Having struggled with average goalkeepers for quite some time, Liverpool swooped in to sign Alisson Becker for £65 million from Roma in 2018. Many balked at the price tag at the time, but the Brazilian has now more than justified the manager’s faith.
In 225 matches wearing the red shirt, he has kept 112 clean sheets for the team. Alisson has been part of the new breed of sweeper keepers, occasionally operating as an 11th outfield player.
Today, much of Liverpool’s success can be attributed to the Brazilian goalkeeper, who has unquestionably won the hearts of fans over the years. But sometimes the goalkeeper does get under the radar. However, not this time. Prior to the game against Burnley, the fans have prepared a token of appreciation for their goalkeeper, and it was about time.
The new Alisson chant
The new chant has surfaced on the internet, capturing a scene from the terrace of Taggy’s Bar in Anfield. The video highlights musician Andy Hodgson as he performs an irresistibly catchy chant dedicated to the Brazilian goalkeeper in front of an enthusiastic Liverpool crowd amidst a vibey atmosphere.
The musician himself has taken to the video to share the lyrics to the song. It goes:
“‘Alisson Becker, the Brazilian in our goal,
We love him as our own,
He loves to get the ball to Mo,
There once was a corner, Alisson ran up on his own,
What happened don’t you know?
He scored a f***ing wonder goal.”
This song is sung to the tune of ‘Dragostea Din Tei’ by O-Zone. The song was released in 2003 and has sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Additionally, it has garnered over 207 million views on YouTube.
The lyrics celebrate the synergy between Liverpool’s goalkeeper and goal scorer, Mohamed Salah. Despite Klopp deploying Alisson as a sweeper keeper, his remarkable long-range passing skills are often overlooked, particularly when setting up Salah in attack. Intriguingly, Alisson has provided three assists for Salah, making him the sole Premier League goalkeeper to accomplish this feat for a single player.
The chant not only applauds Alisson’s goal-saving and assisting prowess but also his goal contribution. Despite having scored only one goal in his Liverpool career, it couldn’t have been a more crucial one. Andy Hodgson ensured to acknowledge this in the final two lines of his chant.
It was in reference to Liverpool’s 2020/21 campaign. With just three games remaining, Liverpool couldn’t afford to drop any points. However, in the final moments of their game with West Brom, things seemed poised at 1-1 at the end of regular time. In one last roll of the dice from a corner in the 95th minute, Alisson Becker bolted forward into the penalty box. It became the match-deciding moment as he launched himself onto the oncoming first-post delivery by Trent Alexander-Arnold, flicking it into the far corner of the net. This 2-1 victory, courtesy of the goalkeeper, went on to secure a Champions League place for Liverpool for the next season.
The supporters gathered outside the L4 bar were clearly delighted by the lyrics and the tune, and thanks to the influence of social media, the video has now amassed over 213K views on X.com in just a matter of days.
How did social media react to this new song ?
While the video did prove that the people have embraced this new chant unanimously, the users on Twitter seem to be torn about this new song.
People have put forth their personal opinions on the new chant. While some have appreciated it and tagged it as ‘one of the best songs for a player recently’ and ‘quality,’ another section of social media has despised it, describing it as ‘abysmal’ and ‘awful’.
People have drawn parallels between the Alisson song and the song from Celtic for their winger, Jota. Although the lyrics of both songs vary widely, people’s comparisons do make sense given the similar tune of both. They have criticized the Alisson song for being a rip-off of the Celtic song and have asserted that the Jota version sounded more captivating.
But this difference of opinion is something that could have been predicted. It is always very difficult to bring all the fans on the same page whenever a new chant comes up. But Alisson won’t complain for sure.
This is not the first Alisson chant that has surfaced on the internet. To the tune of ‘Sos Cagon’ sung by the River Plate fans, Gavin Jones from KENN7 composed his own chant in appreciation of the Brazilian goalkeeper and shared it online back in 2022.
That was a pretty melodious and well-versed chant and despite being appreciated by the followers, the song failed to catch on. Now let’s see if Taggy’s Bar can make that happen.
