“A final word from The Boss” Vol.6
Klopp’s Kids humble the “Billion Pound Bottle Jobs”
Chelsea v Liverpool — Carabao League Cup Final
CHELSEA 0
LIVERPOOL 1 (van Dijk 118)
When referee Chris Kavanagh’s final whistle signalled Liverpool Football Club as this season’s Carabao League Cup winners and now custodians of the beautiful three handled trophy for a record 10th time, Jürgen Klopp’s Reds had an 18 year old as a lone central striker and playing in only his second senior appearance, a 21 year old central defender, two 19 year old’s in the centre of midfield, a 20 year old substituted after a quite wonderful display once again and after a week of incredible anguish both for him and his larger family, and a 20 year old still running and chasing all over the pitch, socks around his ankles to keep at bay the leg cramps affecting a barely able to walk Colombian magician who summoned up the energy from nowhere time and again to stretch the Chelsea defensive line long into extra-time.
Jürgen Klopp’s “boys” or “kids” also bore witness to a horror of a snide challenge from Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo that surely ended 21 year old Ryan Gravenberch’s season, the agony of the VAR robbery of Virgil van Dijk’s headed goal on 60 minutes, the ecstasy of the captain’s winning goal with 2 minutes of extra-time remaining and between those two “goals”? They largely bossed a Cup Final against a team costing anywhere near £1 Billion pounds to throw together, and who wilted in the energy sapping suck of extra-time against 3 teenagers, 2 more barely out of their teens and an 18 year old playing lone central striker in a Wembley Cup Final in just his second ever appearance.
Ex Manchester United captain and perennial winner Gary Neville called Chelsea the “Billion Pound Bottle Jobs” on TV co-commentary duties.
With a handful of minutes of normal time remaining, ex Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher asked a rhetorical question out-loud as he shared co-commentary duties with his best of enemies Gary Neville: “Can Klopp’s kids do it?”
Yes they can Jamie.
Yes they did Jamie.
Yes they fucking did.
Your team of heroes dressed all in Mighty Red (except the goalkeeper):
Caoimhin Kelleher
The hero of the Final just 2 short years ago, the 25 year old Irishman and understudy to the best goalkeeper in the world Alisson Becker, pulled off a string of smart if rudimentary saves, but beginning and ending with the very best by first denying Cole Palmer a certain goal with an unreal close-in one-armed save on 20 minutes before rushing from his goal to brilliantly smother Conor Gallagher’s 84th minute goal bound effort. Klopp calls Kelleher the “Best Number 2 Goalkeeper in the World” and the “kid” from 2 years ago proved himself to be faultless once again. A display worthy of the “Man of the Match” award but he’d have to fight his way past Luis Díaz even before trying to wrest the award away from his captain Virgil van Dijk. He got a touch of luck when Gallagher rapped his far post with 15 minutes to go but he deserved his slice of luck. Unbeatable today.
Good on you kid.
Conor Bradley
Only just returned to the team following the death of his Father, 20 year old Bradley was outstanding once again until the sapping Wembley turf forced his late substitution. Another incredible display from one so young and for the self-confessed “Liverpool fan since I was 5 years old”.
Good on you kid.
Andy Robertson
Imperious stuff from the Scotland captain and yet another Winner’s medal to add to his Reds collection.
Ibrahima Konaté
The 24 year old Parisian man mountain was unbeatable, often the last defensive man and won every one of his individual duels all game long.
Virgil van Dijk
The Reds captain and “Man of the Match” scored a gem of a header on 60 minutes that only the ghouls and goblins in the VAR booth could deem worthy of deleting from our human eyes that constantly lie to us apparently. He was obviously saving himself for an even better header to win the game late on! First trophy in his tenure as captain.
Another faultless performance from the giant Dutchman.
Ryan Gravenberch
Hobbled around the Wembley turf on crutches during the after-match celebrations and after having his Cup Final day ruined on 23 minutes following Moisés Caicedo’s horror show that has almost certainly ended his season. Caicedo turned his nose up at a Summer move to Liverpool. 21 year old Ryan Gravenberch did not, and the Dutchman slowly made his way around Wembley a winner this evening.
Alexis Mac Allister
Another sapped by the Wembley turf and substituted late on, but not before a solid and gritty performance from the Argentinian World Cup winner.
Wataru Endō
The veteran Japanese midfielder could also be seen hobbling around during the after-match celebrations, but only after a performance that pushed so many of his teammates to the “Man of the Match” award. The player who has stolen my Red heart this season played the entire 120 minutes and like Luis Díaz and Harvey Elliott ahead of him, just dragged himself from tackle to tackle and was barely able to run by the full-time whistle.
Cody Gakpo
Came closest to a Reds goal in the first half when his 39th minute header hit the outside of a Chelsea post with Blues goalkeeper Đorđe Petrović a helpless spectator. Often alone and chasing long balls in the second half and the spearhead of Klopp’s constant team press. Boy does the 24 year old from Eindhoven deserve his winner’s medal this evening.
Harvey Elliott
I’ve no idea how the 20 year old was still on the field of play in extra-time as he’d given his all in regulation time and never stopped trying to influence the game, win the ball back when his team were without it or stretching the width of the game as well as the Chelsea defensive line. You’re under-appreciated in the Internet age kid, but not here.
Well played kid.
Luis Díaz
Reminded me of his Cup Final performance of 2 years ago: forever wanting the ball, running into space to stretch the Chelsea defence, never say die spirit and will to win. The Colombian magician was everywhere, forcing saves from the Chelsea goalkeeper in both halves of normal time before being barely able to run in the latter stages of extra-time. Only pipped to the game’s top individual honour by his imperious skipper.
Joe Gomez
An early replacement for the incredibly unlucky Ryan Gravenberch, Gomez had his customary long range shot in search of his first ever goal in professional football let alone the Reds of Liverpool, and a team for whom he collected his eighth winner’s medal today.
Kostas Tsimikas
The “Greek Scouser” and supplier of the wickedly curling corner guided into the Chelsea net by his skipper, wins at Wembley once more.
Jarell Quansah
A late substitute replacement for Ibrahima Konaté, the 21 year old has forced his way into the squad and often starting XI this season and looks like a seasoned veteran. Faultless display.
Jayden Danns
In only his second appearance for the senior team, 18 year old Danns had the unenviable task of “plowing a lonely furrow” in attack before dropping deeper to help his teenage Academy mates in the midfield. Almost snagged a deserved goal when he forced Chelsea goalkeeper Đorđe Petrović into a fine save on 93 minutes as he and his teenage accomplices refused to be overawed by the occasion before outplaying and humbling their expensive and vastly experienced opponents.
James McConnell
My goodness what a performance of calm assurance from someone so young. Wembley Stadium? Major Cup Final?
I’ll just run around in midfield with my teenage mate Bobby Clark and boss the place before collecting my winner’s medal.
Bobby Clark
The pick of the teenage bunch who never stopped running, shirked a challenge or refused to try a risky pass through the lines from midfield into attack. An incredible performance.
Well played kid.
With roughly 3 or 4 minutes of the regulation 90 to play, one end of Wembley Stadium was bouncing to a raucous rhythm and the Reds oft copied anthem “Allez Allez Allez”, a song of appreciation and celebration, of ghosts past and present, of conquering Europe from the fields of Anfield Road and promising to never, ever stop. There was still the spectre of 30 minutes of extra-time to come but the Reds in that half of the national stadium in London were already saluting their heroes for the teenagers and boys and indeed “Klopp’s Kids” were growing stronger as the Blues of Chelsea wilted.
The “Billion Pound Bottle Jobs” were then played off the park by a bunch of teenagers and Academy graduates before their skipper scored a deserved winning goal that signalled the lighting of Red flares in this little corner of London, and then the songs of celebration could really begin.
“Allez Allez Allez”.
A final word from The Boss
“What we see here today is so exceptional, we might never see again and not because I am on the sideline, because these things don’t happen in football. I got told outside that there’s an English phrase, ‘you don’t win trophies with kids’ — I didn’t know that. Yeah! There are longer careers than mine but in more than 20 years, it’s easily the most special trophy I ever won. It’s absolutely exceptional. Sometimes I get asked if I’m proud of this, proud of that, proud of that, and it’s really tricky. I wish I could feel pride more often, I just don’t do. Tonight there’s an overwhelming feeling, ‘Oh my God, what’s going on here?’ I was proud of everybody involved in everything here”.
“I was proud of our people for the way they pushed us. I was proud of the staff for creating this kind of atmosphere surrounding where these boys can just do what they are best at. I was proud of our Academy. I was proud of my coaches. I was proud of so many things. It was really overwhelming. It had nothing to do with maybe my last game at Wembley — I checked that, nothing to do with that. It was really because of how everybody contributed, seeing the faces after the game of the kids — Jayden Danns. Can you create in football stories which definitely nobody will ever forget? It’s so difficult because this happened before, this happened before, they won it then, there. This tonight, if you find the same story with academy players coming on against a top, top, top side and still winning it, I never heard”.
“Come on, this was so special. You saw the game, you saw the circumstances. We had problems before the game, they became bigger during the game… And then getting through all of this, you see tired players. I have no clue who can play on Wednesday because we had players on the pitch until the end of the game who had problems. We asked Harvey Elliott to stay, we asked Lucho (Luis Diaz) to stay up front, don’t go back anymore. So, I have no idea who can play on Wednesday but for tonight it is a night I will never forget. If nobody else sees it like that, no problem. For me, it’s a really nice memory forever”.
“Klopp’s Kids humble the “Billion Pound Bottle Jobs” can also be found singing and dancing a cup final winning jig through pages 313 and 321 within my May 2024 self-published book on the Mighty Reds of Liverpool, “A final word from The Boss”.
Here’s some promotional fluff I prepared earlier:
"A final word from The Boss" - link to Amazon
"Chasing the Impossible and a Sword of Damocles" - link to Amazon
Thanks for reading. I hope this message in a bottle in The Matrix finds you well, prospering, and the right way up in an upside down world.
Enjoyed your writing and I follow Arsenal, for years.