It is a common misperception that players cannot touch the famous ‘This Is Anfield’ sign until they have won something, with Jurgen Klopp starting the tradition via a misunderstanding.
It has become an accepted tradition that Liverpool players must earn the right to touch the famous sign when walking out of the tunnel, but it was not the case before Klopp’s arrival.
It all dates back to when Liverpool dramatically beat Klopp’s former club Borussia Dortmund 4-3 in 2016 and he discussed the perceived tradition, admitting he wasn’t sure about it.
“Before the game when we went down the stairs, my Dortmund friends asked me ‘Do they all touch the This Is Anfield sign?’ I said ‘No’,” Klopp explained.
“I don’t really know exactly how it works but I think you need to win something before, I’m not sure.”
• READ: This Is Anfield – The story of Liverpool’s famous sign and why players touch it
Klopp was then misquoted by a Liverpool journalist on X (formerly Twitter), which was then attributed and wrongly recited in hundreds of articles as the German saying he had told his players not to touch it.
“I didn’t ask until now, but it’s a sign of respect that we don’t do it,” he added. “Maybe these players one day will be allowed to do it.”
Klopp later enforced the tradition and ‘banned’ his players from touching the famous sign until they had won a major honour – even telling a player off after he watched him touch the sign on a club video.
It was not long until his squad earned the right to touch the sign with Premier League and Champions League success, and Gini Wijnaldum had to commemorate the moment on his social media (above).
“Boss wouldn’t let us touch the sign until we won a trophy…now is the time,” wrote the Dutchman after the first home game following the European Cup triumph in 2019.
Bizarrely, former Red Thiago previously claimed he was told by Fernando Torres not to touch the sign, even though Torres was pictured touching it on his Liverpool unveiling – as was regularly the case with new signings prior to Klopp’s tenure.
Those who remain at the club from Klopp’s tutelage and were part of Arne Slot‘s title-winning squad are free to touch the sign, though it is uncertain if the Dutchman is enforcing it.
So, it may have been a practice Klopp was initially not sure of, but it has become an accepted tradition and only adds to the mystique of the famous sign that is synonymous with Liverpool Football Club.
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