Football
Why Trent Alexander-Arnold Can't Wait to See You
To mark the return of supporters to top-flight football, the Liverpool and England dynamo features in a new animated short film about the power of fans.
If you've ever questioned the importance of fans in football, ask yourself whether Trent Alexander-Arnold's now fabled quickly taken corner for Liverpool vs Barcelona in 2019 at Anfield would have caught the opposition so off guard had they heard the ball being struck in the first place?
I miss the fans so much, it feels empty without them. Even though we know they’re watching at home, all over the world, it’s not the same. Football’s not the same.
In fact, as Trent himself reveals in ‘Can’t Wait To See You', a brilliant new animated short film marking the return of fans to top-flight football, the Ballon d'Or nominee is under no illusions how much football has changed without the fans. From what makes a stadium such a cauldron of optimism on big European nights, to his first memories under the bright lights as a supporter himself, it's a wonderfully woven tribute to the '12th man'.
Earlier this year, Trent sat down with football legend Ian Wright to chat about his extraordinary rise to Premier League and European champion with his boyhood club. As talk moved onto the global pandemic that forced football into shutdown, and subsequently games behind closed doors, the Kop's newest idol spoke passionately about the impact felt by players and teams. Here's what Trent had to say:
Trent Alexander-Arnold can't wait to see fans back in stadiums
© Chris Rathbone
Football is truly nothing without the fans
“I miss the fans so much, it feels empty without them. Even though we know they’re watching at home, all over the world, it’s not the same. Football’s not the same. There are usually tens of thousands waiting to meet the bus at Anfield — it doesn’t happen at other clubs. I don’t think there’s another club in England, let alone the world, where fans are just always there, no matter where we go."
Supporters have a bigger impact than they often realise
“I expected [playing without fans] to be like a training game and a bit weird, but it was a lot more difficult than what I thought. You don't realise how much fans can even impact game plans. After the Everton game [the first post-lockdown Merseyside derby] I remember coming off the pitch thinking that they were on top for the last 20 minutes but that they hadn’t actually pushed us that hard. Now if their fans had been there, they’d have pushed their players to keep going, which would have probably opened them up and then we could have countered – but that didn’t happen. That’s when I realised it was going to be different to what I expected.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold says Anfield has an incredible energy
© Chris Rathbone
Anfield has a spiritual feel on those big European nights
“There’s something in the stadium, I’m telling you. I don’t know, it’s [almost] spiritual, you can feel the history. There’s something within Anfield on Champions League nights, a kind of boost of some kind – belief, faith, raw emotion, passion. Everything’s just in the stadium, it feels as if everyone’s so present, there’s an energy in there and I feel it when I play."
The best games are when you can't hear your teammates
“The Barcelona comeback was obviously amazing, but the City game [beating Manchester City 3-0 at Anfield in the Champions League quarter finals in 2008] was the best atmosphere I’ve been a part of. The only negative about those nights is how you can’t speak to your centre-back! You’re screaming at the top of your lungs and they can’t hear you. You’re trying to tell them ‘watch your shoulder, someone’s peeling off you’ and you can’t hear each other. That’s the only negative, but it’s a positive really."
You never forget going watch your first game
“My first Liverpool game was the Champions League quarter finals in 2005 against Juventus. I was excited, I knew it was big, I knew that Juventus would wear black and white stripes, but I wasn’t ready for what it was going to be like. We won 2-1. Sami Hyypia scored and then Luis Garcia hit an absolute worldie out the blue - it came on the bounce to him 30 yards out and he’s absolutely whacked it past [Gianluigi] Buffon. I saw the goal! You know when a player gets near the goal and everyone stands up? No one expected [the strike] - so I saw it hit the net. Then everyone jumped up until I couldn’t see the pitch anymore."
The Anfield crowd has a huge influence on games
© Chris Rathbone
It's not just special inside the ground, but outside it too
“At that first game in 2005 I remember walking on the roads just before you get to Anfield and starting to hear the warmup music. I’m obviously small at this age, six or seven, trying to weave my way through people while holding my mum’s hand, making sure I don’t let go. While she’s dragging me through I’m trying to see the stadium and can’t see it because everyone’s towering above me. There was chanting, horses, people were walking so fast, running, it was chaos. I probably had a [Steven] Gerrard shirt on, and I definitely had a scarf. I probably would have bought a programme as well."
The Anfield crowd helps to suffocate teams
“There’s something special in the stadium, it comes from the fans and we feed off that. Especially with the way we play, if someone makes a tackle, even the manager gets excited and that makes the fans excited, it’s like a knock-on effect – if our intensity’s there then the fans’ intensity is there, and if the fans’ intensity is there then so is ours. Now [behind closed doors] we’ve had to create that atmosphere ourselves which is difficult. When teams come to Anfield we want teams to feel suffocated, like they can’t breathe and haven’t got a moment to think, that they can’t turn, they can’t pass, there’s no option. That’s the worst feeling — when you get the ball and haven’t got an option and you’re getting pressed with someone in your face and you're unable to do anything. It’s just an onslaught."
I still picture myself in the crowd during matches
"I’m still a fan. I always have been a fan and always will be. I’ll never forget walking up the stairs and getting that first glimpse of the pitch. That was the moment I knew I had to be on that pitch one day. Whenever I’m playing at Anfield, I always look up to where I used to sit and can recall exactly where I was for that first game. Even though it’s now the new stand I can point it out to about within 10 seats. The night before lifting the Premier League trophy I was sat in the living room with my mum, and we weren’t even speaking, just watching TV, and it hit me what I was about to do, and how much it meant. I got emotional."