8:21 AM ET
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Chris WrightToe Poke writer
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp answered Adebayo Akinfenwa’s impassioned call to congratulate him after the veteran striker gave one of the great postmatch interviews following Wycombe’s promotion to the Championship.
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Jump to: Bale uses ‘binoculars’ to watch another Real Madrid game from subs bench
Congratulations are definitely due to Wycombe, who beat Oxford United in the League One playoff final on Monday (stream the replay on ESPN+ in the U.S.) to reach the second tier of English football for the first time in their history.
The Chairboys finished in the bottom six last season and almost went out of business entirely as recently as 2014, but all that was forgotten as a hard-fought 2-1 win at Wembley sealed their promotion to the Championship.
As you might imagine, there were joyous scenes after the game as charismatic striker Akinfenwa gave one of the all-time great postmatch interviews.
Four years ago, the bodybuilding centre-forward scored a late penalty to seal AFC Wimbledon’s League Two playoff final victory, before urging clubs to “hit me up on Whatsapp” as his contract was about to expire. Lowly Wycombe got in touch, and now they are one step below the Premier League thanks in part to the 38-year-old, who wore his heart on his sleeve in front of the cameras after the game.
đČ – “The only person that can hit me up on WhatsApp this time is Klopp so we can celebrate together!”@daRealAkinfenwa may have just given the best post-match interview ever…đpic.twitter.com/MAxCPgFZqq
â Sky Sports (@SkySports) July 13, 2020
A lifelong Liverpool fan, Akinfenwa called out the Reds boss, saying: “Let me tell you something, the only person who can hit me up on Whatsapp this time is Klopp, so we can celebrate together.”
Sure enough, the Premier League title-winning manager got in touch to deliver a special congratulatory message after being tipped off by his captain, Jordan Henderson.
Are u crazyyyyyyy the man, the myth, the legend sent me a Watsapp. Today can’t get any better. Thank you Klopp #YNWA #Beast20 #BeastMode we did it #champHereWeCome đȘđżđđżđ pic.twitter.com/9RgiKZkYt2
â daRealAAkinfenwa (@daRealAkinfenwa) July 13, 2020
“Hello big man, congratulations,” Klopp said in a video message, shared on Twitter by Akinfenwa who was still in his kit long after the game at Wembley had finished. “Well done. Great, great victory. Even in these strange times, I hope you celebrate appropriately.”
Henderson himself also offered his applause over social media, as did Virgil van Dijk and former Reds defender Jose Enrique, to toast Akinfenwa and Wycombe’s success.
Congratulations big man! đđ» https://t.co/2J0Kw5GmYz
â Jordan Henderson (@JHenderson) July 13, 2020
What a guy! đ„đŠŸ Congrats big man!
â Virgil van Dijk (@VirgilvDijk) July 13, 2020
Akinfenwa actually scored against Liverpool the only time he’s ever faced his beloved team, netting in a 2-1 defeat for AFC Wimbledon in an FA Cup third-round tie, back in 2015.
Bale uses ‘binoculars’ to watch another Real Madrid game from subs bench
At the other end of the spectrum, Gareth Bale was once again left to amuse himself as he sat on the bench for the entirety of Real Madrid’s league clash against Real Betis.
Having not featured in Real’s last four games, the Welshman caused consternation last week by pretending to fall asleep while watching Los Blancos beat Alaves from the stands.
Bale’s behaviour at the Bernabeu was subsequently branded “shameful” by Marca but that didn’t prevent him from laying on the pantomime shtick once again just a few days later.
The 30-year-old was spotted larking around with a pair of pretend binoculars while he sat, socially distanced, among the substitutes.
Of course, it’s nothing much when viewed in isolation, but once added to the lengthening list of trolling Bale appears to be conducting (“Wales, Golf, Madrid”, etc) it becomes increasingly unlikely that he’ll ever work his way back into the Madridistas‘ affections.
