We all know the chant, but in my eyes it doesn’t get sung enough. Lucas Leiva is the perfect example of what a Liverpool player is and what a Liverpool player should be.
Remember when Lucas got stick from every Liverpool fan when he first came to Liverpool and especially in the 08-09 season; ’ he’s not up to scratch’, ‘he’s too young’ and ‘he’s not good enough’ were the words coming out the majority of fans mouths , after giving him chance after chance. We were losing patience with him. Booed him off the pitch against Fulham because of his performance; surely he’s not good enough to stay?
But one man had faith in him. One man knew exactly what he was capable of and defended him to the entire media. “People just don’t know how good Lucas is” were the words that came out of Benitez’s mouth… and the man was right.
Like a brilliant professional, Lucas took every bit of criticism on the chin and used it to his advantage, improving left right and centre by every game. Slowly creeping into the first team week after week, he was certainly proving his worth. In the 09/10 season he had a running of six games starting for us as a reward for the hard work and passion he puts in week in, week out without fail in a position he isn’t used to.
When I saw Lucas wearing the captain’s armband for Liverpool against Zurich, it really filled me with pride. To think that two/three years ago he was getting rated as one of the worst players to have played for Liverpool, to now captaining one of the biggest clubs in the world in a European match, proves that this lad is worth keeping hold of as an example to the future players of Liverpool.
He is the unsung hero to our ever improving side and deserves much more credit than he gets for the work rate, passion and effort he puts in for Liverpool every single week.
Lucas Leiva, this one’s for you. You’ll Never Walk Alone.
Lizzi Doyle