Divock Origi started Jurgen Klopp's first Liverpool match in October 2015 and, against all odds, he's one of only three players involved that afternoon at White Hart Lane still at the club.Along the way, he's been sidelined, sent on loan and put up for transfer but has come out the other side a hugely popular figure in the dressing-room and an even bigger cult figure among the fans.As team-mate James Milner put it in a recent book: 'What would anyone's life be like without Divock Origi?' The Belgian striker first burst on to the scene as a teenager at the 2014 World Cup and is still only 24. The bigger the occasion, the better he seems to play.His two goals in Liverpool's 5-2 victory against Everton on Wednesday means he has scored more in Merseyside derbies than Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane put together.Last season's Champions League triumph was largely down to him. Another double helped thrash Lionel Messi's Barcelona 4-0 in the semi-final and it was his late strike against Tottenham in the Madrid final that confirmed a sixth European Cup was heading to Anfield.Not bad for a player sent out to Wolfsburg for the 2017-18 season and returned having scored only six goals in the Bundesliga. How has he turned it around to become a special favourite? Origi at Liverpool 2015-16 34 games, 10 goals, 3 assists2016-17 43 games, 11 goals, 4 assists2017-18 1 game(on loan at Wolfsburg: 36 games, 7 goals, 3 assists)2018-19 22 games, 8 goals, 2 assists2019-20 18 games, 5 goalsHONOURSChampions League 2018-19UEFA Super Cup 2019-20 Origi probably owes his affable, laid-back personality to his father Mike, a Kenyan international footballer whose career took him to Belgium, where Divock was born. Both father and son speak excellent English so communication has never been a problem.Initially, Klopp didn't seem to fancy breaking his famed front three for Origi. Perhaps he was too inconsistent and reliant on pace for the manager's liking, even though he could operate at centre-forward or wide on the left. Significantly, Origi has made more appearances for Liverpool off the bench (66) than he's started (50).It would be frustrating for any player but Origi's calm approach to life has probably helped him find the patience required to wait his turn.'Div is so relaxed,' notes Milner in his 2019 handbook Ask a Footballer. 'If we have a team meeting, most of us will be there well before. He is always the last to arrive – never late, or very rarely, but mot more than 30 second before the meeting starts.'How can I be stressed if this guy is just floating around on Planet Origi, super-chilled, smiling, leaving a trail of his possessions behind him.' Maybe that 'super-chilled' approach initially frustrated the super-intense Klopp. Origi didn't make a Premier League appearance between August 2017 and December 2018 but everything changed in last season's Merseyside derby at Anfield.He was sent on to replace Firmino after 84 minutes and in the final minute head
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Divock Origi started Jurgen Klopp's first Liverpool match in October 2015 and, against all odds, he's one of only three players involved that afternoon at White Hart Lane still at the club.Along the way, he's been sidelined, sent on loan and put up for transfer but has come out the other side a hugely popular figure in the dressing-room and an even bigger cult figure among the fans.As team-mate James Milner put it in a recent book: 'What would anyone's life be like without Divock Origi?' The Belgian striker first burst on to the scene as a teenager at the 2014 World Cup and is still only 24. The bigger the occasion, the better he seems to play.His two goals in Liverpool's 5-2 victory against Everton on Wednesday means he has scored more in Merseyside derbies than Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane put together.Last season's Champions League triumph was largely down to him. Another double helped thrash Lionel Messi's Barcelona 4-0 in the semi-final and it was his late strike against Tottenham in the Madrid final that confirmed a sixth European Cup was heading to Anfield.Not bad for a player sent out to Wolfsburg for the 2017-18 season and returned having scored only six goals in the Bundesliga. How has he turned it around to become a special favourite? Origi at Liverpool 2015-16 34 games, 10 goals, 3 assists2016-17 43 games, 11 goals, 4 assists2017-18 1 game(on loan at Wolfsburg: 36 games, 7 goals, 3 assists)2018-19 22 games, 8 goals, 2 assists2019-20 18 games, 5 goalsHONOURSChampions League 2018-19UEFA Super Cup 2019-20 Origi probably owes his affable, laid-back personality to his father Mike, a Kenyan international footballer whose career took him to Belgium, where Divock was born. Both father and son speak excellent English so communication has never been a problem.Initially, Klopp didn't seem to fancy breaking his famed front three for Origi. Perhaps he was too inconsistent and reliant on pace for the manager's liking, even though he could operate at centre-forward or wide on the left. Significantly, Origi has made more appearances for Liverpool off the bench (66) than he's started (50).It would be frustrating for any player but Origi's calm approach to life has probably helped him find the patience required to wait his turn.'Div is so relaxed,' notes Milner in his 2019 handbook Ask a Footballer. 'If we have a team meeting, most of us will be there well before. He is always the last to arrive – never late, or very rarely, but mot more than 30 second before the meeting starts.'How can I be stressed if this guy is just floating around on Planet Origi, super-chilled, smiling, leaving a trail of his possessions behind him.' Maybe that 'super-chilled' approach initially frustrated the super-intense Klopp. Origi didn't make a Premier League appearance between August 2017 and December 2018 but everything changed in last season's Merseyside derby at Anfield.He was sent on to replace Firmino after 84 minutes and in the final minute head
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