Die-hard fans Lee and Thamilselvan believe the title's round the corner
IT WAS back in the days of black and white television, when Simon Lee was just a little boy, that he first glimpsed Liverpool and fell in love with the club.
Now 44, names of opponents and details of the scores have dimmed, but Lee will never forget the pomp of the club and the roar of the Kop at the time, as the club lifted one trophy after another during the glory days of the 1970s and '80s. Back then, current Liverpool players like Pepe Reina and Daniel Agger were toddlers.
Among the sea of young faces, die-hards Lee and G Thamilselvan talked to the goalkeeper and defender at Carlsberg's Meet the Liverpool FC Players session at Jurong Point on Friday. Both believe that along with the likes of star striker Fernando Torres and captain Steven Gerrard, the current team under Rafa Benitez have it in them to bring back the glory days.
"I've been supporting them a long time, and they're a good football team ... they've been improving a lot and came close to the league title last season," said Lee, who was among a group of 200 lucky fans selected to meet Reina and Agger.
Thamilselvan, 34, has been a Liverpool faithful for 23 years and he said: "It was love at first sight when I saw them in 1986. They used to play a beautiful, free-passing game in the 1980s. After Brazil, they were the best team to watch. Right now, Benitez is one of the best managers in the business and while the team is not like the ones in the '80s, they're getting there and I expect them to win the title this season or the next."
Reina and Agger strolled into Jurong Point to chants of When the Reds Go Marching In from more than 600 fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the duo. The pair were at ease despite the crush, signing autographs and posing for photographs.
Reina fielded a question from a fan on whether he was confident of replacing Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas as Spain's No 1. "Of course," said the 26-year-old Spaniard, whose big aim for the upcoming season is to win the English Premiership, a trophy the club have not won since 1990.
Liverpool's four-day stay here will climax with a friendly against Singapore at the National Stadium on Sunday, and Reina predicted a narrow 1-0 win for the Reds, while Dane Agger said 2-0. An hour later, the duo marched out to the strains of the Reds' anthem and Reina said: "Thank you for coming, you'll never walk alone."
The day didn't end for Thamilselvan and his wife, Darshini, because true to die-hard form, they headed for the National Stadium, and Liverpool's training session.