July 26, 2016 - Anfield 4:30 p.m.
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Tristan stood at the entrance of the tunnel, just beneath the famous sign bolted into the brick above the doorway.
THIS IS ANFIELD.
He had seen it before.
Every player in Europe had.
But the last time he walked under it, he’d been wearing blue.
Leicester blue.
He had walked out of this same tunnel as the opponent before, the noise of Anfield crashing down around him while sixty thousand Liverpool supporters tried to swallow the pitch whole.
A few months ago he had loved it.
Loved the hostility. The adrenaline that came with silencing a stadium that wanted nothing more than to see you fail. He loved the rush of it, when the moment the crowd went quiet after a goal, the way victory felt even sweeter when it came at the expense of the home fans.
Even here despite knowing he would join the club in a few months. It was his competitive drive, the edge to win no matter the situation.
But today it was the opposite.
This time he didn’t want to silence them.
He couldn’t even if he tried.
There were 62,500 people inside the stadium, every seat filled. And outside the walls of Anfield, thousands more had gathered around the gates and surrounding streets just to be close to it.
No one even seemed to know the exact number anymore.
The ceremony was already being broadcast across the world, every sports channel replaying the same images, every headline calling it the largest welcome a footballer had ever received.
Bigger than Cristiano Ronaldo’s unveiling in Madrid.
He now had the biggest numbers for a farewell and a welcome ceremony. He still didn’t know how to feel about this new record he just created. But he’ll process once everything has calmed down.
Tristan exhaled slowly, calming himself waiting for the event to start.
Behind him, a familiar voice interrupted his alone time.
“Yo, Tristan.”
He turned to see the face of Jordon Henderson.
Henderson walked toward him in a dark suit, jacket unbuttoned, with the biggest smile on his face. The man looked like he was about to marry the life of his love.
The Liverpool captain stopped beside him and glanced up at the sign above the tunnel.
Then back at Tristan.
“Mate,” Henderson said, shaking his head slightly. “Smile a bit, will you?”
Tristan raised an eyebrow.
Henderson gestured toward the tunnel entrance where the roar of the crowd could be felt throughout the entire stadium.
“I know you just left Leicester,” he continued, still smiling, “but come on. Trust me on this one.”
He nudged Tristan lightly with his elbow.
“You’re gonna love Liverpool.”
Tristan let out a small breath, laughing. “You think the fans will always be this loud for me?” he asked.
Henderson laughed, turning towards the tunnel. “If you do just half of what you did in Leciester, trust me I think fans would be bowing at your feet. And you should know they started filling the stands hours ago. Half the city’s probably outside the stadium as well.”
Tristan looked back toward the strip of green barely visible at the end of the tunnel.
“Yeah,” he muttered. “I heard.”
Henderson followed his gaze for a moment.
Then he smirked. Still not as loud as when you scored and embarrassed here last season though like five times. Not a single win for us.”
That got a small laugh out of Tristan.
“Pretty sure they hated me for a while.”
“Yeah,” Henderson admitted. “They did. I think every club does with how much you score against us man.” He shrugged. “But give it about five minutes.”
Another roar rolled through the stadium above them.
Henderson glanced toward the tunnel again, his grin widening.
“Trust me,” he said. “They don’t hate you anymore, not since the rumours of you joining us.”
.
Thirty minutes later.
The roar inside Anfield hadn’t stopped once.
If anything, it had only grown louder.
From the tunnel entrance, Tristan could hear the rhythm of it clearly now.
“Tris-tan! Tris-tan!”
Over and over.
Like the entire stadium had agreed on a single word.
He stood just beyond the tunnel doors now, hidden from the pitch, waiting for the moment his name would be called.
Beside him stood the only three people he had asked to remain with him back here.
Barbara.
And his parents.
Barbara leaned lightly against the railing beside him waiting for his name to be called smiling as cameras were all around them.
“It sounds just as loud as Leciester did.” she said softly. “I didn’t think that was possible if I’m being honest.”
Tristan exhaled through his nose just remembering yesterday. He didn’t think he could ever forget it. 100,000 people saying goodbye to one person. It was a wonderful memory but a day later, he had to make new ones.
“Yeah, me too babe. This is still crazy to me.” He replied, blowing air into his fists.
Even from here they could see flashes of red across the stadium as scarves waved through the stands. He could see Klopp at the center of the stage built just for today.
Klopp stepped forward, the microphone already in his hand as he waited for the crowd to calm.
The noise inside Anfield slowly softened, though the energy never left the air. Sixty thousand people leaned forward together, the anticipation tightening across the stadium.
The Liverpool manager looked out across the sea of red, a wide grin spreading across his face.
“You know,” he began, his thick German accent rolling warmly through the speakers, “in football we talk a lot about special players.”
A ripple of cheers moved through the stands.
Klopp nodded.
“But sometimes… a player comes along who is more than just special.”
The stadium quieted further.
“A player so good we call them generational,” he continued. “Because they appear only once in a generation.”
He glanced briefly toward the tunnel behind the stage before looking back at the supporters.
“For a long time,” Klopp said, “we believed football had already reached its limits.”
The crowd stirred, already sensing where the speech was going.
“We watched two players dominate the world,” he continued. “Breaking records that seemed impossible.”
He lifted a finger.
“Goals no one believed could be scored.”
“Ninety-one goals in a single season.”
The stadium reacted instantly, murmurs turning into cheers.
Klopp chuckled softly.
“Yes… those two.”
“For many years we thought that was it,” he continued. “That nobody could ever surpass what they had done.”
He paused.
Then his grin returned.
“But football,” Klopp said, spreading his hands slightly, “always finds a way to surprise us.”
The crowd leaned in again.
“Because sometimes,” he said, “the trajectory of the game changes.”
He pointed toward the tunnel behind him.
“We thought Messi and Ronaldo had shown us the absolute limit of football.”
Another pause.
“But now we know…”
Klopp smiled wider.
“…there is a sole exception.”
The stadium exploded.
Klopp raised his hand slightly, laughing as the roar rolled through Anfield.
“So ladies and gentlemen,” he said once the noise began to settle, “please welcome the man of the hour.”
Another beat.
“The crown jewel of England.”
“The miracle of football.
“And the man who will now write the next chapter of Liverpool Football Club.”
Klopp turned toward the tunnel and pointed.
“Please welcome…”
The stadium exploded before he even finished.
“TRISTAN HALE!”
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I will be honest with you guys. This entire week, I have been debating with myself about dropping writing. After I dropped the last chapter, I wrote this chapter and stopped for a few days as I didn’t even feel like writing for some reason. I legit thought I should just stop here and just move on with my life and just focus on my work.
But I don’t know what's going on but somehow I found the strength to keep writing. I have been helping a friend write his story, coming up with ideas and editing his chapters. I had a long talk with him about writing, losing passion and just about our stories but he did bring up a good point, I have an obligation to finish this story one way or another.
Fact is, I didn’t feel like writing weather that's due to my getting tired of writing football or the situation around me, I don’t know but I do feel a lot better and confident now compared to before. But obviously I’m not back to my peak, I have to start writing daily again no matter the story which I have started again which is why this chapter is finished, lol.
And if I did drop this story, I will refund you guys for the entire month and I will make an announcement so no worries in that regard.
I will finish this story one way or another.