Thursday afternoon at Finch Farm and an opportunity to take a look at those whose futures are all ahead of them.
Everton’s Under-18s played a friendly against Blackburn Rovers and, as you can imagine, the game was fiercely contested. Halid Djankpata, an Italian midfielder of Togolese descent, and Issac Heath, another midfielder who has played for Merseyside since he was 13, both played well.
After beating Blackburn 2-1 in a Premier League Under-18 game eight weeks ago, Everton had another lead. At half-time the teams went in 1-1 but Everton upped their level after the break and a 3-1 success was completed by left-back Jack Butler.
An accomplished performer, Butler counts Leighton Baines as one of his football heroes and it’s not hard to imagine the spring he has in his stride each day, knowing he’s going to work to learn from a man he idolized .
Because while it was instructive to see what was happening on the pitch, it was just as informative to take a look at the dugout: Baines is the Under-18s head coach and was appointed to this role last June. In that admirable way of his he has gone on with his work without fuss or fanfare.
Leighton Baines has started coaching Everton Under-18s after his retirement in 2020
Baines retired at the end of the 2019–20 season. The last of his 420 appearances was a late cameo in a 3-1 defeat to Bournemouth behind closed doors. The pandemic hasn’t given him the ovation his quality deserved, but in many ways this is exactly how he would have liked it to be.
He slipped out the side door, giving no interviews, and many would have thought he was gone, never to be seen again. Baines hates the spotlight and left to his own devices, keeping his creative mind busy in other ways, looked at how he would spend life after football.
In an interview with Sportsmail in September 2014, he said, “As much as I love football, the reason I don’t watch or read about it now is because I give it my all. All the bits of time that are mine, I get rid of.
“So when I’m done I think I’ll get that passion back as I won’t be involved. I think I would go back as a fan. But I would like to do something different. I do not know what it is. I just want to try a different world, with different people, different experiences.’
He likes photography, music, creative writing; when Baines takes an interest in something, he immerses himself in it, studies it, and looks for the reasons why. It is for that reason that he should be taken seriously after being lured back into football.
Seeing him on the sidelines was a lesson. There was nothing demonstrative, no waving or screaming arms. He took notes, glanced at a computer for replays of key incidents, and figured out what to do next.
The left back has played over 400 games in a stellar career with the Toffees
Those who work with him say his humility is a huge plus, he never asks young boys who are still finding their way in the game to do anything they can’t or don’t want to do. He knows better than anyone that football is all about finding your feet and this young team has a great mentor.
As such, there have been some standout results in this debut campaign: Manchester City and Liverpool were both beaten at Finch Farm (1-0 and 2-1 respectively) and the last six games will offer many more challenges.
To be clear, this is not the time to make big predictions about what Baines will do in the future. It wouldn’t be fair to put pressure on him and there is still so much to learn. What can be safely said, however, is that no stone will be left unturned if he follows this path.
Baines ranks as one of the biggest deals Everton have completed, the £6 million they paid to Wigan in 2007 was paid back in buckets. Who knows? The decision to lure him back may also pay off.
Leiva retires as Liverpool legend
There will be an emotional farewell for a Brazilian at Anfield next month when Roberto Firmino departs and in this moment of farewell, a recent retirement cannot go by without being recognised. After all, this man was instrumental in helping establish Firmino.
Lucas Leiva spent 10 years at Liverpool before leaving in 2017. A heart condition forced him to hang up his boots at the age of 36 and the decision is still raw. Lucas is experiencing his career at Gremio, the club that helped him on his way.
What a bitter irony this is. Many Brazilians had more skill and flamboyance than Lucas, but few had more heart and you won’t hear a single word complained about him from his teammates; Lucas was a fighter, courageous and always eager to please.
Lucas Leiva has been forced to retire from football due to a heart condition
The Brazilian was a key figure in the Liverpool dressing room when Jurgen Klopp first took charge and is to be remembered as an Anfield legend
That last trait once got him into trouble with Jamie Carragher. As his English was not up to scratch when he first arrived in Liverpool, he found it difficult to converse. Carragher, fluent in Scouse, asked him a question early on that Lucas didn’t understand, so he answered “no”.
Stunned by what he heard, Carragher repeated the question. Lucas nodded nervously and said, “Yes!” – Carragher was of no use to any of this, who just turned and walked away, leaving Lucas stunned. Fortunately, better days were to come.
Lucas won people over every day and it explains why Jurgen Klopp was so eager to send him a congratulatory message on his career as he never forgot the important role he played in sending a message to the team when he was appointed manager from Liverpool in 2015.
Hopefully, there will come a point in the not-too-distant future when Lucas can actually return to Merseyside – and get the public ovation he richly deserved.