Okay, so here’s the thing. I was thinking about football and this whole Heysel disaster popped up again. Yeah, it’s been almost 40 years—time really flies, huh? Anyway, Liverpool FC has this idea to honor the 39 fans who didn’t make it out of that 1985 disaster in Brussels. A fresh memorial at Anfield. Bigger this time… name? ‘Forever Bound’. It’s a name that sort of tugs at your heart, doesn’t it?
Not gonna be ready for the anniversary itself, though. Timing’s tricky, but it’s all done out of respect, you know? Juventus is working on their memorial too. So, let’s not rush things—see what I did there? Ian Rush and the big guy Billy Hogan will pop over to see the unveiling in Turin. Meanwhile, when ours is ready, it’ll be their turn to come over. Kinda like a somber exchange program, if you think about it.
Right, back to the scene—many ex-Liverpool players gathered for the big announcement. Bruce Grobbelaar was there. Dunno why, but whenever I hear his name, I picture him making one of those crazy saves. But I digress. They still haven’t figured out where exactly to put this new memorial around Anfield. Gotta get everything just right.
Speaking of this hefty piece—it’s gonna be something like 2.2 meters by 1 meter, draped with a phrase that basically says ‘In Memory and Friendship’—yes, in Italian, because… style, I guess? The design includes two scarves tied together; Liverpool’s Liverbird meets Juventus’ zebra. Kinda like a heartfelt handshake from afar, made of cold, hard bronze. And they’re engraving the victims’ names too—39 of them—with a ‘YNWA’ tucked in. Rush commented on it, said something about the care put into this. Important stuff. We should never forget, ya know?
But hey, what happened at Heysel? I sometimes find my mind wandering back—people crushed when that wall gave out under pressure. Like, physically and metaphorically. Thirty-nine people didn’t come home, mostly Italian, a couple of Belgians, some others. A lot went down that night. The wall fell before the game even started. Police mishap. Fans couldn’t escape. Match still went on, though; Juventus took home the win. Sounds odd when I say it out loud—football didn’t really seem to matter then.
The fallout was hefty. Fourteen Liverpool fans were sentenced, kind of, for manslaughter. And UEFA? They hit English clubs with a big ban—five years of doom, six for Liverpool. Then, there were those officials, dodging bullets in the courtrooms. They had roles, you know? Suspended sentences and all.
Anyway, life goes on, like the sound of match day on a distant radio. We remember, though, and that’s why Anfield needs this memorial. A piece of bronze holding history so we don’t just sweep it under some rug and call it a day.
