Reflecting on Liverpool’s momentous Premier League title triumph in 2020, Bobby Firmino admitted that the celebrations felt somewhat hollow without the club’s fans being able to enjoy the moment with the players.
The worldwide pandemic brought not just football, but much of society, to a standstill that year. When the world’s most popular sport resumed in England after a seemingly interminable period, matches were played but supporters were locked out of stadia.
It was amid that eerie climate that the Reds finally became Premier League champions, and while none of us will ever forget the night we had that status conferred upon us, it was a crying shame that such a loyal and devoted fanbase couldn’t celebrate it with their heroes.
In an excerpt from his new book ‘Si Senor: My Liverpool Years’ which was serialised by the Daily Mail, Firmino recalled how that missing element was inescapable amid the title celebrations.
He wrote: “Less than a week after the restart of the Premier League, we were champions. It was a special moment. Different, of course. The joy was there, we jumped and embraced each other, but it wasn’t a celebration like the others. There was no escaping the feeling that something was not right, that something had been denied to us.
“Liverpool fans had waited 30 years to celebrate the title and, when it came, they could only shout, ‘We are the champions!’ from within their own homes. It wasn’t bitter, of course not. It was a moment of great joy that I shared with my team-mates, but it could have been better.”
On lifting the Premier League trophy at an empty Anfield, Firmino reflected: “The reality was that our ground had become just a patch of grass and concrete. Some teams suffered more from playing without fans during the pandemic, some less. We suffered much more than anyone without our supporters. It just never felt right.”
At the time, we were just glad to see Liverpool end their 30-year wait for a league title, a moment which could’ve been denied to them had some bitter and jealous influencers in the media got their way in calling for the campaign to be cut short or even scrapped entirely.
Thankfully sense prevailed, the season was played out to its conclusion and Jurgen Klopp’s side got their just reward, but more than three years on, there’s certainly a sense of regret that there couldn’t be an official celebration between fans and players.
When you look back on the scenes around the city for the homecoming for the 2019 Champions League triumph, just think of how euphoric it would’ve been had the LFC squad been able to do something similar for winning the Premier League a year later.
It seemed no coincidence that, of the seven top-flight home games Liverpool have lost since April 2017, six were during a freakish two-month period when lockdown precluded Anfield’s four stands from being filled with their usual cauldron of noise from a passionate support.
There’s only one thing for it…go and win the title again, but during a time when there are no social distancing restrictions and the fans can truly feel a part of it!
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