“Liverpool: Complete cycle or is there a ceiling for more?”

This version of Liverpool is one of the two or three dominant teams of the last five years, a condition that fights with itself and, perhaps, Manchester City from 2018-19 (some will say that Real Madrid always intervenes by default).

In the case of the ‘reds’, the sports historians of the future will discuss which team was more fearsome: if this one, which reaches the last date of all the tournaments in which it participates with the possibility of raising the cup (what better indicator of achievement and competitiveness); or that of 2019, which won the Champions League half a year later and that in 2020 it would take the Premier with 99 points, 13 apart from those led by Guardiola.

Those who prefer the current team will be able to talk about consistency and maturity, even when Klopp’s machine rattled at times, forcing her to give up initiative and, in some cases, results: the draw against Spurs two weeks ago can be very costly today Sunday; Emery’s Villarreal disarmed him for long stretches in the Champions League semifinal key; Jota instead of Firmino is a process under way, but not finished; etc.

Those who opt for the team of three years ago, more overwhelming and breaking records, will have to explain some non-sports aspects, such as what was the effect of the pandemic on that unusual season, or how a league played in such a fractional way counts in the comparison, in many cases without an audience and with a forced change of rules (9 players on the bench and 5 substitutions per team).

In any case, in that fight in front of the mirror, Liverpool have achieved a comfort in England and Europe that they have not possessed since that golden age that began in the early 1970s and ended in 1984, or actually a little later, with the tragedy of Heysel. And although in the 2004-05 campaign those commanded by Gerrard starred in the “Miracle of Istanbul”, it was understood until the arrival of Klopp that Livepool was a great club due to its history and fans, but discreet to the point of never having won the English league since it adopted the current format in 1992.

The stages in football are important. Abramovich’s arrival at Chelsea in 2003 meant that the London club had its best stage in terms of titles, but also that it could face the two greats that shared the British tournaments almost exclusively: Manchester United and Arsenal. However, the departure of their references (Ferguson in 2013 and Wenger in 2018) opened a space for City and Liverpool to raise their heads. The recomposition, well into the twenties, is total: blue and red are the two colors that govern the islands, each under a different technical director -or an ideologue: Guardiola for the citizens, Klopp for those from Merseyside.

How did Klopp achieve this revival? According to JJ Bull of ‘The Athletic’, by virtue of two factors: building a tactical identity and recruiting well. Both variables deserve an explanation. Much has been written about the former, but it can be summed up as high pressure, fast transitions and building the game with two normally mutually exclusive factors: precision with speed. From the latter, he brought in Mané, Salah, Van Dijk, Robertson, Alexander-Arnold (promoted from the quarry), Alisson and Fabinho, among others. Season after season the German was fine-tuning the team while he bought the exact talent for his dream team. It is not a small merit. Many teams can have a high budget, but the investment is wasted if Pépé (Arsenal, €80m) or Grealish (City, €118m) are chosen when Luis Diaz is available for half or a third.

Two questions are resolved this Sunday: with the FA Cup in his pocket, can Klopp start dreaming of the treble if Aston Villa puts up a fight against City? Are you able, on the same day and at the same time, but at Anfield Road, to account for the Wolves? From then on, the panorama is more complex: Real Madrid will play a single game on May 28 for continental glory. And once the duel in Paris has been resolved, the final concern: is this a completed cycle or is there a ceiling for more?