It is a common misconception that players cannot touch the famous ‘This Is Anfield’ sign until they have won something, with Jurgen Klopp starting the tradition through a misunderstanding.
It has become an accepted tradition that Liverpool players must earn the right to touch the famous sign as they walk out of the tunnel, but before Klopp’s arrival this was not the case.
It all dates back to when Liverpool dramatically defeated Klopp’s former club Borussia Dortmund 4-3 in 2016 and he discussed the perceived tradition and admitted he was unsure about it.
“As we walked down the stairs before the match, my friends from Dortmund asked me: ‘Did they all touch the This Is Anfield sign?’ I said ‘No’,” Klopp explained.
“I don’t know exactly how it works, but I think you have to win something first, 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 not to touch it.
“I haven’t asked yet, but it’s a sign of respect that we don’t do it,” he added. “Maybe one day these players will be allowed to do it.”
Klopp later upheld the tradition and ‘forbade’ his players from touching the famous sign until they had won a major honor – even telling one player off after seeing him touch the sign on a club video.
It didn’t take long for his side to earn the right to touch the board with success in the Premier League and Champions League, and Gini Wijnaldum had to commemorate the moment on his social media (above).
“Boss wouldn’t let us touch the board until we won a trophy…now is the moment,” the Dutchman wrote after the first home game after the European Cup victory in 2019.
Bizarrely, former Red Thiago previously claimed that Fernando Torres told him not to touch the board, even though Torres was pictured touching it during his Liverpool unveiling – as was regularly the case with new signings prior to Klopp’s tenure.
Those who remain at the club under Klopp’s tutelage and were part of Arne Slot’s title-winning squad are free to touch the board, although it is uncertain whether the Dutchman will maintain it.
So it may have been a practice that Klopp was initially unsure of, but it has become an accepted tradition and only adds to the mystique of the famous sign synonymous with Liverpool Football Club.
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