One man’s misfortune can be another’s opportunity.
Andy Robertson knows that. It was an injury to Alberto Moreno, remember, which gave the Scot his big chance at Liverpool.
Robertson certainly took it, but now, almost four years on, it is Robertson’s deputy, Kostas Tsimikas, who is looking to launch his Anfield career in similar fashion.
The Greek international is in line for his first Premier League start this weekend, as the Reds get their campaign up and running away to Norwich on Saturday evening. With Robertson sidelined with ankle ligament damage, sustained in Sunday’s friendly with Athletic Club at Anfield, Tsimikas will be thrust into the limelight.
Sink or swim? We’ll soon find out.
The news on Robertson, it should be said, is better than many within the club feared when he hit the deck on Sunday. “Weeks not months,” is the word, with Klopp even suggesting he could be back before the first international break of the season.
“I think we got lucky,” he said. “It could have been much worse.”
Still, to begin the new season without one of your most reliable, and most high-quality, performers is hardly ideal. Robertson featured in all 38 of Liverpool’s Premier League games last term, and made 50 appearances in all competitions. He’ll be missed.
Klopp will hope, though, that in Tsimikas he has the ideal replacement. After a difficult first 12 months on Merseyside, the former Olympiakos man looks ready to make his mark.
The 25-year-old has enjoyed a stellar pre-season, and he rounded it off with the best display of the lot against Osasuna at Anfield on Monday night.
Dare we say it was a Robertson-esque performance? There was certainly something familiar about the way Tsimikas created Liverpool’s second goal of a 3-1 win, playing a darting one-two with Takumi Minamino before whipping in a vicious low cross which Roberto Firmino gave the treatment it deserved.
And it was certainly interesting to see the way the fans responded to his all-action style. He gets stuck in, this lad, and that goes a fair way when you’re trying to win over your new supporters.
He’s a popular figure, Tsimikas. ‘The Greek Scouser’, he calls himself. He’s likeable, and he’s settled in well to the Liverpool dressing room. He and Mohamed Salah are close and, like Robertson, Tsimikas has gained a reputation as one of the jokers of the squad. He’s certainly one of the loudest voices.
And he’s a good footballer, too. His debut campaign may have been decimated by illness and injury - he managed only six minutes of Premier League football, and only seven appearances in total - but he arrived with a good reputation having played close to 100 times for Olympiakos, where he featured in the Champions League and was part of the title-winning side of 2019-20.
Liverpool felt at the time, and still feel, that he is an ideal fit for what Klopp demands from his full-backs. He is quick, tenacious, carries the ball well and has excellent delivery. There is room for improvement, but the same was said for Robertson. And boy did he improve.
If Tsimikas can do even half as well, Liverpool will be in business.
The stage is yours, Kostas. After a year in the shadows, it’s time for the Greek Scouser to show what he can do under the spotlight.
