The word ‘legend’ is often overused in sport, but there can be no denying that Liverpool Football Club boasts a plethora of bonafide club legends from right across its 130-year history.
Some are the greatest players Kopites have ever seen kick a ball. Liddell, Dalglish, Gerrard, Salah. Others are remembered forever thanks to famous songs or banners, such as Steve Heighway on the wing or how Joey (Jones) ate the frogs legs and made the swiss roll.
And some secured their names in the Anfield annals courtesy of scoring the most iconic of goals at the most needed of times. Gary McAllister, Luis Garcia and Gini Wijnaldum are three recent examples, thanks to a late Goodison winner and treble-clinching heroics, the 2005 ‘ghost goal’ against Chelsea and a 2019 Barcelona brace.
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But even now, four decades on from their own respective Reds exits, the likes of David Fairclough and Alan Kennedy will never be forgotten as tales of their own legacies against Saint-Etienne, Real Madrid and AS Roma continue to be passed down from generation to generation.
Divock Origi falls into this last category. And doesn’t Jurgen Klopp know it.
Memorably scolding one journalist in November 2019, the German memorably said: “Divock Origi… Liverpool legend, by the way. Pretty famous here.”
The Belgian looks set to leave Liverpool this summer when his contract expires, and, having ultimately never been more than a rotation option at Anfield, has reportedly agreed personal terms with AC Milan regarding a Bosman transfer.
On paper, his record of 41 goals from 175 games across seven seasons on Merseyside hardly screams ‘legend’. Yet make no mistake, the 27-year-old will forever be remembered as one of the Reds’ most iconic ever players.
For, despite his limited game-time over the years, he boasts a virtually unrivalled back-catalogue of some of Liverpool’s most famous modern moments.
The man who broke Barcelona, he will forever be associated with three short words, ‘corner taken quickly’, with that brace against the Catalans arguably his finest hour at Anfield. That one moment is enough to earn him legend status in the hearts of Kopites alone, but the fact he followed it up by scoring in the final against Tottenham Hotspur makes it all the more iconic.
Yett it is just the sweetest of cherries on top of the tastiest of cakes.
From his two goals in the rollercoaster 5-4 Europa League quarter-final aggregate win over Borussia Dortmund back in April 2016 to his record of six goals from six Anfield appearances against local-rivals Everton, varying from last-gasp winners to centre-stage in memorable thrashings, he has always been a man for the big occasion.
The list goes on. A strike in a thrashing of West Ham United in May 2017 to help the Reds march to a top four finish for the first time under Klopp, a late winner over Newcastle United in May 2019 to keep Premier League title hopes alive, and book-ending strikes against Norwich City and the Magpies at the start and of the 2019/20 title-winning campaign.
Even some of his less-esteemed moments are memorable, such as opening his account for the club with a hat-trick against Southampton in December 2015, before prompting the Kop-saluting scenes from Klopp and his players when netting a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion later that month.
And if Liverpool are to topple Man City and win the Premier League title this Sunday, how vital will the Belgian’s last-gasp winner away at Wolves in December 2021 prove to be looking back?
Considering so many of these moments came at a time when the striker had been written off and previously looked set to depart the club just makes his Anfield career all the more remarkable. The filmmaker’s footballer, If there was a story to tell, Origi was there to shape the narrative.
Yet all good things must come to an end and it appears there will be no Anfield revival for the striker this time around. He is about to call time on his Liverpool career once and for all.
Of course, there could be room for one or two more twists and turns and the most memorable of encores as the Reds continue to chase an unprecedented quadruple. Having played his part in the early rounds of the club’s League Cup and FA Cup wins this season, you wouldn’t bank against him now having a say against Wolves as the title-race goes down to the final day, or stepping up in the Champions League final against Real Madrid on May 28. After all, he has done both before.
He was serenaded when introduced as a substitute against Southampton on Tuesday night and, regardless of what sort of roles lies in wait for him against Wolves, will be granted the warmest of receptions from his most adoring Anfield crowd on Sunday.
By doing so, he’ll achieve something that a number of his team-mates have been denied when departing the Reds in recent years. Origi won’t be the first Liverpool player to leave at the end of his contract under Klopp with the likes of Emre Can, Daniel Sturridge, Adam Lallana and Gini Wijnaldum all loyally playing their part until their deals expired during the Reds’ rise under their German boss. But none have been granted a true farewell.
Can was introduced late on for the showpiece final, knowing full well it was his farewell appearance, but injury had denied him both a proper Anfield send-off and Kiev contribution in the weeks before. Meanwhile, Sturridge and Alberto Moreno were left sitting unused as the Reds won the Champions League against Tottenham 12 months later.
Having last featured the previous month against Barcelona and back in January against Wolves respectively, it had swiftly become clear the offer of new contracts would not be on the table as they ended up moving on to Trabzonspor and Villarreal. But at least the aforementioned players were granted their final appearances in front of fans, which is more than can be said for the last two years’ departees.
Following football’s suspension in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Adam Lallana saw his expired contract extended until the end of the delayed season but, knowing full well he would be leaving the club for Brighton, was only named in a matchday squad for Liverpool’s 5-3 victory over Chelsea for the night they got their hands on the Premier League trophy. Instead, his final appearance had come in front of fans against Bournemouth back in March 2020 in the Reds’ final league match before the Premier League was postponed. But coming on as a late substitute, there was no way of knowing it would be his final outing for the club.
He still managed better than Nathaniel Clyne, however. Injury sidelined the defender for the majority of the 2019/20 season, he left Liverpool when his original contract ended in June 2020 with his final appearance for the Reds coming 18 months earlier in a 5-1 victory over Arsenal.
At least for Wijnaldum, fans were present to see what is his final appearance for the club. Yet the Dutchman’s last outing came in front of a reduced 10,000 crowd as he captained the side to a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace as the Reds’ clinched a top four finish in May 2021.
Now it is time for Origi to depart, with his Anfield finale coming in front of a sell-out crowd on a day where the title will be decided. The cult hero’s cult hero after the most iconic of Liverpool careers, Reds fans will inevitably hope he has one final say in this most memorable of seasons.
But however his Liverpool career comes to a conclusion, be it that outing at Southampton being a premature finale or if he has one last encore to come, he has more than earned Anfield’s thanks and Reds legendary status.
Liddell, Dalglish, Gerrard, Salah. These names will never die. But let Kopites say, I lived in the time of Origi.
