Liverpool have had both exhilarating as well as tumultuous moments over the decade that just went by. From high court rulings, match fixing accusations to their rise under Jurgen Klopp, let’s go over some of the biggest news stories surrounding Liverpool during the 2010s.
Signing up of Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez came on board Liverpool in January 2011, with a price tag of £ 22.8 million. It was a great acquisition for the Reds as he emerged to be simply incredible for the team. His arrival happened alongside Andy Carroll, precisely on the same day when Fernando Torres moved to Chelsea.
Suarez proved to be quite a handful on the pitch, and inspired the Reds to get very close to the title in 2013-14, agonisingly falling two points short in the end. That season he set up 17 goals and scored 31 himself in the 33 top-flight games he played for the Reds. The Uruguayan talent was crowned with Barclays Fans’ Player of the Year, Football Writers’ Player of the Year and PFA Player of the Year awards.
The former number 7 of Liverpool was always electric on the pitch and finished his stint with the Reds having played 133 games, setting up 47 goals and scoring 82 himself. Although he parted ways on a slightly sour note, Suarez undoubtedly transformed Liverpool, and is still widely accepted as amongst the best players that the club had in the past decade.
Matchfixing Scandal
It came as a big jolt to Liverpool when the team found itself in the news for all the wrong reasons in February 2013. A 2009 Champions League match involving the Reds and the Hungarian team Debrecen VSC became the centre of the biggest-ever match fixing scandal to hit European football. Liverpool had won that game with a margin of 1-0, and were told that they weren’t under any kind of suspicion. But just being a part of controversy like that jolted the team as well as their fans.
Throwing light on how that football match was fixed, reports stated that Vukasin Poleksic, the goalkeeper for Debrecen had allegedly received a payment to ensure more than two goals in that match. He palmed a shot taken by Fernando Torres, sending the ball to Dirk Kuyt, who then hit the winning goal. Later on it was found that a crime syndicate based out of Singapore had paid lots of money to fix top-level football games, including the World Cup qualifying matches.
Arrival of Jurgen Klopp
World Champions, European Champions and the almost winners of 2019-20 Premier League season. No one thought all of it would be possible for Liverpool one day. Nevertheless, it started with the signing of Jurgen Klopp on October 8, 2015. His coming on board changed the club from inside out, making them the dominant force that they are today.
The team had already experienced certain changes with Rogers and Roy Hodgson, with the former even proving his worth, however falling short of the required level. But the passion with which the German led the club played a key role in returning Liverpool to its deserved position in the football world.
