December 17, 2021.
The Premier League's official broadcast studio had been completely revamped, but Gullit and Scholes were still in the commentary booth.
Ashley Cole, however, had stepped away, and Rivaldo had joined them as the third member of the Premier League commentary team.
Rivaldo had once been a brilliant attacking talent for Brazil, one of the national team's finest players, blessed with exceptional ability and enormous popularity.
That was why the Premier League had invited him to join Gullit and Scholes for the new season.
"To everyone looking forward to Matchweek 16 of this Premier League season!"
"Liverpool against Aston Villa is coming up, and there's one major storyline surrounding this match. Aston Villa's current manager is Gerrard, a Liverpool legend."
"So, will Gerrard hand his former club three points and help Liverpool through this difficult period?"
Scholes shook his head.
Even after all these years working as a commentator, some of the things Gullit said still left him speechless.
"What are you talking about, Gullit? This is professional football. This is the Premier League. How could Gerrard possibly make Villa deliberately lose to Klopp's team just to help Liverpool? Have you lost your mind?"
"Besides, I think Gerrard developed very well as a manager at Rangers. Now that he's back in the Premier League, his goal is probably to manage Liverpool one day."
"So the sooner Klopp gets fired, the sooner Gerrard can take over."
Scholes couldn't resist making a joke of his own.
Rivaldo, the newest member of the commentary team, could hardly believe these were the two men he was supposed to work with.
"Do you know why the Premier League paid so much to bring me in? Without me in this booth, the two of you couldn't carry this broadcast by yourselves."
Rivaldo spoke as though he had been commentating on Premier League matches for years.
In reality, he had never called a single one.
"Compared to the two of us, you're a complete rookie in commentary."
"Rivaldo, you've still got a lot to learn from me and Scholes."
Gullit looked thoroughly pleased with himself.
Over the years, his work covering the Premier League had made him even more popular across Europe than he had been during his playing career. More and more fans loved listening to Gullit and Scholes call Premier League matches.
"Tomorrow's Matchweek 16 fixture is Liverpool against Villa."
"Liverpool are currently eighth in the table. They've won only six of their first 15 league matches and have just been held to consecutive draws by Everton and Watford, dropping more points along the way. They're now a full twelve points behind league leaders Manchester City!"
"Leo returned from injury last week, but Klopp chose not to play him because he wanted to make sure Liverpool's key player returned at his absolute best."
"And this week, I believe Leo will lead Liverpool back with a vengeance!"
Rivaldo immediately laughed.
"Liverpool have certainly signed plenty of players. Núñez, Díaz, Konaté. But how have they actually performed?"
"I don't even want to talk about those dribbles from Gakpo after he came off the bench in the EFL Cup knockout round. Each one was worse than the last. Give me those chances and I would've scored them myself!"
"Leo is back, yes, and in my eyes, he's already one of the very best players in football."
"But I still don't think Liverpool can break out of this slump. Not yet."
"They need at least a full season to properly gel as a new team. Players like Gakpo also need to shake off this poor form, find their confidence quickly, and at the very least start producing performances worthy of a club like Liverpool."
Rivaldo had done his homework before joining the commentary team.
He had watched every Liverpool match that season.
And the more he watched, the more the struggles of players like Gakpo stood out.
Núñez going one-on-one and pushing his shot wide of the far corner. Núñez hitting the post three or four times in a single match.
Those moments had practically become routine for the Uruguayan striker.
Yet when Núñez first joined Liverpool, supporters had expected him to succeed Firmino perfectly.
Scholes, meanwhile, had always been the commentator least likely to support Liverpool and most likely to support Leo.
As a former Manchester United player, there was no chance Scholes would ever support Liverpool.
But he was also an enormous admirer of Leo.
"I actually think Rivaldo has a point. Even with Leo back, Liverpool aren't guaranteed to beat Villa tomorrow."
"And I don't think anyone understands Liverpool better than Gerrard. He's exactly the kind of manager who can set Villa up with the right tactics against them."
On December 17, after Liverpool finished training, Klopp sat beside Leo over dinner.
"Feels like everything's back to normal now, doesn't it?"
Leo nodded.
"I'm definitely back to normal. Liverpool still need a little more time."
Klopp patted him on the shoulder.
"Then let's start tomorrow. Starting with tomorrow's match, let's get everything back to normal."
December 18, Premier League Matchweek 16, Anfield.
Attendance was once again an astonishing 98 percent.
Almost every seat in the stadium was occupied.
In the Premier League's official broadcast booth, Gullit and Rivaldo began introducing the starting lineups for Liverpool and Aston Villa.
"Liverpool's squad has changed dramatically compared with the past few seasons."
"If you used to follow Liverpool, then stopped watching them for a year for whatever reason, you might come back this season and barely recognize some of the players in the starting eleven."
"Goalkeeper: Alisson!"
"Defenders: Robertson, Gvardiol, Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold!"
"Midfielders: Mac Allister, Rodri, Leo!"
"Front three: Díaz, Núñez, Salah!"
"And on Liverpool's bench are Gakpo, Ødegaard, Gravenberch, Konaté, Tsimikas, Joe Gomez, and Kelleher."
"At the very least, Liverpool now have excellent depth."
Rivaldo then introduced Gerrard's side.
"Aston Villa's goalkeeper is Emiliano Martínez of Argentina."
"Defenders: Targett, Mings, Konsa, Cash!"
"Midfielders: Douglas Luiz, Nakamba, McGinn!"
"Front three: Ashley Young, Watkins, Jacob!"
Meanwhile, inside the Liverpool locker room.
Every player, starter and substitute alike, stood around Leo.
Leo removed the captain's armband from his arm and held it up for everyone to see.
"Last season was the first time I ever felt that I had let down this Liverpool captain's armband."
"Can you hear what's outside?"
"I'm not talking about the noise."
"I'm talking about Anfield always being full. I'm talking about the supporters who still come here, still stand behind us, and still watch us play even when we don't win trophies."
"My injury recently forced me to spend a long time lying in bed for the first time in my life."
"And every single day, I kept thinking."
"How do we make Liverpool champions again?"
"How do we make Liverpool Premier League champions and UEFA Champions League champions again?"
"How do I get back to the top with all of you? With every single person in this room?"
"And then I think I finally understood something."
Leo raised the Liverpool captain's armband high above his head.
"We just have to believe in ourselves!"
"Take the pain, then keep moving!"
"Believe in your own worth, then keep moving!"
"Don't look for excuses in anyone else. Just keep moving!"
As he spoke, Leo pressed the captain's armband against the chest of each teammate in turn.
"Núñez, Mac Allister! Believe in yourselves!!"
"Gakpo, Alexander-Arnold! Believe in yourselves!!!"
"Every one of you!"
"Fans are finding every excuse they can to mock you, but I want you to believe in yourselves from beginning to end, without wavering!"
"There's no obstacle we can't overcome!"
"Either stay down for good, or get back on your feet like a man!"
Everyone crowded around Leo.
"Today's the day!"
"This match!"
"We're going to tell the entire football world!"
"Liverpool, the dominant force!"
"Are officially back!!!"
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (65 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.