Latest news with #AnfieldWrap
Sky News
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Liverpool, Crystal Palace and Arsenal events take place to celebrate major trophy victories
A number of bus parades and events have taken place across England today as three teams celebrated their footballing successes. Liverpool 's celebration of their Premier League victory began at 2.30pm on Bank Holiday Monday, and was expected to last between three and five hours. A number of the city's landmarks were lit up in Liverpool FC imagery along the route of the bus parade, the club said. Having now won their 20th league title in the top flight of English football, Liverpool have equalled the record of rivals Manchester United. Fans lined the streets with plumes of red smoke greeting the players along the way. Neil Atkinson, content manager of fan site The Anfield Wrap, told Sky News there was something "democratic" about a parade. "I'm lucky to be able to go to Liverpool away games, but you only get 3,000 tickets," he said. "I'm lucky to be able to go to Anfield, but there's only 60,000 seats. A parade, all it needs is for someone to have their bit of concrete and we're all equal, and we can all enjoy Liverpool. "And what we're able to do to give a gift to the players of Liverpool to say thank you for what it is they've done." Midfielder Curtis Jones told LFCTV on the bus that it was his "second [title], but this one feels even more special". "I've played more of a bigger role in this, so it's good just to enjoy it here with all the staff and the players and of course the fans as well," he added. Speaking to players after his first season in charge, manager Arne Slot said the team had "refused to lose this season". "It's been an amazing season for us. The work you've put in has been absolutely outstanding," he added. One fan who had travelled from Gibraltar for the celebrations told Sky News he was "loving it". Another Liverpool supporter added that the atmosphere was "different" in the city on Monday. "I went to the gym this morning and there was people camping out already. It's surreal really," he said. 1:49 Fans 'so proud' of Arsenal women Arsenal 's women kicked off the celebrations on Monday morning after their UEFA Women's Champions League victory in Lisbon on Saturday. The trophy was lifted at Armoury Square, outside the Emirates Stadium, after the team's 1-0 victory over Barcelona. Former Arsenal footballer-turned-presenter Alex Scott and Emirates Stadium host Nigel Mitchell presented the celebration. It is the first time Arsenal have won the women's Champions League in 18 years, since their maiden title in the 2006-07 season. Sky's Rob Harris spoke to some of the supporters who had turned out to watch their team lift the trophy. "I can't believe they've just won. We've waited so long for this, I'm so proud of them," one said. "Women's football has come such a long way. And just to see the amount of support that it's started to get, it's like, this is the direction it needs to go in," another added. Palace saviour first major trophy Crystal Palace 's open-top bus parade started at 12.45pm to celebrate the team's FA Cup win, having beaten Manchester City 1-0 to secure the trophy. 1:27 The parade lasted around 45 minutes, before the trophy lift took place at Selhurst Park at 2.30pm. The club promised its supporters live entertainment, special guests and end-of-season awards. Attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze told Sky's Sarah-Jane Mee he was "enjoying" the attention after scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup final. "To be able to actually achieve that, to score and to help my team win, and to be a part of a squad that has done it, keep the questions coming man, because I'm enjoying it," he said. The Eagles' FA Cup win saw the club awarded its first major trophy. "This is amazing, absolutely amazing. The crowd is buzzing, everyone is cheerful, it's a really good atmosphere," Palace fan Julie Setchfield told Sky News.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Liverpool FC podcast The Anfield Wrap lets Manchester United fans know the score in their own backyard
Liverpool fans have taken a pop at bitter rivals Manchester United following the Anfield giants record-equalling 20th league title success. The historic north west sides have battled it out on and off the pitch for the title of England's most successful club. The Merseyside Reds are claiming bragging rights after pulling level with United on title victories as Arne Slot led Liverpool to the Premier League crown in his first season in the job since replacing Jurgen Klopp. READ MORE: Ruaidhri Higgins identifies new Coleraine recruits but two key players could move on READ MORE: Inside Christine Lampard and husband Frank's luxury £10million London mansion Up until this season both sides were level on 67 major honours, but since Slot's Reds romped to the league they have now moved one ahead of their old foes and boy are they determined to let United fans know about it. The award winning Liverpool FC podcast, The Anfield Wrap, has gone behind enemy lines to rub it in in style and remind their rivals who is top dog now. Right on the doorstep of Old Trafford they have commissioned a billboard across the A56 emblazoned with the words: "Manchester, just 37 miles to the country's most successful football club." As you can imagine it has gone down particularly well with the Liverpool fans when it was revealed on social media. "This seems petty and needlessly antagonistic so I absolutely love it," replied @MacSkalitude. @TommoD79LFC said: "You've outdone yourselves there lads." A message for Manchester…and we're gonna stop. — The Anfield Wrap (@TheAnfieldWrap) May 13, 2025 It's not the first time TAW have used a billboard campaign to highlight Liverpool's success on the pitch. Back in 2020 they used billboards around the UK and Ireland to help fans celebrate the Reds Premier League win during coronavirus > Covid, and three years ago they they released a campaign to promote their five part docu-series, 'JÜRGEN', which documented Jurgen Klopp's journey in football. Craig Hannan, head of Brand & Marketing at The Anfield Wrap is from Antrim, and he always makes sure the Northern Irish Reds are represented, as he explained: "Being from Northern Ireland I always try to include Belfast in the campaigns!' I wonder what they have in store for Belfast this time around? Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox
BBC News
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'A moment 35 years in the making, this was Anfield's day of destiny'
Liverpool's long wait ended as the giant red and white clock in the corner of the Kop flicked over to 18:24 BST on the day that was Anfield's small detail was Tottenham Hotspur had been swept aside. The big picture was Liverpool were now officially Premier League champions and, with great significance, had equalled Manchester United's total of 20 Liverpool's team coach emerged from plumes of red smoke blowing towards the stadium on Anfield Road, the smell of sulphur and cordite hanging heavy in the air, the banners and scarves read: "The Most Successful Club In England."This was a moment 35 years in the making. Liverpool could celebrate a title win with their own vast support, in their own stadium, in front of the Kop. They had last experienced this sort of elation when Sir Kenny Dalglish, who was watching from the directors' box, led Liverpool to victory over Queens Park Rangers on 28 April Klopp led them to the Premier League title in 2020, but the celebrations were played out in the genteel surroundings of Formby Golf Club, and the trophy lift in front of invited family and friends at a deserted Anfield amid the Covid-19 explained the release of emotion at the final whistle, which had been building up hours before kick-off. It was finally unleashed in a wall of sound - fireworks exploded behind the Kop, another fog of red smoke swept around Anfield accompanied by an outpouring of tears from players and fans the heart of it all was head coach Arne Slot, the modest Dutchman who has made the so-called impossible task of succeeding Jurgen Klopp look so had been 343 days since Klopp said his Anfield farewell, attempting to ease the air of uncertainty about his departure swirling around Liverpool by singing a song in honour of his soon-to-be-anointed tune echoed around Anfield throughout this 5-1 win, and Slot delivered his own version in tribute to Klopp as ecstasy unfolded around him."To replace Jurgen is a big job and the manager did it in his own way and deserves a lot of credit," said captain Virgil van Dijk. "I don't think anyone from the outside world thought we would be Premier League champions." 'To be at Anfield, that's what it's all about' Hours before the storm started there was little calm around entire area was a sea of red from mid-morning - thousands of supporters waited in long lines to be among the first into the stadium, the usual watering holes were packed and Anfield Road was jammed with fans as far as the eye could owner John W. Henry made one of his rare Anfield visits for the coronation, while tickets were reportedly selling at £3,000 on the black market. Neil Atkinson from the Anfield Wrap told BBC Radio 5 Live he felt like he was on his way to his wedding. Abigail Rudkin, also from the Anfield Wrap, likened the excitement to Christmas morning."Just to get to be with everyone, for all of us to get to be here and sit together, it does make the difference," she said. "You can say to yourself 'just win it', but for us fans all of us being together, for the players to be there with us, to be at Anfield - that's what it's all about." 'A glorious realisation - the prize was theirs' In reality, this win against a submissive Spurs was simply a step on the road from Anfield's anticipation to the glorious realisation that the prize was Liverpool had applied the correction to Dominic Solanke's shock early goal, it was party time - no better illustrated than when Mohamed Salah celebrated his goal, Liverpool's fourth, by taking a phone from a fan to snap the selfie of a lifetime with the Kop as his fans belted out the old title-winning songbook as they watched their triumphant team rip Spurs intently from the sidelines was Slot, who has brought a more measured approach to the thrilling chaos of Klopp's Liverpool without removing any of the potency. He has not simply been the beneficiary of the outstanding squad he inherited, he has added value with his tactical was uncharacteristically agitated at times, focusing on the unfolding events in front of him rather than acknowledging the constant demands from the Kop for waited until the board for four extra minutes went up before blowing kisses to his family in the stand and applauding the fans. It was then time for a congratulatory embrace with opposite number Ange Postecoglou before he gathered his trusted backroom staff around the celebrations started on the pitch, Liverpool's players ran wildly towards the Kop before Slot donned the red shirt and gave them the Klopp-style fist pumps they have wanted for eight players were called forward to take their bow. Trent Alexander-Arnold's future may be in doubt among links to Real Madrid, but on Sunday Liverpool were the centre of his world. The future, for now, can the architect of this triumph, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Looking back I have enjoyed the whole day. You could see looking in their eyes how much it meant to them. It was impossible to us to not get that point or win today."What else is there to say? It is unbelievable. From this moment now I am part of the history of this great football club."
Irish Examiner
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Mohamed Salah: a bridge between worlds in Liverpool
There are occasional sightings of him around the city. A face is glimpsed; perhaps climbing out of a car, perhaps stepping into a mosque. A phone is surreptitiously brandished. The rumour spreads like fire. Pretty quickly these sightings take on the status of urban myths; brief brushes with the divine. There was the time he was at a petrol station and decided to pay for everyone's fuel. There was the kid who chased after his car, went smack into a lamppost and now boasts a photograph of himself with a lavishly bloodied nose, and Mohamed Salah's arm tenderly clasped around his shoulder. A few weeks ago, with that new contract still unsigned, a rumour spread around the city that Salah was out at the docks filming content for the club's media channels. Invariably by the time the crowds arrived he was gone. For the people of Liverpool, their greatest footballer is someone really only seen in snatches: a blur, a whisper, a trick of the light. And if this is partly the nature of celebrity, then it is worth pointing out that this is also how a lot of Premier League defences have been experiencing Salah this season. The goals; the awards; the whirring legs and (once) billowing hair; the Premier League title he won and the second he is about to add to his collection; the eight years he has spent making this city his home; the two more for which he has just signed. All of this goes part of the way to explaining the intensely personal appeal Salah seems to inspire. But there is another, more indefinable, quality there too. Perhaps it is the difference between acclaim and adoration, between fandom and devotion, between an alignment of sporting interests and an alignment of something more meaningful. 'I'll never get to interview Salah,' says Neil Atkinson, the writer and host of the Anfield Wrap podcast. 'But there's one thing I would love to know. The first time he stands in front of an end going absolutely insane is the Manchester City goal in 2018, away in the Champions League. And Salah just stands there and watches it. Absorbs it. He manages to create a real sense of kinship with the moment. 'He doesn't perform for it. He doesn't dance for it. He looks it in the eye. It's almost like he's watching it from space. I think it's a key part of him and his mystique. [Ian] Rush runs away. [Alan] Shearer's got his arms aloft. Salah wants to look at you. And the thing I'd like to ask him is: what does he see?' Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates at the final whistle against Leicester. Pic: Mike Egerton/PA Wire. The idea of Salah and Liverpool bound to each other, each looking out for the other, is perhaps one that speaks to the city's broader mythology. It was telling that when Salah signed his new contract this month, one of the reasons he gave was not just the club but the city itself: the warmth of its people, the welcome it gave his family. 'My kids are scousers now,' he joked in a recent interview. 'You've got to try and understand what Liverpool is about,' says Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool city region. 'It's not the same as every other city. It's a place with very close bonds, and when someone like Mo is taken to the heart of the city – beyond football – that really resonates. Unless you have that alignment of values, you're never going to connect with the masses who follow Liverpool.' As to what exactly those values are, the Al-Rahma mosque in Toxteth offers a few answers. It's lunchtime when the Guardian visits, a coffin is sitting in the back office, and as we are met by Dr Badr Abdullah, chair of the Liverpool Muslim Society, the hall is slowly filling for Friday prayers. It's the biggest mosque in the city, hosting up to 15,000 on its busiest days such as Eid, and has received a number of illustrious guests. Sadio Mané once came and cleaned the toilets. When Paris Saint-Germain visited Anfield recently, their president, Nasser al-Khelaifi, arrived to pray, slipping in and out largely unnoticed. But as with any big mosque, Al-Rahma's function goes well beyond a prayer space. 'Muslim communities in the UK offer a lot of services that are not provided by the state,' says Abdullah. 'We've got a bistro and cafe. We provide funerals, education, activities. If people are in financial difficulty, we can help them. If people are vulnerable or coming out of prison, we welcome them. We have issues as a city with knives and drugs, and we do our best to attract kids off the street into something more meaningful.' And for a lot of those young people, Salah is not simply a role model, not simply a flickering figure on a phone screen, but a bridge between worlds. 'Kids in school with Muslim names used to be teased or harassed if they wanted to pray or fast,' says Abdullah. 'Mohamed Salah has made this acceptable. Because he's like us. He prays like us, he practises, he fasts. He does the sujud after scoring. The scousers love him. And he's not just a brilliant footballer, he's of good character. He's a nice person. To combine all these things, when all the noise is about Muslims and terrorism, is very powerful.' Liverpool's Luis Diaz celebrates with Mohamed Salah and Curtis Jones. In about 2018, when Salah played in his first Champions League final, there were a lot of articles and features about the Salah effect: how his signing had led to a drop in hate crimes and Islamophobia, how his presence had generated lasting cohesion in the city. Perhaps, in hindsight, this was a little overdone. Some within the Salah camp certainly thought so. And in the current climate, with memories fresh of last summer's race riots that began up the road in Southport, it is worth asking whether it is really fair to burden one individual with that level of social responsibility. But if Salah is not actively political, then somehow he's not an entirely apolitical figure either. Simply by being, by standing his ground, by bending the knee to nobody, by being charitable and funny and good at football, Salah can serve as a kind of exemplar to others. 'He shows that there's more that unites us than divides us,' Rotheram argues. 'He breaks down barriers and myths that parties like Reform capitalise on. He's single-handedly done more for his community than any politician or government could. That's what his legacy will be. 'I love that he puts a picture up with the Christmas tree every year,' says Atkinson. 'He loves it, and he loves the grief. Isn't that just dead interesting?' By any measure, Salah is one of the most important footballers in the history of Liverpool the club, and so by extension one of the most important people in the history of Liverpool the city. And yet this is a relationship with few physical foci. John Moores has his university. The Beatles have their museum. Cilla Black has her statue. What will be Salah's mark on this place? Where will future generations gather to hear tales of his daring, his ambition, his medals, that time he scored the really good goal against Watford? Rotheram is coy on whether Salah currently qualifies for the statue treatment. 'I work with Liverpool city council, and it's likely to fall within their remit,' he says. 'But of course we look at where people have gone that extra yard and put something back into the community.' Besides, he has the more pressing matter of a trophy parade to organise. And so for now you will simply have to see Salah in the flesh. Two more years in the bank; one more point to clinch the title. An open green pasture, a leaky defence and another chance to write his name into the history books. Tickets for Sunday's game against Spurs have been selling for four-figure sums on the black market. Same as it ever was: if you want to catch Mo Salah, you need to have a pretty good idea of where to look. Guardian
Irish Times
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool's greatest player: an elusive city presence – a blur, whisper, even trick of the light
There are occasional sightings of him around the city. A face is glimpsed; perhaps climbing out of a car, perhaps stepping into a mosque. A phone is surreptitiously brandished. The rumour spreads like fire. Pretty quickly these sightings take on the status of urban myth; brief brushes with the divine. There was the time he was at a petrol station and decided to pay for everyone's fuel. There was the child who chased after his car, went smack into a lamp-post and now boasts a photograph of himself with a lavishly bloodied nose, and Mohamed Salah 's arm tenderly clasped around his shoulder. A few weeks ago, with that new contract still unsigned, a rumour spread around the city that Salah was out at the docks filming content for the club's media channels. Invariably by the time the crowds arrived, he was gone. For the people of Liverpool , their greatest footballer is someone really only seen in snatches: a blur, a whisper, a trick of the light. And if this is partly the nature of celebrity, then it is worth pointing out that this is also how a lot of Premier League defences have been experiencing Salah this season. The goals, awards, whirring legs and (once) billowing hair; the Premier League title he won and the second he is about to add to his collection; the eight years he has spent making this city his home – the two more for which he has just signed. All of this goes part of the way to explaining the intensely personal appeal Salah seems to inspire. But there is another, more indefinable, quality there too. Perhaps it is the difference between acclaim and adoration, between fandom and devotion, between an alignment of sporting interests and an alignment of something more meaningful. READ MORE 'I'll never get to interview Salah,' says Neil Atkinson, the writer and host of the Anfield Wrap podcast. 'But there's one thing I would love to know. The first time he stands in front of an end going absolutely insane is the Manchester City goal in 2018, away in the Champions League. And Salah just stands there and watches it. Absorbs it. He manages to create a real sense of kinship with the moment. 'He doesn't perform for it. He doesn't dance for it. He looks it in the eye. It's almost like he's watching it from space. I think it's a key part of him and his mystique. [Ian] Rush runs away. [Alan] Shearer's got his arms aloft. Salah wants to look at you. And the thing I'd like to ask him is: 'what does he see'?' Mohamed Salah after scoring his side's first goal during the Champions League quarter–final second leg match against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in 2018. Photograph:The idea of Salah and Liverpool bound to each other, each looking out for the other, is perhaps one that speaks to the city's broader mythology. It was telling that when Salah signed his new contract this month, one of the reasons he gave was not just the club but the city itself: the warmth of its people, the welcome it gave his family. 'My kids are scousers now,' he joked in a recent interview. 'You've got to try and understand what Liverpool is about,' says Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool city region. 'It's not the same as every other city. It's a place with very close bonds, and when someone like Mo is taken to the heart of the city – beyond football – that really resonates. Unless you have that alignment of values, you're never going to connect with the masses who follow Liverpool.' As to what exactly those values are, the Al-Rahma mosque in Toxteth offers a few answers. It's lunchtime when we visit, a coffin is sitting in the back office, and as we are met by Badr Abdullah, chairman of the Liverpool Muslim Society, the hall is slowly filling for Friday prayers. It's the biggest mosque in the city, hosting up to 15,000 on its busiest days, such as Eid, and has received several illustrious guests. Sadio Mané once came and cleaned the toilets. When Paris Saint-Germain visited Anfield recently, their president, Nasser al-Khelaifi, arrived to pray, slipping in and out largely unnoticed. But as with any big mosque, Al-Rahma's function goes well beyond a prayer space. 'Muslim communities in the UK offer a lot of services that are not provided by the state,' says Abdullah. 'We've got a bistro and cafe. We provide funerals, education, activities. If people are in financial difficulty, we can help them ... and we do our best to attract kids off the street into something more meaningful.' And for a lot of those young people, Salah is not simply a role model, not simply a flickering figure on a phone screen, but a bridge between worlds. 'Kids in school with Muslim names used to be teased or harassed if they wanted to pray or fast,' says Abdullah. 'Mohamed Salah has made this acceptable. Because he's like us. He prays like us, he practises, he fasts. He does the sujud after scoring. The Scousers love him. And he's not just a brilliant footballer, he's of good character. He's a nice person. To combine all these things, when all the noise is about Muslims and terrorism, is very powerful.' If Mohamed Salah is not actively political, then somehow he's not an entirely apolitical figure either. Photograph:In about 2018, when Salah played in his first Champions League final, there were a lot of articles and features about the Salah effect: how his signing had led to a drop in hate crimes and Islamophobia, how his presence had generated lasting cohesion in the city. Perhaps, in hindsight, this was a little overdone. Some within the Salah camp certainly thought so. And in the current climate, with memories fresh of last summer's race riots that began up the road in Southport, it is worth asking whether it is fair to burden one individual with that level of social responsibility. But if Salah is not actively political, then somehow he's not an entirely apolitical figure either. Simply by being, by standing his ground, by bending the knee to nobody, by being charitable and funny and good at football, Salah can serve as a kind of exemplar to others. 'He shows that there's more that unites us than divides us,' says Rotheram. 'He breaks down barriers and myths that parties like Reform capitalise on. He's single-handedly done more for his community than any politician or government could. That's what his legacy will be.' 'I love that he puts a picture up with the Christmas tree every year,' says Atkinson. 'He loves it, and he loves the grief. Isn't that just dead interesting?' What will Mohamed Salah's mark be on the city of Liverpool? Photograph: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images By any measure, Salah is one of the most important footballers in the history of Liverpool the club, and so by extension one of the most important people in the history of Liverpool the city. And yet this is a relationship with few physical foci. John Moores has his university. The Beatles have their museum. Cilla Black has her statue. What will be Salah's mark on this place? Where will future generations gather to hear tales of his daring, his ambition, his medals, that time he scored the really good goal against Watford? Rotheram is coy on whether Salah qualifies for the statue treatment. 'I work with Liverpool city council, and it's likely to fall within their remit,' he says. 'But of course, we look at where people have gone that extra yard and put something back into the community.' Besides, he has the more pressing matter of a trophy parade to organise. And so, for now, you will simply have to see Salah in the flesh. Two more years in the bank; one more point to clinch the title. An open green pasture, a leaky defence and another chance to write his name into the history books. Tickets for Sunday's game against Spurs have been selling for four-figure sums on the black market. Same as it ever was: if you want to catch Mo Salah, you need to have a pretty good idea of where to look. – Guardian
