Big players come to big clubs to play big games and when Liverpool return to the Champions League for the first time since 2009, there’s quite a few players in the squad that will get their first taste of what it means to play in Europe’s most prestigious club competition.
They’ve come from all over the globe to wear the famous red shirt and for many of them how important that is will really sink in when they run out to the roar of Anfield during their first European match. “Now I know what it is to play for Liverpool,” said Reds ‘keeper Simon Mignolet when asked about coming back to Melwood after not only a successful Premier League season, but also the World Cup. “Now, when I returned from the World Cup, I knew the environment, the people and the players – it feels a lot more natural this season. You come into an environment that you know, where you know what you are asked to do.”
What he’s being asked to do will be a big ask when Liverpool step out in Europe this season. If there’s no easy games in the Premier League, there’s even less than that in the Champions League. The Reds have drawn reigning champions Real Madrid in their group as well as Swiss side FC Basel and Bulgarian outfit PFC Ludogorets. Despite the hard work ahead, Mignolet is relishing the prospect of playing on Europe’s biggest stage.
“The Champions League is something new for me and something to look forward to. Every game in the Premier League is similar to a game in the Champions League” said the shot-stopper. “Especially being from the continent, playing against big teams in Europe – maybe one from Belgium, you never know – is something to look forward to. The most important thing is to do well as a team in those games and the Premier League.”
