Anfield Away from Anfield

Liverpool’s emphatic victory in Singapore marked the end of its tour of the Far East. From all the photographs and reports during their stay in Bangkok and Singapore, it appears that it has been a fantastic experience for both the players and staff and the local fans.

The support that exists for Liverpool Football Club throughout the Far East is incredible. The players are no less than heroes in the eyes of these fans. Larger than life figures whose every move is followed with the adulation reserved only for chart topping pop stars.

Screaming teens aside, there are hardcore Liverpool fans in this part of the world too, who are just as passionate as any season ticket holder on the Kop. A simple discussion about all things Liverpool will be testament to this. Believe you me, they know their stuff.

I have heard it said and also read that the reason for such unbridled hero worship is that they rarely get the opportunity to see the players up close and when they do they take full advantage. I beg to differ. Having spent a far amount of time in that part of the world, I can say from first hand experience that if Liverpool came to the Far East every year they would generate the same amount of hysteria each time.

On match days, Reds fans flock to the pubs and bars that show their matches and cheer the team on with as much fervour as the supporters in the pubs in Liverpool do.

It may be going back a few years now but I recall the euphoria of the Hong Kong supporters after Liverpool won the 2001 FA Cup final. Fans spilled out into the streets waving their flags, singing their songs.

Cars would drive past honking their horns and waving banners and flags out of windows and sunroofs. All this thousands of miles from Anfield from supporters most of whom had never set foot in the famous old stadium. One can only imagine the scenes here after the Gerrard Cup Final or the Champions League Final of 2005.

Support for Liverpool Football Club is a torch that burns just as brightly in the Far East as it does in L4 and there are just as many zealous carriers of it.

It was Rafa himself that paid the best compliment possible to these loyal supporters when he said that, the fans were like in Anfield.