The Community Shield is an octagon 58cm across, spun from 4.2kg of sterling silver. It is also whatever you want it to be. It is, as the cliche has it, the traditional curtain-raiser to the English season, a chance to experiment with new formats of penalty shootout. It’s a fun day out at Wembley (although presumably increasingly less fun given how often the teams who habitually play in it have to get themselves to HA9 these days). If you’re José Mourinho or Pep Guardiola, it’s definitely a trophy. And if you’re Jürgen Klopp, it’s a very obvious waste of time. The Community Shield is highly polished and, as such, tends to reflect the person viewing it.
Much of what the Liverpool manager said about the Community Shield, of course, was true. If you win it, nobody really cares. That David Moyes led Manchester United to Shield glory did little to mitigate the disappointment of his reign at Old Trafford. That Arsenal won it in three of Arsène Wenger’s final four seasons at the club could not dispel the sense of stagnation.
Written by Jonathan Wilson
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/aug/03/liverpool-manchester-city-community-shield-wembley under the title “Community Shield win would aid Liverpool’s pursuit of Manchester City | Jonathan Wilson”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
