He is a “happy” man with whom we were able to converse on Thursday afternoon, a few hours before the coronation of Liverpool in the Premier League, the first in 30 years. Having joined the Reds between 2003 and 2007, Florent Sinama-Pongolle, now a consultant for Canal +, tells us with emotion the endless expectation experienced by Liverpool since 1990.
Did you feel any particular pressure around this expectation during your visit to Liverpool?
When I signed there, we knew that Liverpool won a lot of championship titles before 1990. And, as if by chance, after 1992 and the creation of the Premier League (Editor’s note: the championship in its current format), nothing ! You tell yourself there’s a curse, it’s weird. When you go to Liverpool, you are made to understand that to be present, you have to write history. There is a family around this club, aware of everything that the fans or the city are doing to put the players in the best conditions.
How did this pressure materialize?
We make you understand that the Premier League is objective number 1. That it’s good to win European cups but that the championship has more flavor for the English. Don’t generalize, but I think 70% of Liverpool fans are focused on the Premier League. They have seen this trophy raised so many times by Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal … It’s like everything, whatever your conquests, the only thing you miss becomes an obsession. Its value is gaining importance.
Steven Gerrard, Robbie Fowler, Ian Rush… How do you imagine their reaction to this title of champion?
Emotionally, it’s tough. It must be very strong. These are personalities I know who have written the history of this club. There are so many… Jamie Carragher (more than 730 games between 1996 and 2013) and all the others who have never lifted this trophy. They have children, grandchildren who identify with them and with current players. Time seemed to have stood still since 1990 and it was very frustrating for many. Honestly, I would have liked to live this moment there.
The curse is therefore over …
Yes… Even again this year with the Covid-19. You are 25 points ahead and we tell you that the championship is not going to end! It works in your mind, you become paranoid. These are not moments when everything is rosy. I am very happy.
The emotion seems to be present. Is it the Liverpool effect?
It’s a club that means so much to me. My daughter is Scouser (Editor’s note: resident of the city), I often go back there for that reason or to comment on matches. It’s my heart club. Know how I’m going to feel when it becomes official, I can’t (Editor’s note: interview carried out a few hours before the defeat of Manchester City, which offered the title).
What is the credit for Jürgen Klopp, a coach who seems to have changed everything?
There was already a great soul in this club. Has brought him something, perhaps, impossible to imagine: a professionalism based on the well-being of everyone. From the cook to the president, including the steward. This is what made the difference. Everyone agrees with his project. I saw a striking image on Wednesday evening. After the victory (Editor’s note: against Crystal Palace), Jürgen Klopp enters the tunnel and jumps into the arms of the club’s press officer. A crazy hug, like you haven’t seen someone close for six months. It is not common in football and I had never seen that. These are signs that do not lie. He conveyed a real state of mind to this club.
