News of skipper's acquittal in Liverpool court is greeted with delight at Kallang
NEWS of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard being cleared of fighting in public broke at the National Stadium at about 7pm on Friday, sending one section of the 5,000 fans watching the Reds training wild.
The Profitable Group, organisers of "The Kop Comes To Asia" Tour, could not confirm if the 29-year-old would fly out here to join the rest of his team-mates, but local Reds fans were over the moon at the news.
Said Profitable Group's commercial director, Steve McMahon: "We still don't know if Gerrard is coming out here to join the team for Sunday's game. We don't know what the team have decided, but it's not my call, it's the manager's call."
Liverpool take on Singapore in a friendly match at the National Stadium on Sunday and the English press said it was unlikely Gerrard would join up with the team here.
A Liverpool fan for 35 years, Vijay Visvalingam, believes he was the first in the stadium to hear the news, and is just glad the whole saga can now be put to rest.
"I got a text message from my friend just as the team was coming onto the field, and I shouted it out to everyone around me, and they all just went crazy," said the 44-year-old.
"I was upset at Gerrard for even getting into this situation, but I'm glad that it's over. I'll be happy if he comes out here to play, of course, but I'm more glad that he's cleared for next season," added the man who has a tattoo of the Liverbird sprawled across his back, along with the names and dates of every major trophy the club have won.
Said Gavin Perreira, 31: "It'll be good if he comes here, but we'll all understand if he decides to stay in England to recuperate."
One section of the fans at the stadium did not hear of the news till later, they were only focused on trying to convince another member of the Liverpool first XI to stay at the club. Each wearing a white t-shirt with one letter on it, the group of 21 stood in a line to spell out "Xabi por favor no te vayas". Translated from Spanish to English it read, "Xabi please don't go".
Liverpool's midfield star Xabi Alonso has been linked to Real Madrid, but fans are crossing their fingers that the classy midfielder will stay.
"When the team was jogging around the pitch, Xabi saw us, slowed down and acknowledged us," said Desmond Fu, a member of the Liverpool FC Fan Club (Singapore) who masterminded the act. "Let's hope this plays a part in his staying."
Alonso and Javier Mascherano - another who is rumoured to be unhappy at Anfield and looking to move to Barcelona - looked like they were enjoying the light training session, giving nothing away.
"Xabi is a very valuable player, one of the most consistent, his loss will weaken the team, but not too seriously," said 49-year-old Abdul Nasser.
The Singapore v Liverpool match on Sunday will be shown live on MediaCorp TV Channel 5.