In a week where headlines focused on rivalry and reaction, something far more meaningful happened quietly on Merseyside.
As reported by Liverpoolfc.com, Liverpool and Real Madrid fan groups came together to honour Arthur Johnson, a figure who links both clubs in a way few modern fans will have realised.
Born in Dublin in 1878, Johnson was one of Real’s original players, featuring in their first ever match in 1902 and scoring the club’s first goal in a Clasico.
He later became Real Madrid’s first recognised coach, lifting six Copa del Rey titles and helping define the club’s all-white strip.
Liverpool fans restore Johnson’s resting place
Liverpool and Real Madrid fan groups came together this week to pay tribute to Arthur Vere Scott Johnson
Picture via Liverpoolfc.com
Johnson’s story might have remained forgotten were it not for a local historian who discovered his gravestone in Wallasey, just across the Mersey.
Liverpool supporters helped restore the site and installed a plaque commemorating his part in Los Blancos’ history.
This week, members of both clubs’ fan groups – including Pena Madridista La Gran Familia and Pena Tribuna Lateral – visited the grave together, laying flowers and swapping scarves in a show of friendship and respect.
Liverpool fan Les Wright said: “It felt like too good an opportunity to miss and hopefully is seen as a deep sign of respect for Real Madrid’s history and the friendship of our fans.”
It’s a moment that shows a side of football we rarely see.
While some outsiders have tried to create friction – like when Atletico Madrid used our Champions League win to cheekily troll their city rivals – this gesture proves genuine respect still exists between us and the Spanish giants.
A better way to show unity than ‘half-and-half’ talk
Liverpool and Real Madrid fan groups came together this week to pay tribute to Arthur Vere Scott Johnson
Picture via Liverpoolfc.com
After Jill Scott’s strange suggestion that Trent Alexander-Arnold should have embraced a ‘half Liverpool, half Real Madrid’ moment, this tribute offered the perfect counterpoint.
Rather than awkward sentimentality, this was built on shared history, mutual respect and football heritage.
As one Real Madrid representative put it, “It was magnificent and the Spanish media have echoed this beautiful gesture of friendship.”
And that’s what football should be about – not dividing lines or half-and-half shirts, but connection, gratitude, and respect.
You can watch Slot’s post-match press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:
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