Liverpool's official website published Ian Rush's autobiography, in which Rush recounts his experience joining Liverpool and nearly being placed on the transfer list.

Official Website Content

My career at Liverpool has been well documented, and fans probably already know the story of how I joined as a young player from Chester to become The Reds' all-time leading goalscorer with 346 goals. It was a journey I'm immensely proud of and grateful for.

So this time, I want to do something a little different from my usual column and share some stories you may have already heard, and some you may not have.

The reason I joined Liverpool was because of Chester's manager, Alan Oakes. He understood my style of play. I'm confident that when Liverpool came in, they offered £300,000 for me. Manchester City was also interested and actually offered £500,000.

Alan had also played for Manchester City, so you might think he'd be more likely to push me there, but he told me to go to Liverpool because he felt it was better suited for my long-term development. Given the money involved in that transfer, it must have been a difficult decision for him at the time.

However, at Manchester City, many players would be thrown straight into the first team, whereas at Liverpool, you get time to adapt, adjust, and learn. I'm very grateful to him because that advice was invaluable in helping me hone my skills as a striker and goalscorer, and it shaped my career in the years to come.

I was only 18 years old when I joined Liverpool, and the club basically told me that as a young player, I had two years to break into the first team. You could make mistakes in the reserves, then learn to correct them and learn to play the Liverpool way.

I made my debut shortly after joining, and then also appeared in the squad towards the end of the season, just after five or six months. I played in the League Cup replay final and also featured in the European Cup semi-final against Bayern Munich.

By then, I was desperate to break into the first team the following season, so I went to Bob Paisley to ask for a pay rise because I felt I'd become a first-team player. But he refused, and we ended up arguing, and I angrily demanded to be put on the transfer list! He said no problem and promptly called my bluff.

He asked how many games I'd played, which was about seven at that point, and pointed out that I hadn't scored a single goal. But because we'd won some of the matches I was in and I'd played reasonably well, I felt it meant something. He said he'd put me on the transfer list, and that was that.

In response, I started playing with fierce determination, wanting to leave Liverpool. I first scored two goals in the reserves, then got a chance in a European Cup match against Finnish side Oulu Palloseura. We were already 4-0 up, Bob brought me on, and I scored an easy goal in front of The Kop—my first goal for Liverpool!

He then played me in two matches against Exeter, where I scored in both legs; then I scored two more goals against Leeds United, which meant I'd scored seven goals in about three games. After that, Bob called me and said he'd give me the pay rise I'd wanted. So I asked him if that meant he'd remove my name from the transfer list. He told me I was never actually on it! It was a touch of genius to spark my hunger.

I was actually quite shy when I first arrived at Liverpool. I was only 18 years old, and I remember changing next to Ray Clemence, Alan Hansen, and players I'd only ever seen on TV before.

I was very nervous at the time, but as time went on and I adapted, I realized I was just as good as them. Bob Paisley would often call me to train with the first team one day on Thursdays, then I'd go back to the reserves on Saturdays. I think he soon realized my game elevated to their level when I was playing alongside stronger players.

I remember the first time The Kop sang my name, I was so nervous that I didn't dare wave back. It was Sammy Lee who told me to acknowledge them! After the match started, I was mostly focused on what was happening on the pitch, which was natural. But as you grow more confident, start scoring goals, and the fans sing for you, you gradually fall in love with that feeling.

I always remember, on the day I signed my contract, standing in front of The Kop and thinking that if they sang my name just once, I'd have made it. Becoming the club's all-time leading goalscorer was something I never dreamed of. If I'd known what would happen later, I'm not sure I would have believed it.

I always believed that scoring goals was my job. If I scored one goal, I wanted the second, the third, and so on. Every time you see the fans at The Kop smile after you score, you crave that feeling again and again. That's the key. It's not about how you score goals, it's about scoring them.

Now that I've retired and can look back on my entire career more comprehensively, I'd probably say that the most important goal I scored for Liverpool was my first one. I don't have a particular favourite goal, but that one gave me the confidence to do it again and again in the years to come.

Of course, I've scored prettier goals and played in more exciting matches. But if that goal never happened, nothing that came after would have happened either. That's football; the margins are often very fine, and the key is being able to take your chances when they come.

The best trophy I ever won at Liverpool, without question, was the 1986 FA Cup. As a kid, I dreamed of scoring the winning goal in an FA Cup final. TV coverage usually ran from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Every year I'd watch the final, then run straight into the back garden and pretend I was the one who'd scored the winning goal that day.

Looking back at what I'd already won—league titles, League Cup titles, two European Cups—I'd won almost everything. But the FA Cup, I never thought I'd win it!

But my dream really did come true: we beat Everton, and I scored two goals at Wembley. That was something I'll never forget. Now when I speak to children, I always tell them to have dreams and believe in them. You have to work for it, whether it's football or anything else, but dreams really can come true. My dream came true, so why can't yours?

Everyone knows about my time at Juventus. But actually, I almost joined another Italian club, Napoli. They'd just signed Diego Maradona, and Maradona actually asked the club to bring me in. I only found out about all this later when I spoke to him, after he'd started coaching and shortly before he passed away.

The summer after I scored 47 goals that season, Napoli offered £4.5 million for me, plus a £1 million signing bonus! But Liverpool simply refused.

Honestly, it did shake me, purely because at that point I had a chance to look after my family financially. I had a huge row with chairman John Smith, because he wouldn't even discuss it with me, and we probably didn't speak for about a year after that, mostly because we were both equally stubborn! But he really did have my best interests at heart, and I knew that. Napoli ended up winning the league title that season.

Then I went to Italy, joined Juventus, and I was happy. But I soon realized that the world outside wasn't always better. I didn't know at the time that I'd even have the chance to come back to Liverpool.

When it became clear I would leave again, many clubs were interested in me. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson called me, Everton was interested, Rangers manager Graeme Souness got in touch, and Bayern Munich also called.

But it's interesting to look back on that experience now, because when Kenny Dalglish called me, he simply told me he'd booked me a flight for the next morning, that was it. I didn't even discuss wages or anything with him. I just wanted to wear that shirt again.

Having the chance to come back meant everything to me. When you look at it from the outside, you realize that playing for Liverpool means you're actually spoilt. In a way, I left for Juventus as a boy and returned to Anfield as a man, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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