Latest news with #TheAnfieldWrap
Yahoo
27-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Andy Robertson Responds to Liverpool Vice-Captain Rumours
Robertson, Rumour and Role: Shadows of Leadership at Liverpool In the humidity of Hong Kong's neon sky, Liverpool drifted through a pre-season spell that felt less like football and more like theatre. Against AC Milan, the match played out with a rhythm that twisted between purpose and mystery, leaving supporters with more questions than answers. Among them, one hums the loudest through the corridors of Anfield: who will become vice-captain now that Trent Alexander-Arnold has departed for Madrid's marble halls? This isn't a straightforward football tale. It's textured, laden with quiet glances and unspoken conversations. In the stillness following the Reds' defeat, a whisper took form — Andy Robertson. The Scotland captain, known for his relentless energy and razor-sharp edge down the left, was rumoured to be next in line. Photo: IMAGO Robertson Reacts in Shadows After the game, Robertson was asked directly about the role. The Scot responded, but it wasn't quite an answer, more of a laugh echoing through red mist. 'I've seen rumours, I've had texts and I've had people congratulating me, but I've not heard anything!' Robertson told The Anfield Wrap, a grin tugging at the corner of his words. 'We're obviously part of the leadership group, me, Mo [Salah], Ali [Alisson] and obviously Virgil being captain. The manager's not spoken to any of us yet, obviously we've lost Trent as vice captain so that role is available. But we do what we do, the four of us are a good tight-knit group.' It sounds casual. But listen closely, and there's something else beneath it. Something unsaid. Like an answer that's already written but waiting for the right time to be spoken aloud. Slot's Silence and the Decision Already Made Behind the curtain, Arne Slot already knows the name. Liverpool's head coach confirmed the decision exists. But like a magician holding a card behind his back, he refused to show it. 'It is probably already decided but I'm not telling it here yet who will be the new vice-captain,' Slot revealed after the match. 'But it's clear we have more than a few that can take that role.' Slot, who led Liverpool to Premier League glory in his very first season, operates not just with tactical brilliance but a sort of mysticism. He sees leadership not as a badge but a presence, a force humming through the training ground and dressing room alike. Leadership Beyond the Armband At Liverpool, vice-captaincy isn't only about titles. It's in gestures, eye contact, the silence before the storm. Robertson, Alisson, Salah — these figures move with gravity. Virgil van Dijk may wear the captain's armband, but the soul of leadership is diffused, like the red lights of Anfield spilling into fog. As rumours ripple and the truth waits, Liverpool prepare for what's next. The Premier League beckons again. The ghost of what was and the shape of what's coming both linger at Melwood, now under Slot's calm, cryptic command. Whether Robertson steps forward or remains part of the chorus, the play goes on. And Liverpool, under Slot's gaze, keep walking that line between clarity and dream.
Daily Mirror
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Virgil van Dijk can't help but laugh as he ridicules his best friend in Liverpool training
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are known to be good friends at the club, but that didn't prevent the Dutch star from brutually mocking his team-mate recently Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez may be close friends but that didn't stop the Dutchman from ridiculing his fellow defender during a tricky training exercise. Van Dijk and Gomez once forged a formidable partnership in the heart of Liverpool's defence as the Reds won the title under Jurgen Klopp in 2020. Injuries, and the arrival of Ibrahima Konate in 2021, have somewhat blighted Gomez's progress over the last few seasons. However Gomez, who has been linked with an exit as Liverpool continue to seek defensive reinforcements, is now Liverpool's longest serving player, having joined in 2015, as well as a senior and trusted member of the squad. Yet that didn't prevent his captain from mercilessly trolling him during an activity where, in partners, one holds and drops a stick while the other is forced to catch it in mid air. In the video released by Liverpool this week, Gomez is seen struggling to grab the stick forcing Van Dijk to mock his friend, who ultimately informs him that: "This is on camera by the way". An exasperated-looking Gomez eventually catches the stick, and then tries to catch out the Liverpool captain with the same trick. However, a consummate professional as ever, Van Dijk catches the baton every time, denying Gomez the chance to reciprocate the savage ribbing he had just received. The clip is further evidence of just how close the Liverpool duo are. In 2024, Van Dijk went on record to explain his friendship with the England star. "I think the closest I am at the moment is Joe Gomez," he said. "We've been through everything together here at the club, highs and lows and you know we are very close to each other." Gomez has also spoken on Van Dijk's influence since the Dutch star took the captain's armband in the summer of 2023. "I'm incredibly happy for him," Gomez told The Anfield Wrap in 2024. "I can't put it into words. I know what it means for him, and I really get to see the inside and how things sometimes are tough. "The little things that people might not see in a training ground when you need to make decisions or enforce moments when it's like, 'Lads, we need to be better at this' or it might be timekeeping, it might be different things that you don't want to slip out of place. "Virg has done it in his own way, and it's made him even more appreciated amongst us as a team. His ability speaks for itself; he's the best at what he does, he's the best in the world and probably the best the club has ever had in that position." Gomez almost left the club last summer. He was left out of Arne Slot's squad at the start of the season amid the uncertainty about his future and had to wait until the end of September to make his first Premier League appearance of the campaign. The 28-year-old started 11 of his 17 appearances, with nine in the league. However, bad luck hit Gomez again as a hamstring injury ruled him out for the majority of the second half of the Reds' Premier League winning campaign.
BBC News
03-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'A pair full of vitality, full of celebratory spirit - just gone'
Neil Atkinson of The Anfield Wrap has put his thoughts out in the aftermath of the passing of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre:The news of the death of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva is devastating.I'm sure every Liverpool supporter, every Penafiel supporter, and every Portugal supporter is Diogo Jota is the one full of instinct and indefatigable spirit; the one scoring a brace against Arsenal or sticking up for us in scoring the winning penalty in the shootout against Leicester. I am sure that is a massive part of his essence, but it is such a long way from the whole of the man who got married last week and called himself "the lucky one" when he did in the midst of that first sentence, is the primary reason for grief today - a family has lost two brothers in one tragic incident. Not one footballer but two brothers, two sons. A pair full of vitality, full of celebratory spirit after Diogo's wedding last week, and now just gone, lost in a WhatsApp groups I am in are mourning a young father, not a player who has won every domestic honour with should just be about that, about that family, the wider families impacted at Liverpool FC and Penafiel, and their friends and loved love footballers; collective shared love is the greatest gift of the game and those explosions of joy create bonds which last lifetimes between us on the stands and in supporter clubs, and between us and them on the the image of him from the final day of last season, his young family and the trophy he worked towards is a reminder that whole families feel as though they collaborate in this thing of starkest grief though is theirs. The loss is theirs. The burden is theirs. We can pay tribute and remember and we should, but all of that can wait. Today is about their devastation; our shock is nothing to will not be putting anything out today on The Anfield Wrap. We'll pay tribute to the footballer and the person we saw through the prism of football in the days to and look after your loved ones; families, colleagues, friends; the people in the WhatsApp groups. Reminders of how brittle the whole thing is hit hard and all we can do is look after one my love.
Sky News
28-05-2025
- General
- Sky News
'The community has stood strong': How Liverpool is trying to heal from trauma at trophy parade
The memorabilia that marks a milestone title - No 20 - is still being snapped up two days on from the Premier League trophy parade. Water Street, where a vehicle struck crowds gathered to celebrate their team's success, was open again today - cleared the detritus of the horror, and the bottles of beer were abandoned in an instant. But Liverpool fans are asking whether a day filled with so much joy can be reclaimed for the euphoria, after scenes of such devastation. "The incident itself, it's obviously ended up very much marring the memory of what should have been a great day," said Neil Atkinson, host of The Anfield Wrap podcast. "There are a lot of different lived realities at once. Those right by the event obviously have theirs. "But as that sort of spreads out, everyone's in a bit of a different place. "So I think in the fullness of time - if everyone involved makes a full recovery, insofar as that's possible because there are other types of scar and not just physical - then I think that people can remember it as a positive occasion." Liverpool has dealt with trauma before at Hillsborough and beyond, when institutions have endangered and failed fans. This feels harder to comprehend - the shock - why the vehicle was driven through a crowd enjoying the most uplifting of days. Shortly before, the Strand nearby had been cloaked in a haze of red smoke that had followed the buses through the 10-mile parade, You'll Never Walk Alone booming out. The song is more than an anthem; it is woven into the club's identity, embodying the bond between fans and the club. Here, it was the soundtrack of celebration. In moments of tragedy, it has been the hymn of resilience amid healing. "The Liverpool community has stood firm," Mr Atkinson said. "Everyone just wants to help and support, and I think the human instinct, first and foremost, when bad things, scary things happen, is that there are people who want to reach out, and I think that is a good, it's a special thing. And the Reds are feeling the outpouring of solidarity, with rivals rallying behind them from far and wide. "I love Liverpool and I think that Liverpool has something about it that's genuinely exceptional," Atkinson said. "But I also love that … I was getting messages from people who aren't even connected to the game, who see this, who want to check that I was all right.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'A club using its history' - 20 years since Istanbul and a 'full-circle moment'
"History is only the base for us, but you're not allowed to carry around your big history with you in a backpack." Jurgen Klopp's words from his unveiling as the new Liverpool manager in 2015 still resonate with me to this day. The club had just celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Reds' famous win over AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul and this weekend we celebrate the 20th anniversary. I was nine years old when Liverpool completed that miraculous comeback, but it was still a special night for me for so many reasons. The watershed moment for me had been the 2003 Worthington Cup final and being able to stick it to every Manchester United fan I went to school with. Yet fresh off the back of the heartbreak of seeing Gerard Houllier depart and Michael Owen leave for Real Madrid, I wasn't overly ready to embrace new ideas and find new love. I'd be lying if I said that the 2004-05 iteration of the Reds had completely captured my imagination. We'd gone from a Ballon d'Or winner to a couple of lads I didn't especially recognise and there wasn't tons of inspiration elsewhere around the pitch for a nine-year-old looking purely for footballing vibes at that stage. AC Milan, by contrast, had vibes and football heritage in abundance. As their superstars cut swathes through Liverpool in that first 45 minutes, the idea of yet another football heartbreak so early in my career as a supporter completely overwhelmed me to tears. My brother, who was slightly longer in the tooth, had a similar reaction. My mum tried to reassure us that all hope was not lost. 'What does she know,' we agreed… We all know what happened next. Those scenes caused my brother and I to go from despair upstairs to dancing on the dinner table. It was the greatest night of our lives to that point. Luckily for us, Liverpool have since managed to add a couple more life-affirming moments to an already-rich tapestry. The symbolism of this weekend's anniversary and being able to see the Premier League trophy lifted by our captain in the flesh will not be lost on me. A club using its history as a base but not carrying it round in their backpacks will experience yet another full circle moment. And we're never gonna stop. Find more from Josh Sexton at The Anfield Wrap
