpool player from 1996 to 2003. “He changed everything completely. He is great for the Liverpool fans as well.”
“I like his style,” added Smicer, who played for Liverpool from 1999 to 2005. “He is natural, supports the players, and we can see the emotions in every game, or when the team scores.”
“You notice that the players are always wearing a smile on their faces,” added Berger. “They really enjoy training and playing for him. You can see the difference between now and at the beginning of the season — not just the way they play, but the way they react, and train. In the last five minutes of the (Europa League semifinal) game against Villarreal, they were still pressing high. It’s the end of the season so you can see that physically they are really fit. After playing for 10 months, they were still pressing, and that’s the way Klopp wants them to play football.”
Both of them said Klopp had emerged as the new leader of the team so much so that the Liverpool merchandise for next season has quiet a few stuff of the German.
“In the first 10 games (after Klopp took over), you probably thought he changed nothing,” said Berger. “Then you realize that everything takes time, including his approach to the trainings, the games and game preparations. He is totally different from Brendan Rodgers.”
Smicer thinks Liverpool had been “under pressure” when it was managed by Rodgers.
“When your manager is under pressure, the players feel it. When you get criticized all the time, you start losing confidence as nobody says anything positive. The players start doubting about themselves.”
Talking of pressure, Smicer said it was the first thing he had to conquer when he put on the famed jersey.
“To wear the red jersey is not easy, it’s pressure. I played in the Czech and French leagues. Then I came to Liverpool, and suddenly you are playing in front of 45,000 fans. Liverpool has a history and they need to win things. So the first thing that touched me was the pressure to play in every game, to play well and consistently.
“But you live your dream when you play for Liverpool. How many clubs you play for can be as big as Liverpool which has such a history and won five European cups as well as 18 titles in the country? Getting used to pressure needs time. If I can come back and live that again, maybe I’ll do better with all the experience I picked up from my career,” said Smicer.
Both players, meanwhile, are enjoying time off the pitch but said their experience as Liverpool players would remain the most important chapter in their lives.
“We had an awesome time despite all the ups and downs and injuries,” said Berger. “We had trophies and played with the best players in the world. When you play, you don’t really realize how big the club is. It’s not until we retired, watched some old games, and thought about how we played with the legendary players, that you see Liverpool as a special club. To be a part of it for six or seven years was just awesome.”
Looking ahead, Smicer said he was confident that Liverpool would be back among trophies and even predicted it would finish in the top-three next season.
“They will also play well in next year’s Champions League — they will be playing, because they will win the (Europa) Cup final (in Basel) …
“Hopefully I’m right!”
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