Background
Liverpool are the english champions, the european champions and the planet earth champions. But are they also the arrogant champions as per the flippant comment from Frank Lampard, manager of Chelsea on the night of their title glory?
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There were fireworks going off, the amazing presentation ceremony of the first league title in 30 years and joy on the faces of all linked with Liverpool football club all around the world. Meanwhile, in the pressroom, a flippant comment was made by the young Chelsea manager that Liverpool were arrogant, a comment which was later downgraded to some of their backroom staff being arrogant. We then had a Manchester United squad player go onto social media to comment that he thought James Milner and Virgil Van Dijk were the most arrogant players he had faced. As nice as all this is, let’s first get the definition of what arrogance means:“Having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or abilities”.
Let’s repeat what this team has achieved in the last 12 months of football matches being allowed. They won the champions league last June, the world club cup in December and became the english champions with 7 games to spare. They have won 17 out of the last 18 league games at home this year, their captain is the football writers player of the year and their manager is probably the best out there at the moment. They have played exhilarating football this year and are favourites to continue this total dominance of the league into next year.
Off the pitch, they have just secured a lucrative shirt sponsorship deal with Nike, they will move into their new training facilities in the very near future and the stadium will be expanded again. Their global fanbase is growing by the day and financially may soon overtake Manchester United as the club with the highest turnover in english football.
All of the above are just factual data about the club and yet reading this, it may seem to be an arrogance. Thierry Henry said that during the invincible’s season, they used to look at the other team in the tunnel and know that they would win the match. Was this arrogance? When Roger Federer walks onto a tennis court knowing he will win the match or plays that superb drop shot or impossible backhand return, is this arrogance or just a result of his hard work and hours spent practicing tennis. What about when Warren Buffett correctly predicts the direction of the stocks and shares market, based on his 50 years of experience, views which may not be popular with the common man, is this arrogance?
When Jordan Henderson won the football writers player of the award, he repeatedly said that this was all down to the team. This group of players and manager all reflect this same reality and that there is no arrogance in the team but just a group of people trying their best, day in, day out. And if they had arrogance, they would not have reached the levels they are reaching. When you hear them speak in interviews, it has always been about the team, not the individual. They have suffered setbacks individually and as a team. However, the innate unity is what has pulled them through adversity and unity cannot exist where there is an ounce of arrogance. So to answer the question, are Liverpool football club arrogant? The answer is no, they are just a lot better at this game on and off the pitch than the rest.
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