Four years have passed since Liverpool’s last visit to Malaysia but, in football terms, it seems like an eternity.
Kenny Dalglish’s 2011 side featured the likes of Andy Carroll, Charlie Adam and Alberto Aquilani. Just one player from the squad of 23 who saw game time in the 6-3 victory at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium – full-back Jon Flanagan – is still with the club.
The 2015 Reds, who arrived in Kuala Lumpur this week ahead of Friday’s game against the Malaysia XI, are very much a team in transition. At Wednesday’s media conference at the serene Saujana Resort, manager Brendan Rodgers seemed to be asked more questions about players not on the tour than those who actually made it.
How would new signing Christian Benteke improve the squad? What about the future of the absent Mario Balotelli in the wake of his Twitter comments about the departed Raheem Sterling? With Steven Gerrard now with LA Galaxy, how would Jordan Henderson fare as captain?
“I’m only interested in talking about players I currently have,” an exasperated Rodgers said, just a few hours before Benteke’s £32.5 million move from Aston Villa was finalised back in the UK.
The big Belgian will add firepower up-front, plus a much-needed touch of glamour, to a squad lacking the superstars of years past. As much as Henderson and new signing James Milner – who sat alongside his manager and captain at the media conference – are seasoned England internationals, they are not players to set the pulses racing of local fans.
Indeed, former stars like Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler, Luis Garcia, Didi Hamann and John Barnes, are creating more buzz in Malaysia than most of the current squad. The five legends are in Southeast Asia to support the tour, or to work on commercial events on the sidelines of the official schedule.
“You can’t live in the past … you’ve got to move on,” Rush, a Liverpool ambassador, told ESPN FC.
“From my era with Bob Paisley to the 2005 Champions League winning team that Didi and Luis appeared in, that’s over now. There are a lot of new players over the past season or two. Players come and go, but Liverpool is more about the tradition, the fans and the family atmosphere at the club.”
Since their penalty shoot-out victory over AC Milan a decade ago, the Reds have lifted just two trophies – the 2006 FA Cup beating West Ham in the final and the 2012 League Cup, won on penalties against Cardiff City, under Dalglish.
They finished an unsatisfactory sixth in last season’s Premier League, but a summer spending spree has fans hoping for a serious title charge.
With the acquisition of Benteke, Rodgers has now overseen three of the four most expensive signings in Liverpool history – attacking midfielder Robert Firmino at £29 million from Hoffenheim and Adam Lallana at £25 million from Southampton are the others.
Only £35 million man, Andy Carroll, the striker who scored just six league goals in 44 appearances before moving to West Ham United in 2013, was costlier than the current attacking trio.
Liverpool have brushed aside three teams on their undefeated Asian and Australian tour, scoring eight goals and conceding just one.
A composite side comprised of locals and imports, the Malaysia XI aren’t expected to pose a serious threat. They’ll be missing much of their best talent including former Australia defender Robbie Cornthwaite, one of three players that local club, Selangor, have been refused release for the game.
In the last major match played at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Dollah Salleh’s Malaysians were crushed 6-0 by Palestine in an AFC World Cup qualifier in June. A similar thrashing isn’t beyond the realms of possibility as members of the Reds’ bloated squad try to impress their manager.
Even so, former Liverpool captain Steve McMahon – who works as technical adviser for Frenz United academy at nearby Janda Baik – says the pressure won’t ease up on Rodgers.
“Pre-season results mean nothing … we saw that with Newcastle United last season who were looking really good in the summer and ended up having to fight relegation,” McMahon said.
“Liverpool have appeared to have change the way they play on tour, with more of a pressing game. But if they don’t start the season well, Rodgers could be in trouble.”
There is still a holiday feel in Malaysia, with the notorious Klang Valley traffic lighter than usual for the visitors from England. Many local families are still on vacation as they continue to celebrate the Hari Raya festival.
Tour organisers say ticket sales are picking up, with fans able to watch both the Thursday evening training session and Friday’s game for the one price.
A crowd of around 70,000 – 15,000 fewer than 2011 – is expected to click through the turnstiles.
Just a couple of hours before Thursday’s training session, defender Mamadou Sakho and winger Jordon Ibe were at the Paradigm Mall, near the team hotel, doing a sponsored meet-and-greet with the public.
But if they hadn’t been dressed in their Liverpool colours, Sakho and Ibe probably could have walked around the shopping centre without being recognised.
One thing that the 2011 and 2015 Liverpool matches in Malaysia have in common is the absence of the iconic Steven Gerrard.
Four years ago, he skipped the Asian tour to work on his fitness at the club’s Melwood training base after groin surgery.
The previous Kuala Lumpur game saw the long forgotten
David N’Gog and Maxi Rodriguez score two goals apiece as the Reds saw off a spirited Malaysian side.
As much as getting on the scoresheet at Bukit Jalil on Friday night will bring confidence to Liverpool’s recent arrivals, history has proven that success on pre-season tours is certainly no guarantee of longevity.
Jason Dasey is Senior Editor of ESPN FC (formerly ESPN Soccernet), Borneo’s most popular football website which has a Southeast Asia edition. Twitter: @ESPNFC