Local fans to make dream trip to Liverpool’s home as they close in on premier league title.
The last time Wesley Wee watched Liverpool live at the Champions League final two years ago, it ended in heartbreak.
Two shocking blunders by Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius and a Gareth Bale wonder show at the Kiev Olympic Stadium in Ukraine saw their European ambitions come undone as they fell 3-1 to Real Madrid.
Wee, an airport manager based in Moscow, is hoping for a much happier trip to Anfield next month, when he travels to England to watch Liverpool’s game against Crystal Palace on March 21.
Wee and his travel companion Peter Mok are among the die-hard Singaporean Reds fans travelling there in a bid to soak in the celebrations should Liverpool claim their long-awaited league title after 30 years.
The Reds have a near-unassailable 22-point lead over second-placed Manchester City with 13 games to go.
They could seal the title as early as March 7 against Bournemouth or after the derby against neighbours Everton on March 16, by winning all their games while closest rivals City and Leicester City slip up.
A six-game win will see them lift the trophy on March 21 when they face Palace, regardless of how their rivals fare.
The 39-year-old, who last visited Anfield in 2009, said: “We’re very lucky that we got tickets to this game, because it’s possibly the game that we can clinch the title and we’re really looking forward to it. It (the defeat in Kiev) was so deflating and a bitter pill to swallow, especially how Karius made those two catastrophic errors.
“But just making it to the final after so many years of mismanagement and losing so many of our best players is a great accomplishment.”
Aaron Kok, founder of sports tourism company 1896 Travel that organises several trips to Anfield annually, noted that he has seen the number of enquiries this season increase from more than 100 to about 400.
He has had to increase the number of five-day tours to Liverpool, which cost about $3,000, from three or four to seven this season.
It’s timely that the final home game is against Chelsea – it’s a good opportunity to erase the memories of the (previous) Chelsea match. This time, watching the final home game will be very heartwarming.
JEANNIE ONG, Liverpool fan, who will travel to Anfield for the match against Chelsea.
After the Premier League’s winter break, Kok’s company will lead groups of between 10 and 40 fans to Liverpool’s league games against West Ham (Feb 25), Bournemouth, Aston Villa (April 11),their final home game this season against Chelsea (May 9), as well as the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Atletico Madrid (March 12).
While Kok, a Liverpool fan of almost three decades, is confident that the club will win the title, the thought of Jurgen Klopp’s side potentially achieving their holy grail has not sunk in yet.
He said: “I’ll definitely be very happy but it hasn’t struck me yet. But I’m always excited (to watch these games), regardless of how many times I go.
“I take different people up and the majority are first-timers, so it’s nice to share that joy and it’s avery enriching experience outside of the game.”
Another Singaporean Reds fan who will be at the final home game against Chelsea is Jeannie Ong.
For Ong, who will be accompanied by her husband Lim Kian Ming, it is a chance to erase memories of a painful 2-0 loss to Chelsea six years ago at Anfield.
Liverpool’s title hopes unravelled then when skipper Steven Gerrard slipped, giving the ball away to Chelsea’s Demba Ba who scored to put the visitors on their way to a 2-0 win.
Ong, who paid £3,588 (S$6,452) for a pair of hospitality package tickets, said: “I felt it was our year, but we were heartbroken after the match because of all things, Gerrard slipped.”
While the Reds could win the league title before May 9, Ong wanted to catch the final home game against Chelsea as players will bring their families out on the pitch.
She added: “It’s timely that the final home game is against Chelsea – it’s a good opportunity to erase the memories of the (previous) Chelsea match.
“This time, watching the final home game will be very heartwarming when the players bring their families out post-match.”
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 08, 2020, with the headline Football: Singapore Reds for Anfield party