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Your support makes all the difference.All great general election campaigns have been summed up in a single sentence. It says something that this time there has been nothing to match the smug, self-satisfaction of “You’ve never had it so good”; the cold certainty of “There is no alternative” or the heady optimism of “Things can only get better”.
However, the campaign to win Liverpool their first FA Cup in nine years can be summed up in four words: “Win it for Stevie.”
The prospect of perhaps Liverpool’s greatest footballer, Steven Gerrard, playing his last game for the club in an FA Cup final on his 35th birthday is pure, distilled Hollywood.
Lucas Leiva would buy into that slogan. But more than wanting to win it for Stevie, Lucas and the other members of Brendan Rodgers’ squad who face Aston Villa in this afternoon’s semi-final would like to win it for themselves.
When Lucas went to Merseyside from Gremio, in Brazil’s prosperous deep south, the club had just played their second European Cup final in three seasons. The FA Cup had been won the year before. Under Rafa Benitez, Liverpool were once more a force. If he takes his usual place in the heart of Liverpool’s midfield, this afternoon’s game at Wembley will be Lucas’ 272nd for the club.
Only one man, the winger, Alan A’Court, has played more times for Liverpool since the war and not won a trophy.
Lucas said: “It would be a brilliant goodbye for Stevie but it would be special for everyone. It would be special for myself and the other players who have not had a chance to win the FA Cup.
“He is our captain and he is leaving but he has won many trophies and a lot of people here have been working for many years and not won as much as him.”
It is a long time since Liverpool’s players and their fans referred to Wembley as “Anfield South”. In nine years there has been just one piece of silverware, the 2012 League Cup. Winning it was not enough for Kenny Dalglish to keep his job.
Lucas added: “It is disappointing but the club went through a lot in those years. The change in owners affected the club and there was a big change in the squad. At some point you pay a price for that.
“There was a lot of discussion about ownership, going to court and all that. We saw a lot of senior players leaving.
“After Rafa, two managers came, then Brendan,” said Lucas, who added that he did not call the manager of Liverpool “Brendan” to his face. “He is the fourth one I’ve worked with. He came here young but he is doing a good job, especially at giving young players opportunities.”
But with young footballers come problems. On Monday night, Raheem Sterling scored a sublime goal against Newcastle just as a video of him inhaling laughing gas from a balloon was posted on The Sun’s website. Then came more photographs of Sterling and Jordon Ibe in a London bar smoking shisha pipes.
Lucas said: “Today it is so hard to give any advice to young players because there are so many people that are always around a player. They should not get carried away, that is the most important thing.
“I was young when I came here and when I looked around the dressing room I would see Stevie, Xabi Alonso and Pepe Reina. They were real role models. They had success not just because of their talent but because of the way they did things. Ten years ago a young player would have more space.
“Today we go to a restaurant and everyone is filming, recording or taking pictures of you and you need to take extra care. There are a lot of people out there who are not willing to help you and want to make headlines.
“If you are having a glass of wine, people might say you are drunk. And unless you can prove it is different, it is all over. You have to be extra careful.”
Lucas was the victim of a dreadfully timed tackle by Newcastle’s Moussa Sissoko on Monday. Initially, Lucas thought his leg had been broken. Three years ago he had missed the League Cup final through injury and it flitted through his mind that his season might have finished there and then.
“I thought I was gone after the first season,” said Lucas, who is probably too valuable in Gerrard’s absence to be allowed to leave for Internazionale, a club to which he has been linked.
“I didn’t think I was going to stay this long. Time goes so fast. I am still here and proud to play for Liverpool. I know someday this will finish and I will look back on all the good things I tried to do.”
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