Football is a cynical, money-driven, commercial machine these days, right?
Well, not always. Just occasionally something can happen that transcends the balance sheet and reminds you that it was once – and sometimes still is – a game of passion and emotion.
One of those times was last April when Liverpool travelled to Borussia Dortmund for a Europa League tie.
It was the first time ex-Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp had returned to the club where he had so much success, and it was the first time the two sides had faced each other since 1966.
Before kick off both sets of fans joined together for a spine-tingling rendition of Liverpool’s famous anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone.
We’ve all heard it sung many times at Anfield, but hearing more than 80,000 fans sing it in unison in Dortmund’s imposing Signal Iduna Park was something special.
So special in fact, that FIFA named both sets of fans as the winner of the FIFA Fan Award at ‘The Best’ ceremony held in Zurich on Monday night.
Congratulations, @LFC & @BVB!
Winners of the FIFA Fan Award #TheBest 🏆https://t.co/LO8lWBKxpn pic.twitter.com/dqVJkMAfJp— FIFA (@FIFAcom) January 9, 2017
And Dortmund had a typically classy response:
Thank you very much! In our opinion, this title should belong to the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster. #JFT96 #TheBest https://t.co/9RXDcNoSkb
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) January 9, 2017
Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson who was covering the game for the BBC, said at the time: “That was a wow moment.
“Even for a cynical old professional, that was just fantastic.
“Last time I heard anything like that was when Liverpool played Celtic in the Uefa Cup quite a few years ago at Celtic and they did the same thing. It was absolutely magnificent.
“You have to thank the local Dortmund fans because they wouldn’t need to sing it but I think they’ve sang it out of total respect.”
