Tonight could be one of the last chances to see Luis Suarez in a Liverpool shirt. Source: AFP
THERE may not be much to play for, but there's plenty to look forward to tonight as Liverpool take on Melbourne Victory at the MCG.
1. You’ll Never Walk Alone
Even the most hardened Liverpool haters can’t deny the awesome power of arguably the greatest terrace song of all time.
Written for the Broadway musical Carousel in the 1940s, it was covered by legendary Merseybeat outfit Gerry and the Pacemakers in the ‘60s and was almost immediately adopted by the Anfield faithful.
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Hearing it now, it’s almost impossible to believe it wasn’t written for the terraces, with its swelling build-ups and designed-for-mass-singalong chorus guaranteed to have every hair standing on end.
If you’ve ever been in a stadium where it's being delivered with full force, you’ll know the physiological effect it can have on even the most agnostic listener.
The song has gained even more poignancy and power in the aftermath of modern human tragedies involving the club, in particular the unimaginable horror of the Hillsborough disaster of 1989, when 96 Liverpool fans died in a terrace crush during an FA Cup semi-final.
With well over 90,000 expected at the MCG tonight, expect one of the more rousing renditions you’ll ever hear.
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2. This could be your last chance to see Luis Suarez in a Liverpool shirt
Liverpool’s slide from elite status to Premier League also-rans means it is now struggling to hold on to a player most would agree is one of the best strikers in the world game.
Luis Suarez has scored 51 goals in 95 appearances for Liverpool during a period when the side’s general performances have been at best, mediocre.
A controversy magnet, he was famously banned for eight games after racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra (a charge he denied) and is currently serving a 10-game ban after biting (yes, biting) Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in a late-season league fixture in April.
Throw in some regular diving histrionics and alleged handballs and you have the most polarising player in English football, who many believe would be the Premier League’s player of the year if it weren’t for his reputation.
Despite the circus he creates, there are few managers in the game who would not donate a limb to have the tenacious Uruguayan leading their line and a bid of more than 40 million pounds ($66m) has been tabled by Arsenal this week.
Real Madrid and their seemingly bottomless pockets are also sniffing around so the odds are stacked against Suarez staying put for another season at a club that cannot offer Champions League football.
Manager Brendan Rodgers has been cautious this week about whether Suarez will play at the MCG after he arrived late to join the squad, saying that if he does get a run it will be for a “very limited time”.
Still, the chance to see one of the best players in the world before he departs for pastures new, if only for a couple of minutes, should not be passed up lightly.
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3. Steven Gerrard won’t last forever
After (eventually) resisting Chelsea’s millions back in 2005, Liverpool captain "Stevie G" is one of those rare things in modern football: a one-club legend.
With the club since he was eight years old, Gerrard has led his side to Champions League and FA Cup glory, even if that longed-for Premier League title has eluded him.
Contracted to play for another two seasons, the 33-year-old has been battling blisters but is expected to get a lengthy run in tonight’s match as he continues his comeback from shoulder surgery.
Back in the glory days of the 1970s and ‘80s, Liverpool was flush with living legends. Gerrard might be the last of his kind for some time to come.
4. You can see what paying $200m a year gets you
As explained by Matt Windley here, Liverpool’s wage bill is gargantuan compared to what Melbourne Victory can afford to give their players under the $2.5m salary cap.
Gerrard and Suarez earn in excess of an eye-watering $12m, easily surpassing in a week what most Victory players would get in a year.
5. It’s good for the economy
It’s estimated that tonight’s fixture has attracted 10,000 interstate and overseas fans and is forecast to inject more than $10 million into the Victorian economy.
State Premier Denis Napthine said the success of the match could lead to Victoria hosting a similar match against a foreign team in Melbourne each year.
And while it's forgivable to raise an eyebrow when a multi-million dollar sports franchise is charging money to watch a training session, all of the proceeds went to Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital and the club’s Melbourne charity partner the Reagan Milstein Foundation.
6. An iconic team at an iconic venue
The modern Liverpool side may not be a patch on those teams of the ‘70s and ‘80s that featured the likes of Ian Rush, Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen and of course Craig Johnston, but tonight’s sell-out is a testament to the effect those teams had and the place the club holds in the hearts of Australian football fans of a certain vintage.
Few teams in any sport could command the ticket sales and excitement surrounding tonight’s game, and there may not be many chances to see one of the most iconic teams in world sport in one of the world’s most iconic venues.
AFL die-hards may sneer, but the atmosphere at tonight’s match should be worthy of the great stadium.
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