It seems both unbelievable, and at the same time fitting, that a kid who kicked a football about in the shadow of the Liverpool training ground is about to write major history with the club.
As a child Trent Alexander-Arnold lived closed to Melwood, the famous Reds training complex, and would watch the stars in their big cars drive by past his front door. Now he is one of those stars, and incredibly, at the tender age of just 23, he will compete in his THIRD Champions League final for the club he supported as a boy.
Let that sink in for a second. Three finals at that age - younger than Paolo Maldini in his first final, younger than Real Madrid legend Raul, younger than Raphael Varane - to make him the youngest ever to do that in the history of the competition. It is remarkable for an unassuming lad, ‘The Scouser in the Team’, as the Kop adoringly sing, and he admits it is humbling for him.
“I mean, it is incredible, to be playing in my third final, and having the chance to win the competition for a second time at this age. It is so special,” he said. “I feel privileged to be in this position. When you think so many world-class players, great players haven’t played in one final, it makes you realise how privileged you are. I’m just happy to be part of it, and to have this honour.”
It is exciting, perhaps slightly scary too. The biggest game of his life so far, with an incredible team, against European royalty. Two behemoths of world football in perhaps the final the entire globe wants to see. For Alexander-Arnold, there is no point pretending anything other than it’s a huge, huge game: “I think you can try your best to say it’s just another game but everything is different around it.
“The press conferences, the media days, training on the pitch, stuff like that we don’t do regularly. So it’s massive and different, but we embrace these occasions. It’s what you work so hard behind the scenes for, these are occasions you want to be part of, and we are excited by that.”
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Alexander-Arnold knows these are the games where legends are born. And that allowed him to suggest, when asked in the press conference before the final, that it makes it even bigger than the games this season against Manchester City.
“Look City is massive, they pose a different threat, and it was hard to take missing out on the title like that, but this is the Champions League final, in Paris at an amazing venue, in the best club competition in the world. So yeah, this is the biggest.”
The game could well come down to the contest between the young Scouser and his even younger opponent, the 21-year-old Vinicius Junior. But while Alexander-Arnold is relishing that battle, he says they will defend the frightening winger as a team. “Absolutely I am looking forward to it,” he said.
“When you are playing against Madrid you expect to be playing against world-class players, every single one of us will, and there will be battles all over the pitch. We have game plans to deal with Madrid, not just one player. Vinicius has shown this season with the goals and assists what a threat he is, and there’s a job to do with individual battles, but we go out there as a group to defend, it’s a team game.”
