Karius since Kyiv as X-rated jibe, Kop ovation and FIFA legal action remembered
Contrary to what you may have read elsewhere in this past week, Loris Karius did don a Liverpool shirt again after the events of Kyiv. Four times in fact.
What happened in the Ukrainian capital in 2018 has long since passed into football folklore of course, with Karius the ultimate fall guy on an evening he has never been allowed to forget.
No matter the reminders that the goalkeeper shouldn't have been on the pitch for those oft-repeated moments because he was suffering from concussion, or the hindsight-driven narrative that Kyiv proved to be a positive experience for the Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp love story, given the successes that were to come.
There are more devastating stories in life of course, and indeed in that city, but for Karius there will never be another stage quite like the one he suffered on, not even Wembley will make up for that.
It could help though.
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And so that is why, nearly five years on from that most traumatic, groggy experience in the Champions League final, plenty will be hoping that the now 29-year-old German impresses for Newcastle against Manchester United on Sunday.
It would complete a long road back.
Traumatised at Tranmere after lounging in LA
Karius was mocked during a pre-season friendly at Tranmere Rovers (REX/Shutterstock)Sometimes you just need someone to step in and tell you that it is not a good idea.
Karius didn't have that prior to his return to action though, as a slick, professional video of the German on his Los Angeles summer break appeared on his Instagram account shortly before his return for pre-season ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.
Never one to shy away from his fashion model good looks, a topless Karius was seen running up and down streets, diving into a pool, eating ice cream and generally looking a million dollars, all while Liverpool supporters struggled to get over just what had happened in the final.
Karius' Instagram video was seen to be ill-advised (Loris Karius Instagram)With the concussion diagnosis still wrongly viewed with skepticism by some - thankfully attitudes to head injuries have changed in the years since - it didn't exactly set the best tone, especially as initial reports indicated that Liverpool were not going to sign a new goalkeeper as Klopp was ready to persist with Karius in the hope of a redemption story.
An agitated fanbase didn't take that well, and there was even talk of a handful of individuals taking things too far and issuing death threats. It was an odd time.
Karius played in Liverpool's first four pre-season friendlies of that summer though, keeping clean sheets in three of them.
In the other, a 3-2 win at Tranmere, he had fumbled a free-kick from Rovers' Oliver Norburn into the path of Jonny Smith, who scored the rebound. In Tranmere's celebrations forward Ben Tollitt could be seen mouthing "you're f***ing s***" in the goalkeeper's direction.
It didn't take long for social media to pick up on the fact that Tollitt was a Liverpool fan who had been in Kyiv, and so you can imagine the response that got. It remained open season on the goalkeeper.
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Karius was targeted for his pre-season error (REX/Shutterstock)
The response from Tollitt went viralHe'd soon be taken out of the limelight though, as after Jurgen Klopp's new suggestions that the young Welshman Danny Ward had what it takes to be Liverpool's No.1 - a declaration that reminds you that you should never take anything football managers take too seriously - a deal was wrapped up to bring Alisson to the club.
The world class stopper that Liverpool needed regardless of what happened to Karius in Kyiv was secured, so it remained to be seen what would happen to the man still on everyone's lips.
A fond farewell
Karius received warm applause from the Kop during a friendly against Torino (Getty Images)With Alisson on board, Liverpool raised £12.5m with the sale of Ward to Leicester, leaving Karius and Simon Mignolet as the Brazilian's understudies.
Mignolet had initially been keen to leave, but ultimately it was Karius who would step away for the season. Not before a fond farewell though.
Before any reports of his two-year loan deal to Besiktas had surfaced, the German came on as a substitute for Alisson in an Anfield friendly against Torino, receiving a heartwarming ovation from the Kop as he did so.
Klopp was delighted.
"I was not surprised, to be honest, but as a human being I was hoping for it, that it would be like this," he said.. I loved it, to be honest. Is it possible being different in a really hard world? Yes, I think it is possible.
"We showed tonight a really nice face and I liked it. It helps not only Loris, it helps Alisson as well, that you can see this is a very special place. It was a really big gesture."
It had been a nice moment for everyone concerned, but Karius now knew that there was no way he'd get the games he needed to restore his reputation, and so he had to move on.
Coming up big for Besiktas until contract problems
Karius played 67 games in two seasons at Besiktas (AFP/Getty Images)The media attention on Karius in Istanbul was as you'd expect, with a combination of his looks and his back story making it impossible for many to resist.
Any mistake he made was initially amplified, with his lifestyle and apparent enjoyment of the spotlight scrutinised.
He did receive some rave reviews though, most notably for one performance against Alanyaspor in December 2018, and with the added security of a two-year loan deal he was allowed to settle in to his new environment, where he impressed in the Europa League and domestically.
There were issues at the club which would soon knock him off his stride though, and after he wasn't paid his wages for four months, with performance levels dropping, he contacted FIFA and sought legal action action against the Turkish club.
It was a process that would go on for over a year, and although he still stayed in the team for the majority of the 2019-20 season he was happy to terminate his loan spell in Turkey in May 2020.
Karius pitched up at Newcastle in September last year (PA)With the likes of Caoimhin Kelleher and Adrian now at Anfield there was little chance of him getting into the first-team picture, and another loan was agreed with Union Berlin for the 2020-21 season, although he'd only play five times.
Last season, the final one of his Liverpool contract, was played out with him on the fringes, with the Reds opting to give game time and loan moves to younger keepers they sought to develop ahead of Karius' contract expiring last summer.
The move to Newcastle followed and, in remarkable circumstances, he now finds himself in the big-game limelight in the wake of Nick Pope's red card against Liverpool last weekend.
Many will hope the latest chapter in the Karius story is a happy one.
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