Liverpool and Real Madrid to lock horns for European football supremacy in the Champions League final

It’s that time of the year again when the two legendary football clubs in Europe, will fight out to lay claim to the Champions League trophy.

The supremely talented squad of Liverpool FC will be pitted against the resilient and skillful players of Real Madrid in the Champions League final on Sunday, 29 May.

Football fans around the world are already anticipating this event as a clash of titans to be remembered for the ages.

The two European giants share a great rivalry of scintillating nights, the undying quest to win, heartbreaks, and the final conquest of the ultimate prize in the club football universe.

In 1981, Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish led Liverpool landed the first blow on Madridistas, i.e., Madrid fans, to be crowned as third-time European cup champions. That Los Blancos squad featured Vincente Del Bosque, who consecutively won the FIFA World cup (2010) and UEFA European Championship (2012) with the Spanish national team as manager.

Anfield, the home of Liverpool F.C., was once labeled by revered football manager Arsene Wenger as the most heated stadium in Europe where no team enjoys the hostile atmosphere of Kop fans.

It was on full display in 2009, when Fernando Torres inspired Liverpool smashed Real Madrid with a scoreline of 4-0. It was such a scintillating performance that Real Madrid came back later in that year to prize away Reds captain Steven Gerrard with a transfer request, only to fail ultimately.

Nonetheless, Madrid’s Galactico team avenged their previous European sufferings by beating Liverpool in their most recent meeting of the 2018 Champions League final in Kyiv, the now war battled capital of Ukraine.

In that meeting, Madrid captain Sergio Ramos infamously “tackled” prolific striker Mo Salah who was taken out of the game.

However, that night is equally remembered for Reds goalkeeper Loris Karius who gave away two goals in the closing minutes to let Madrid conquer the unprecedented three Champions League titles in a row.

The upcoming champions league final in Paris will also pit two of the best football managers against each other.

Jurgen Klopp, the current Liverpool manager, will almost be coveted with godly status in the hearts of Anfield loyalists if he can win them their second Champions League in the last three years.

Klopp will be up against three-time Champions trophy winner, Carlo Ancelotti, who has already declared that winning the final in Paris will be his biggest achievement in a long trophy-laden career spanning over 18 years.

The Klopp with his ever-wide smile can be confused with almost uncharacteristic of a stereotypical German with a no-nonsensical gait. His players swore by his commitment to attacking a brand of football that Klopp himself famously termed a “heavy metal band”.

Klopp is credited with reviving the lost glory of Liverpool FC by instilling a monster mentality into his players for never giving up.

Meanwhile, Ancelotti, the lovable Italian, scripted something of a magical comeback for Real Madrid against Manchester City, which is guided by the genius footballing brain of Pep Guardiola.

Minutes after Madrid secured their place in the Champions League final, Liverpool forward Mo Salah posted on social media that he is motivated to “settle their score” with Madrid in the final.

Salah is certainly dreaming about the Ballon d'Or trophy for the best football player on earth this season.

However, he must be wary of Blancos striker Karim Benzema who has almost single-handedly won them the Spanish league this season and remains the highest goal scorer in the knockout stages of the champions league this year.

The departure of Cristian Ronaldo has seemed to liberate Benzema in terms of goal scoring and critically those goals have come for Real at a point of almost no hope.

Without dampening the hardcore fans’ spirit, this final will be indeed cherished by neutrals for the attacking brand of football, that the teams are expected to play.

(Authored by Kumar Ashutosh, sports enthusiast and research scholar in Economics. He can be reached at: ashutosh.pd92@gmail.com)