In our new series ‘Long Distance Liverpool Love’, devoted fans who grew up as a Red away from Merseyside share their unique relationship with the club. And we start with Chris Curulli from Australia.
I started supporting Liverpool because…
I was brought up a Red through and through. While I have lived in Sydney, Australia all of my life, my father started supporting the club during the 1980s and like so many football fans across the globe passed down the tradition.
My Liverpool idols growing up were…
Keeping it to three, I would say Torres (the name on the back of one of my first ever LFC shirts), Gerrard (as most would expect) and Henderson.
While I was a little older when Hendo signed from Sunderland, I was immediately attracted to his style of play and immense passion for the badge – it’s easy to say now, but I always had faith he would turn into a great leader of the football club.
My typical matchday routine for the Reds is…
Quite varied depending on kick-off time, to be honest. With matches airing in Australia any time from 8.30pm to 7am (and all the wonderful hours in between), historically my routine was always setting an alarm for a ridiculous hour of the morning and getting up to stream the match in the dark on my own!
These days I still religiously watch games live the vast majority of the time, and where possible I try to head out to the pub and support the Reds alongside the LFC NSW Official Supporters Club at the legendary Cheers Bar.
What does the club mean to you?
So much it is difficult to put into words, especially when I attempt to explain it to a ‘non-football person’ (of which there are many in Australia).
My passion for the club has grown and grown over the years as I’ve discovered more and more about the club’s rich, emotional history and had the pleasure of experiencing the highs and lows of being a football fan first hand.
I always say riding every moment and heartbreak of the 2013/14 campaign is what hooked me for life.
My Liverpool dream which came true & the one I’m still wishing for…
To watch a match at Anfield, which I had the chance to fulfil in December 2016, where I was in attendance of a 4-1 win over Stoke City.
Building on that, I would love to go back one day and experience a European night in the Kop.
Another dream would be for my work to one day take me to Anfield or around the club – I currently work in the realm of sports media and in my short career so far have already had the chance to interview the likes of Robbie Fowler and Markus Babbel during their time coaching in the A-League!
What did it mean for you to see us finally win the league title…
It was honestly just surreal. After coming so close and feeling a brief two-minute taste of what it might have felt like during that Wolves game a season earlier, this campaign seemed to fly by in a joyous blur.
It was almost too easy with other teams faltering and a global pandemic interrupting the final stretch – not that that took away from the feeling of finally securing it officially.
I think it only hit me that day Jordan Henderson got his hands on that prized piece of silverware, realising the stars had written that day to occur with Liverpool sitting on 96 points… pure emotion and elation.
And if I could invite 3 Liverpool figures past or present to my country, it would be…
The first member is a no brainer – Jurgen Klopp. I’m not sure there’s anyone on this planet that would turn down the chance to get to know him better.
The second would be Jamie Carragher. Over the years I have grown in admiration for him as both an uncompromising defender and entertaining broadcaster.
Finally, to add in a current player I’ll give Divock Origi a shout. He’s already established true cult hero status and I wouldn’t mind getting in his ear about a move to the A-League one day!
* Thanks again to Chris for sharing his story. You can find him on Twitter @ChrisCurulli.
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