It has often been observed that football is like a religion. Fans follow clubs with adoration verging on worship and make great sacrifices of time and money to do so. So, no surprise then that the shock announcement of a new European Super League produced such a frenzied and furious response. People who interfere with things regarded as sacred do so at their peril!
Bill Shankly, the former manager of Liverpool, who transformed the club over a 25-year career, summed it up like this, ‘everything I’ve got I owe to football… I put all my heart and soul into it. Somebody said that football’s a matter of life and death to me. I said, listen, it’s more important than that’.
But while the passion of fans might be rewarded with a League title or an FA Cup, they might just as easily find themselves relegated, and in that respect it’s not a great religion. The current manager at Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp, realises this and so while he is passionate about his football, he is even more passionate about his Christian faith. He knows that while at the start of every game victory is uncertain, his faith in Christ means his hope for eternal life very much isn’t.
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