They came, they conquered

From a couple of fans falling into a small pond while trying to get a glimpse of their favourite players to a girl student holding up a sign proposing marriage, English Premier League club Liverpool rounded off their colourful stay in Bangkok with an entertaining match yesterday.

The Merseyside club were the third English team after Manchester United and Chelsea to visit the country during an unprecedented football fiesta in which the country is enjoying the opportunity to host four of Europe’s most famous clubs in a span of little over a month. A Lionel Messi-led Barcelona side will be the last to stop by the capital early next month.

It was also the first time that England’s two most successful clubs, Man United and Liverpool, made the trip to the country, where the two sides commanded large fan bases, in the same year. Despite the Merseyside club staying roughly a day more than their bitter rivals United in Thailand, the feeling between the two teams’ supporters could not have been more different.

While the Old Trafford outfit arrived in the country with a squad shorn of several of their star players including Dutch hitman Robin Van Persie, the Kop indulged in the opportunity to welcome the five-time European champions Liverpool, who came with a glittering list of players led by captain Steven Gerrard.

United fans also had to contend with limited opportunities to watch the Red Devils’ players, who were barely seen outside the team hotel. The Manchester team did have events outside during their three-day stay in the capital but the supporters met only the EPL champions’ former players like Andy Cole or his strike partner Dwight Yorke rather than any member of the current roster.

On the contrary, the Liverpool followers found the accessibility to the Reds players far easier given a host of activities they had during the club’s first visit to the country since 2009. In fact, there were so many events each day since the team’s arrival in the evening last Thursday that caused headache to the local media in trying to cover them all.

Despite the fact that Liverpool fixture had the poorest publicity of the four glamour games the country hosts, it did not dampen the interest of the fans on the Reds visit. The passion the Kop showed, indeed, was the equal of anyone. 

The sight of Reds manager Brendan Rodgers and England international Gerrard sparked a scramble at Siriraj Hospital where the pair visited to pay respects to Their Majesties the King and Queen on Friday, causing two fans to stumble into a small pond. A girl student was also spotted holding up a sign asking Reds fullback Martin Kelly to marry her.

For a big group of the Kop, standing for nearly a day at the hotel lobby on the eve of the match to see their Reds heroes, the wait was well worth it. Gerrard gave them a big treat by staging an impromptu signing session for more than an hour after returning from a long day of training and commercial duties. He went back to his room to an ovation from the appreciative crowd.

Rodgers, himself, made a similar impression. After finishing an open training session at Rajamangala National stadium, the Reds boss walked towards the cheering fans on his way back to the dressing room before throwing his white jacket to the stands. 

Liverpool’s return to the country this time, though, had a sense of deja vu as the Anfield outfit arrived amid frenzied discussions over the future of Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez. The scenario was similar to the last time they visited the country four years ago when Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso was also the subject of intense transfer speculation back then before he did move to Spanish giants Real Madrid. 

In the case of tempestuous striker Suarez, the second highest scorer behind Van Persie in the Premier League last season with 23 goals, many Liverpool fans simply made the same plea they did with Alonso as they did not want to lose the club’s coveted asset. 

“I hoped Suarez would stay because he is a striker with great ability. If he leaves the club, it would have an impact on the team’s overall performance,” said a 31-year-old woman, Nichapa Srimek, who has been supporting the team for eight years.

The highlight, of course, was the exhibition against Thailand as a huge swarm of red-clad fans flocked into the venue, savouring the moments of watching their heroes in action.