Ten years ago on May 13, 2007, Liverpool signed a 21-year-old young Brazilian attacking midfielder named Lucas Leiva.
On July 18, 2017, Lucas ended his decade at Anfield as a respected 30-year-old defensive midfielder as he moves to Lazio. Thank you messages have poured in from fans, current players and former players as they pay respect for his hard work, passion and dedication during his time at Liverpool.
Watching the player’s tribute video to Lucas could bring a tear to even his biggest critics. You could see how much he meant to them. He was there to help anyone and was a key figure in the dressing room. He always gave everything he had and you could see that the other players really appreciated that.
One tribute that stood out to me was from Steven Gerrard, describing his passion, desire and commitment to Liverpool, Gerrard spoke about how Lucas inspires everyone around him. His love for not only Liverpool Football Club, but Liverpool the city is unmatched by any fortune player I have ever seen before. He well and truly is an adopted scouser.
After a rough start at Anfield, Lucas slowly dropped into the holding role and became an integral part of the team, making 50 appearances in 2009/10 and winning the Player of the Season award in 2010/11.
During that time he was one of the league’s best midfielders, but sadly an anterior cruciate ligament injury ended his 2011/12 season early and he never fully recovered. But still, Lucas pushed on and was always there when called upon, never letting his clear loss of pace and strength affect him mentally.
He was still a key player in the sides that nearly won the league and Europa League in 2013/14 and 2015/2016 respectively. He definitely didn’t deserve some of the criticism he got at times and his quality was overlooked by fans. Lucas was an underrated player and was much better than most give him credit for.
Throughout this 10 years at Liverpool, Lucas played 346 games and scored seven goals, the last of which he had to wait 200 games to score against Plymouth in January. Lucas played under five managers at Liverpool, only bettered by Jamie Carragher, which shows his ability to learn and adapt to new styles.
The Brazilian always put a smile on fan’s faces, whether it was getting sucked into the Liverpool fans at Villa Park, scoring his first goal in seven years against Plymouth or hearing his now famous catchphrase, “unlucky”.
In his open letter to the fans, Lucas said when he joined Liverpool he wanted to accomplish three things. Firstly, he wanted to win a place in the team. He then wanted to prove that he was worthy of wearing the Liverpool shirt and finally when it was all set and done he hoped that when the time came to left Liverpool he would do so on the best possible terms. He accomplished the first and last goals, but he said that others will have to determine whether he was worthy of the shirt.
Well, he definitely was worthy. He wore it with pride and passion and gave 110% every single time he put on that shirt.
Lucas is a model player who has set the bar so high for showing undying love, professionalism and commitment to the club. The team’s success was always ahead of his. A dying trait in modern football, he never made a fuss when things weren’t going his way and stayed loyal when he could have left to get more game time, but he didn’t, why?
Because he loved Liverpool too much. But now the right time has come and Lucas is no longer a Liverpool player, leaving as a player who will forever be remembered for his love for the club and the city.
Thank you, Lucas, for 10 years of service and all the best at Lazio. Hopefully, this isn’t the last we see of him.
YNWA.
