LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, March 3, 2019: Liverpool's Divock Origi during the FA Premier League match between Everton FC and Liverpool FC, the 233rd Merseyside Derby, at Goodison Park. (Pic by Laura Malkin/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, March 3, 2019: Liverpool's Divock Origi during the FA Premier League match between Everton FC and Liverpool FC, the 233rd Merseyside Derby, at Goodison Park. (Pic by Laura Malkin/Propaganda)
Divock Origi has reflected on the time he was “supposed to leave” Liverpool but, after divine intervention, he worked tirelessly to play his role in their success.
Origi announced his retirement aged 31 on Monday, having gone six months without a club and over two years without a game of competitive football.
The Belgian’s decision led to glowing tributes from Liverpool fans for the role he played over seven years with the club – and most notably their Champions League triumph in 2019.
In his column for The Players’ Tribune, Origi looked back on how he was “supposed to leave” the club prior to that campaign but ended up doing extra training in “secret” which fuelled his revival.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, April 16, 2019: Liverpool's Divock Origi (L) and Joel Matip during a training session at Melwood Training Ground ahead of the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg match between FC Porto and Liverpool FC. (Pic by Laura Malkin/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, April 16, 2019: Liverpool's Divock Origi (L) and Joel Matip during a training session at Melwood Training Ground ahead of the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg match between FC Porto and Liverpool FC. (Pic by Laura Malkin/Propaganda)
“When I came back from Wolfsburg [on loan in 2018], I was supposed to leave Liverpool,” the legendary striker wrote.
“Wolves came with an offer of £30 million, and it made sense to go. I was out of the team. I wasn’t playing at all.
“But when I prayed about it, for some reason it didn’t feel right. Something kept telling me to stay.
“And that’s when my faith kicked in. I can’t explain it, but I just felt like Liverpool was where God wanted me to be.
“I thought, ‘it might not make sense now, but something good will come from this’.
“I stayed in Liverpool, and the first six months were extremely tough. Like I said, I wasn’t playing. I was doing heavy 5ks when I wasn’t in the matchday squad.
“Even during the 11-v-11 games at training I couldn’t participate. I had to be on the sidelines watching.
“But Klopp was always there. I knew he believed in me. He’d always say, ‘hey, keep training like this. Keep going’.
“In private, I was training even more than anyone knew.”
How Origi’s secret training sessions led to his most famous goal
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, May 7, 2019: Liverpool's Divock Origi scores the fourth goal during the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg match between Liverpool FC and FC Barcelona at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, May 7, 2019: Liverpool's Divock Origi scores the fourth goal during the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg match between Liverpool FC and FC Barcelona at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Origi’s deft finish from Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s quickly taken corner in the semi-final comeback win over Barcelona at Anfield will live forever in Anfield folklore.
But while it was viewed as a mark of true striker’s instinct, Origi has revealed it was in fact the product of those “secret” sessions away from Melwood:
“It was like a little secret. The team used to train in the afternoon, and in the morning, I’d go to this little pitch in the city, and like every other day, I would go and just practice finishing – nothing but finishing.
“When the sun was rising, I’d load my balls up in the car, and I’d go on the pitch, hoping that there weren’t too many people there. I’d be praying no paparazzi snapped me.
“This little facility had six synthetic pitches. Sometimes you could rent all six, but usually not. And you put two small goals in the corner, and you had the big goal. And it was all about precision…
“Now, visualise a moment, and finish. You visualise it, you finish. You visualise it, you finish.
“Like that for an hour. I was doing this in October, when I wasn’t even in the main team. But that drilling over and over, just transformed me.
“That gave me a different type of composure, beyond just being calm. It was like a focus.
“I started to really master my gift. At some point I was finishing on my left foot almost as well as my right.
“Laces inside. Finish. Laces outside. Finish. Just simple.
“Fast forward, and it’s the 2019 Champions League semi-finals versus Barca at Anfield. It’s pure chaos. Liverpool went into it down 3-0. We had injuries. And Klopp put me in.
“You visualise it, you finish. You visualise it, you finish. You visualise it, you finish.
“The rest is history – our history. By the end of that year, I was a Champions League winner. And I’m the one that scored one of the two goals.”
Origi may have appeared the most laid-back player at Liverpool, but the effort he put in away from the pitch gave him the tools to produce the iconic moments that made him a legend.
Kennet Eichhorn
Kennet Eichhorn
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