I’ve been a fanatic Liverpool supporter from as early as I can remember as my father is a lifelong supporter.
My earliest memory is from when I was about three years of age, playing football with my cousins in my new Liverpool kit (the 2002 Reebok and Carlsberg kit). I fell onto broken glass and ripped the side of my shorts, which upset me more than cutting my leg. I’ve still got them somewhere, along with the scar!
I’ve got a couple of claims to fame that I used to brag about when I was younger. My father took me to an open training session and when they called out Michael Owen’s name. I shouted it again afterwards and got a wave from my favourite childhood player.
I also went to watch Liverpool versus Arsenal [in 2006] and the game was called off due to heavy fog on the pitch. When we went back up, sadly we lost 6-3. If memory serves me well, however, the ball went out of play and fancying myself as a self-appointed ball boy, I sprinted down the steps to try to get the ball for the players.
I struggled to reach the ball over the wall and as I looked up Peter Crouch was standing over me to pick up the ball and gave me a little head nod. Safe to say, I was speechless for the rest of the game!
I think my hardest time as a Liverpool fan were two very similar scenarios – when Fernando Torres left and when Luis Suarez left. Just to be able to watch two greats play the way they did was a privilege and shaped how I wanted to play football myself, although I’m sure it looked nothing like it when I would rocket the ball 50 yards over the crossbar!
If they had both played together, they would have been the closest thing I had to experiencing Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush, who I’ve heard countless stories about and watched numerous videos from over the years with my father’s influence. They were his favourite players, and the fact that Ian Rush is a fellow Welshman makes him even more of a legend!
My favourite recent memory – and there were so many under Jürgen Klopp – was the Champions League semi-final, second leg against Barcelona.