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As a footballer, Olympic gold is not typically on the top of many hopes and dreams lists, but Liverpool have had two players stand on the top step during their time as a Red.
The title ‘Olympian’ is for only the select few in the sporting world, and those who leave with a medal are of an even rarer breed.
The fact that Liverpool have had just two players go on to win Olympic gold since the club’s inception in 1892 attests to just that – and they were separated by 100 years!
One name will be more familiar to you than the other. Javier Mascherano arrived at Liverpool in 2007 with a gold medal to his name from 2004, a title he defended in Beijing in 2008.
That same Olympic year saw Lucas Leiva secure a bronze medal for Brazil.
Mascherano’s title defence saw him become the first male football to achieve back-to-back gold medals since Hungarian defender Dezso Novak in 1968.
And his success with Argentina saw him join Arthur Berry as the only other gold medal winner while on Liverpool’s books – Berry achieved the feat first, though, in 1908.
Incredibly, Berry also defended his gold medal having won with Great Britain in the 1908 London Games and then again in 1912 in Stockholm – defeating Denmark in the final on both occasions.
The right winger was 20 when he won his first Olympic title and would only play four games for Liverpool across three seasons.
#OnThisDay in 1908, England won gold at the @Olympics in London after beating Denmark 2-0 in the gold medal match?
FIFA oversees the Olympic men’s and women’s football tournaments every four years, with the next edition taking place in France in 2024. pic.twitter.com/Fsoom0irBU
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) October 24, 2023
His father was Edwin Berry, who was Liverpool’s Chairman from 1904 to 1909. Arthur retired in 1914 – still just 26 – and served as Adjutant of the Lancashire Fusiliers during WWI before joining the family law firm.
It is safe to say, then, that Mascherano and Berry’s careers had different trajectories following their Olympic success, with the Argentine only retiring aged 36 before going on to become a coach.
Although not a Liverpool player at the time of his success, it is worth noting that Joe Dines was also a member of the Great Britain side to win gold in 1912 – he became a Red later that summer.
That particular Olympic year is significant as it was the last series of medals to be made of solid gold – that means Berry picked up two very valuable gold medals.
With the modern era resistant to Olympic call-ups, it is hard to see a Liverpool player joining Mascherano and Berry any time soon – will we have to wait another 100 years?
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