Jordan Henderson and the Champions League trophy will become well-acquainted again if Liverpool beat Real Madrid in Paris on Saturday – though he might not be allowed to take it to his local pub.
Phil Thompson was the Reds' captain in 1981, when Liverpool also faced Madrid in a European final in Paris.
A 1-0 win at the Parc des Princes ensured the trophy was going back to Merseyside once again following their successes in the European Cup in 1977 and 78.
But this time there was even more of a local flavour to Liverpool's victory, with Thompson becoming the first Scouser to lift the trophy, and he was determined to make it a memorable homecoming.
The UEFA delegate who handed him the cup might not have expected Thompson to take it to the pub, however.
Alan Kennedy, who scored Liverpool's crucial goal in that final, told Stats Perform: "First of all, we knew that Phil Thompson had it, but we didn't know what he was going to do with it.
"We thought he might take it in his car. What was it? I'm sure he had a Ford Capri at the time, and it was a souped-up one, if I remember rightly!
"He put it on the front seat and everybody else had to get in the backseat and whatever. But he knew we had to look after it. He knew he was responsible for it.
"I think the rest is history about going to some of the pubs in Kirby [a town on the outskirts of Liverpool]."
There were no such stories after Henderson and his Liverpool team-mates returned to Merseyside victorious in 2019, with the trophy seemingly guarded with greater security these days.
Though Thompson insists the cup never left his sight.
"It wasn't a mission, it was always in my safe hands," he added. "I'd always planned that I was taking it back to the Falcon [a pub], I was taking it home to the Falcon in Kirby, so it's now become quite legendary.
"I travel the country and they say, 'Is it a myth?' Or, 'is it true that you took the European Cup to a pub in Kirby?' And I did.
"After we'd done the [parade] I put the European Cup in a big velvet bag in the back of the Ford Capri, an awful one, to the Falcon."
Henderson will surely just be happy to get his hands on the trophy once again, even if bringing it to his local is out of the question.
Indonesia 0-4 Japan: Visitors stay unbeaten with rout
Japan continued their unbeaten start to World Cup qualifying with a 4-0 victory over Indonesia on Friday.
Two goals from the visitors in either half were enough to seal the three points and get them back to winning ways after a stalemate with Australia last time out.
Ragnar Oratmangoen should have put Indonesia ahead, but he hesitated one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and Japan did not look back after that. They got a bit of fortune with their first goal, Justin Hubner deflecting a cross into his own net in the 35th minute.
Takumi Minamino got their second just before the break, finishing off a pacy counter-attack by darting onto the end of Kaoru Mitoma’s cross to sweep it past Maarten Paes.
While there was not much the goalkeeper could do with that one, he was at fault for the third as he gifted the ball to Hidemasa Morita, who coolly picked out the bottom corner just after the break.
Yukinari Sugawara came off the bench to round off the scoring in the 69th minute. He raced down the right wing and instead of looking to his options, he rifled it in from a tight angle at the near post.
Japan are up to 13 points after five games, sitting top of Group C, while Indonesia are bottom, still in search of their first win.
Data Debrief: Clinically done
For a team still chasing their first win, Japan are probably not high on the list of opponents they would want to face, and Indonesia were undone by their visitors.
Hajime Moriyasu's side created 0.79 expected goals (xG) to Indonesia's 0.72, while they only had four more shots than their hosts (12 compared to eight).
Japan took their chances, and though the win margin may look harsh, they were deserving of the three points, having dominated throughout the game.
Jamaica 0-1 United States: Pepi give visitors advantage in Nations League quarter-final
Ricardo Pepi's first-half strike gave the United States a 1-0 advantage over Jamaica after the first leg of their Concacaf Nations League quarter-final.
The hosts saw a penalty saved in the first half before their frustrations were compounded late on thanks to Mason Holgate's red card.
The USA had the lead just five minutes in – having smothered a Jamaica attack at one end, the visitors caught them out with a pacy counter-attack, with Pepi sweeping it into the back of the net.
Shortly after, Shamar Nicholson was brought down by Matt Turner when he tried to take it around him, but the goalkeeper made amends, diving low to his right to deny Demarai Gray from 12 yards.
In the second half, Holgate was denied a tap-in by Yunus Musah before Turner scrambled to stop Leon Bailey's corner from nestling into the net as Jamaica searched for an equaliser.
With 86 minutes on the clock, Holgate received a second yellow card in just over 10 minutes for dragging Brandon Vazquez back, meaning he will miss the return leg in Missouri on Monday.
Data Debrief: Hitting the mark
Pepi got the all-important goal on Thursday, and is the fourth player to score 12 goals for the USA before turning 22 years old, joining Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore and Christian Pulisic.
But it was perhaps Turner who actually had the most vital interventions; he has now saved three of the eight penalties he's faced for the USA, including two against Jamaica.
Mauricio Pochettino also could not have asked for a better result from his first competitive game in charge of the Stars and Stripes as he became just the third full-time manager to win his first competitive away match, joining Bob Bradley (2008) and Steve Sampson (1996).
Laporte 'would listen to call' from Real Madrid
Al-Nassr defender Aymeric Laporte says he would listen to a call from Real Madrid if the club approached him over a transfer.
The LaLiga champions currently only have one fit centre-back after Eder Militao suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that requires surgery against Osasuna last weekend.
David Alaba is still recovering from a knee operation last December, while they are also light at right-back, with Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez also sidelined.
Madrid are reportedly interested in signing Laporte, who moved to the Saudi Pro League from Manchester City in August 2023 and has made nine appearances in the competition so far this season.
The defender won five Premier League titles while in England, as well as two FA Cups, three EFL Cups and the Champions League, while he was also part of the Spain squad that won Euro 2024 in July.
When asked how he would feel about a potential move to Madrid, he told El Larguero: "I've read the same things as everybody else. I would listen to the call. Obviously, you don’t look down on teams like Real Madrid.
"I've said it many times, my idea is to return to Europe. I went there [to Saudi Arabia] to play football, not to do other things.
"So far it hasn't been bad for me as while I've been there. I've won a European Championship, which is the most beautiful thing that has happened in my career."
Meanwhile, Tottenham full-back Pedro Porro has also seen his name linked with Los Blancos amid their recent injury problems.
He has played all but three minutes in the Premier League this season and has made the second-most interceptions (15) and tackles (25), while nobody in the squad has made more blocks (five).
His tally of 76 crosses is also a team-high, and he says his main focus is on the job in front of him.
"That one of the best clubs in the world notices me means that I'm doing my job well at my club," he said. "But it's not just my name that is being linked, there are others.
"My friends send me those rumours, but I'm focused on my job, and I cannot be distracted by that."
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