When Liverpool FC opposes Tottenham Hotspur in UEFA Champions League final Saturday in Madrid — the game the world beyond the United States borders considers to be the true “Super Bowl” — it will mark the first time two teams from England’s Premier League have advanced this far since Manchester United and Chelsea played for the title in 2008.
A closer look at how Liverpool and Spurs were constructed, however, demonstrates the most English thing about the two teams is the money that allowed them to be assembled through world soccer’s transfer market. (And, of course, the proximate fan bases that help keep that money flowing).
Liverpool is managed by a German, Jurgen Klopp. Tottenham’s coach, Mauricio Pochettino, is Argentine.
Liverpool’s academy system produced one player, right back Trent Alexander-Arnold, expected to appear Saturday. For Spurs it was only forward Harry Kane, who is fighting to recover from an injury in time to start or appear as a substitute, although right back Danny Rose joined the club at age 17 and played with their youth teams before making his first-team debut in 2010, at 19.
Liverpool is in its second consecutive final, having lost by a 3-1 score to Real Madrid in 2018. The Reds then spent a total of $213 million on such players as goalkeeper Allison Becker and midfielder Fabinho. Tottenham’s place in this game is all the more remarkable because Spurs, drained by a self-financed stadium project that cost nearly $1.1 billion, did not spend a dime (or a pound) to acquire players. They became the first club to not sign a player in the summer transfer window since it was introduced in the Premier League in 2003.
It is hard to say exactly what lineups Klopp and Pochettino will deploy against one another, but to compare the methods of building the two teams, these are the lineups Liverpool and Tottenham, with a few exceptions, used in the second legs of their Champions League semifinals.
Liverpool FC
Goalkeeper: Allison Becker
Age: 26
Nationality: Brazil
Acquired: Transfer from AS Roma, $69.7 million, July 2018
Overview: Many thought Liverpool had gone overboard when it spent the most any club ever had for a goalkeeper, but Becker delivered a game-saving stop in added time of the final group-stage game, against Napoli, which the Reds needed to win to advance. He also made several huge stops in the semifinal second leg against Barcelona. He kept clean sheets in both games, two of his five in UCL play.
Right back: Trent Alexander-Arnold
Age: 20
Nationality: England
Acquired: Product of Liverpool FC Academy
Overview: Named to the Premier League Team of the Year, which is voted upon by other EPL players. Alexander-Arnold was responsible for 13 assists in Premier League play and three in Champions League. It was his quick thinking on a corner kick taken before the Barcelona defense was prepared that set up Divock Origi’s series-winning goal in the UCL semis.
Central defense: Joel Matip
Age: 27
Nationality: Cameroon
Acquired: Transfer from FC Schalke 04, free, July 2016
Overview: Matip did not begin the season in the Liverpool lineup, but he started a majority of games down the stretch after a broken leg ruined Joe Gomez’ season and Dejan Lovren was bothered by a hamstring problem. He can be prone to defensive lapses but excels at advancing the ball into the attack when the moment is right.
Central defense: Virgil van Dijk
Age: 27
Nationality: Netherlands
Acquired: Transfer from Southampton, $94.4 million, January 2018
Overview: He may be the best defender on the planet at the moment. He was named the PFA Player of the Year in the Premier League, an award voted upon by his peers. At 6-4, he uses his size brilliantly in the air, but he also excels and reading opponents’ attacks and smothering them.
Right back: Andy Robertson
Age: 25
Nationality: Scotland
Acquired: Transfer from Hull City, $10 million, July 2017
Overview: Robertson’s arrival was expected to give LFC an option at left back, not a definitive answer. He has excelled almost since the moment he arrived. Like Alexander-Arnold, he was named to the Team of the Year for 2018-19. Former England fullback Gary Neville has said he is “shocked” by Robertson’s improvement.
Midfield: Fabinho
Age: 25
Nationality: Brazil
Acquired: Transfer from AS Monaco, $50.2 million, July 2018
Overview: In reaching the Champions League final a year ago, the Reds did not feature a true defensive midfielder. They tried to play Jordan Henderson there, but he was miscast. Fabinho has given Liverpool a true “No. 6”, a player with the ability to break up opposing attacks and spray the ball forward with the correct pass to spring an attack. He has had some injury issues and played in a little more than half the team’s games.
Midfield: Jordan Henderson
Age: 28
Nationality: England
Acquired: Transfer from Sunderland, $20 million, July 2011
Overview: The team’s captain since the 2015 retirement of Steven Gerrard, Henderson has played more often on the right side of Liverpool’s 4-3-3 formation and has shown more comfort there. He has the experience of playing as a defense midfielder so he adds some balance, and he excels at putting long passes on target, but his struggle to score or create chances is sometimes viewed as a problem.
Midfield: Georginio Wijnaldum
Age: 28
Nationality: Netherlands
Acquired: Transfer from Newcastle, $30.7 million, July 2016
Overview: Wijnaldum was not in the lineup at the start of the second leg of the Barca series but came on to replace an injured Robertson and scored twice early in the second half to tie the game. He has been the most consistent starter in Liverpool’s midfield – in every sense of the word.
Forward: Sadio Mane
Age: 27
Nationality: Senegal
Acquired: Transfer from Southampton, $46 million, July 2016
Overview: Mane tied for the Premier League lead in goals – with 22 -- and had his best season in three years with the Reds, providing constant danger on the left flank with his speed and ability to control the ball.
Forward: Roberto Firmino
Age: 27
Nationality: Brazil
Acquired: Transfer from TSG Hoffenheim, $45.7 million, July 2015
Overview: Playing most often in the center of Liverpool’s front three, Firmino did not produce as many goals in 2018-19 as the year before; he finished with 12 in league play and four in Champions League. He was bothered by a hamstring injury in the final two months of the season but appears to be on track to play against Spurs.
Forward: Mohamed Salah
Age: 26
Nationality: Egypt
Acquired: Transfer from AS Roma, $46.9 million, July 2017
Overview: Salah did not match the magical season he conjured a year earlier, but few ever have reached that level. He still tied Mane for the Premier League goal scoring lead and delivered eight assists in league play. He missed only two starts all season.
Top reserves
Divock Origi
Age: 24
Nationality: Belgium
Acquired: Transfer from LOSC Lille, $14.1 million, July 2014
Overview: Origi scored some of the most important goals of the season for Liverpool, including two in the victory over Barcelona. He has become the preferred sub over Daniel Sturridge if the team needs a late goal or someone to fill in for an injured forward.
James Milner
Age: 33
Nationality: England
Acquired: Transfer from Manchester City, free, July 2015
Overview: Milner could start against Spurs. He started 10 of the Champions League games because Klopp trusts his reliability. If he does not, he certainly would appear if Liverpool were fortunate enough to hold a second-half lead.
Joe Gomez
Age: 22
Nationality: England
Acquired: Transfer from Charlton Athletic, $5.5 million, July 2015
Overview: A defender with significant ability who began the year as a starter, Gomez likely would play if Liverpool were protecting a late lead.
Total expenditure for starting 11: $413.6 million
Estimated value of starting 11: $767.5 million (per Transfermkt.com)
Tottenham Hotspur FC
Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris
Age: 32
Nationality: France
Acquired: Transfer from Olympique Lyon, $14 million, August 2012
Overview: Lloris started for the World Cup champion, France, last summer and kept three clean sheets in six games. He shut out four of 10 Champions League opponents. He is considered an excellent shot-stopper, particularly from close range.
Right back: Kieran Trippier
Age: 28
Nationality: England
Acquired: Transfer from Burnley, $5.5 million, July 2015
Overview: Trippier emerged as one of England’s stars at the 2016 World Cup, an unusual development given that he owned 11 caps before the tournament began and had already reached age 27. He also was a late bloomer with Tottenham, replacing Kyle Walker at right back when injured in 2016-17 and then taking the job for good when Walker moved to Manchester City. Trippier is dangerous on free kicks.
Central defense: Toby Alderweireld
Age: 30
Nationality: Belgium
Acquired: Transfer from Atletico Madrid, $17.8 million, July 2015
Overview: After a tough season with Spurs a year ago, Alderweireld seemed energized by a solid World Cup performance with Belgium and again became a rock in central defense. The final will be his 50th game for Tottenham, coming off a World Cup year. That long break following the semis might benefit Toby more than any player in the final.
Central defense: Jan Vertonghen
Age: 32
Nationality: Belgium
Acquired: Transfer from AFC Ajax, $13.9 million, July 2012
Overview: Vertonghen missed two months of the 2018-19 season with a hamstring injury, but when healthy he has been a regular in the lineup. He also can function at left back if necessary. His partnership with Alderweireld can be seamless because the two play together internationally as well as with Spurs.
Left back: Danny Rose
Age: 28
Nationality: England
Acquired: Transfer from Leeds United, $1.1 million, July 2007
Overview: After beginning the year starting regularly in Premier League games but yielding his position to Ben Davies in Champions League, left back has been Rose’s job in most games during the knockout stages. Rose can cover ground on the left side, which is essential when Pochettino prefers a 3-man back line.
Central midfield: Moussa Sissoko
Age: 29
Nationality: France
Acquired: Transfer from Newcastle, $39 million, August 2016
Overview: Sissoko opened the Ajax game that advanced Spurs to this final and lasted the whole 90. He is one of the most versatile players in the game, capable of performing most any midfield role but most likely to operate here as a No. 6. He should be a key to slowing Liverpool’s often formidable attack.
Central midfield: Victor Wanyama
Age: 27
Nationality: Kenya
Acquired: Transfer from Southampton, $15.1 million, July 2016
Overview: A knee injury bothered Wanyama for much of this season, which led to him appearing sporadically before he became a regular starter in the team’s three most recent Champions League games. He did not perform well in all of them – his turnovers were a serious problem in the first leg against Ajax -- leading to the possibility he could yield his spot in the lineup to Kane if the star striker is healthy.
Right wing: Christian Eriksen
Age: 27
Nationality: Denmark
Acquired: Transfer from AFC Ajax, $15.1 million, August 2013
Overview: Eriksen is the player who keeps the Tottenham attack consistently productive. He is among the better goal-scorers and best passers in the Premier League. Eriksen’s name almost always appears on the lineup sheet when Spurs are playing a big game.
Attacking midfield: Dele Alli
Age: 23
Nationality: England
Acquired: Transfer from MK Dons, $7.4 million, February 2015
Overview: One of the most talented players in English soccer, Alli has not enjoyed a spectacular season because of an injury that cost him six weeks. But he did deliver two crucial assists – on typically impressive plays – in the second-leg victory over Ajax that got Spurs here. Containing Alli above the box is a nightmare for any team that opposes him.
Left wing: Heung-min Son
Age: 26
Nationality: Korea Republic
Acquired: Transfer from Bayer Leverkusen, $33.4 million, August 2015
Overview: With Harry Kane missing at the vital stages of Champions League, Son stepped into the void and suggested he might be the team’s most complete player. Equally dangerous setting up teammates or shooting himself, Son scored three goals over two legs against Manchester City in the Champions League quarters, preventing City from having a shot at quadruple championships.
Forward: Lucas Moura
Age: 26
Nationality: Brazil
Acquired: Transfer from Paris Saint-Germain, $31.7 million, January 2018
Overview: Moura’s three goals in the second leg against Ajax represented one of the most impactful – and, given that the third was scored in the final seconds of stoppage time – dramatic hat tricks in world soccer history. He scored 10 goals in 25 Premier League appearances and five in Champions League. His finishing in the Ajax game required supreme confidence and an exquisite touch.
Top reserves
Davinson Sanchez
Age: 22
Nationality: Colombia
Acquired: Transfer from AFC Ajax, $44.6 million, August 2017
Overview: Sanchez will start for Tottenham if the choice is to open with three central defenders, an approach taken in most Champions League games – but not the second leg of the semifinal against Ajax. Sanchez is one of the world’s most promising young defenders.
Erik Lamela
Age: 27
Nationality: Argentina
Acquired: Transfer from AS Roma, $33.5 million, August 2013
Overview: Lamela produced a goal and two assists in six Champions League appearances off the bench – exactly the kind of return Spurs would want to get from Lamela now that starting is only rarely available to him.
Harry Kane
Age: 25
Nationality: England
Acquired: Product of Tottenham’s academy
Overview: Kane is one of the top strikers in soccer, winner of the Golden Boot at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and scorer of 125 goals in 178 appearances for Tottenham. He obviously would start were it not for the ankle injury that’s kept him from some of the season’s biggest games. But he hopes to return for the final. It would be interesting to see what approach will be taken if he’s considered fully fit.
Total expenditure for starting 11: $194 million
Estimated value of starting 11: $631.5 million (per Transfermkt.com)
