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.