LONDON • German manager Jurgen Klopp and his multinational squad of players have been given most of the credit for Liverpool's Premier League triumph, but behind the 19th top-flight title has been the astute ownership of a group of American executives.
It did not take great imagination to work out why the owners of the Boston Red Sox saw potential in Liverpool, when they purchased the team 10 years ago.
In 2004, the business partners in Fenway Sports Group, then known as New England Sports Ventures, experienced the impact sporting success could have on a club that had been starved of it for years.
After 86 years, the Red Sox finally won the World Series again, ending a lengthy wait known as the "Curse of the Bambino" - a reference to the team's decision to sell star pitcher Babe Ruth to rivals the New York Yankees after the 1919 season.
"Our goal in Liverpool is to create the kind of stability that the Red Sox enjoy," said John Henry, who became Liverpool's principal owner after the takeover. "We are committed to building for the long term."
There was some justifiable scepticism about the takeover on Merseyside given that the club's previous American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, had presided over a period of decline and rancour.
It was also noticeable that Henry's goal was a modest one - to bring stability. So many owners take over clubs promising glory to come but the avoidance of grandiose pledges was a sign of what was to come.
The nearest Henry got to a promise was in an interview shortly after taking over the club when he outlined what he saw as the key lesson learnt from the Red Sox revival.
"We have to have everyone from top to bottom on the same page... exactly the same page. And we will," he said.
"We will make mistakes and it will be up to us to correct them. With the level of support this club has, if we are all on the same page, we will be incredibly successful."
The Red Sox's 2004 victory over the St Louis Cardinals, was followed by World Series triumphs in 2007, 2013 and 2018.
Perhaps, Liverpool's success under American and German management, has only just begun.
REUTERS
