Divock Origi goes from ‘worst striker’ to man who strikes gold in Liverpool’s Champions League win

For many of Liverpool’s players, the fuel for Saturday night’s triumph derived from the heartache of Kiev a year earlier.

Yet for Divock Origi the redemption story goes back three years to Switzerland and a different European final altogether.

These were early days in Jurgen Klopp’s reign but Origi demonstrated his potential as Liverpool hit their stride in the spring of 2016. The portents of his big-match temperament came early.

Origi scored home and away in the two-legged Europa League corker against Borussia Dortmund and then opened the scoring in a 4-0 victory over Merseyside rivals Everton. Yet it was in the 50th minute of that derby that the trajectory of the Belgian’s Liverpool career altered. 

A dreadful lunge by Ramiro Funes Mori all but ended Origi’s season. A dash back from injury saw Origi make the bench for the Europa League final against Sevilla but a 21-minute substitute appearance yielded only a yellow card in a dismal 3-1 defeat for Liverpool.

In the time that has passed, Origi must have wondered whether he would ever truly belong on Merseyside. He hit double figures in his first two seasons at the club yet Origi’s career has been a curious one riddled by injuries and inconsistency though also punctuated by crucial goals.

The substitute scores an 87th-minute goal against Tottenham at the Wanda Metropolitano

But talk about a sense of occasion. Origi is, for example, his country’s youngest goalscorer at a World Cup, rising to prominence when he scored an 88th-minute winner against Russia in Brazil’s Maracana stadium aged 19 in 2014. As a reward, he took a selfie with the King of Belgium and a national park named a dolphin after him.

Liverpool’s most enduring moments of this season have been cast in stone by Origi. The weird and wacky injury-time winner against Everton, the last-gasp header at Newcastle, two swishes of the boot against Barcelona and now the goal that clinched Champions League final glory against Tottenham.

On the day of Origi’s headed goal against Everton it was, remarkably, the first time he had appeared in Liverpool colours in the Premier League for 16 months.

The Belgian headed in a crucial late winner against Newcastle at St James’ Park

In between, there was a ghastly loan spell at Wolfsburg where the Germans became embroiled in a relegation battle and Origi’s personal low point arrived when he was substituted after only 42 minutes in a 3-0 defeat by Hoffenheim.

Indeed, when he returned to Anfield last summer Klopp was prepared to cash in and Valencia, for a while, seemed a likely destination. Now he is set to sign fresh terms at Liverpool.

As a teenager, Origi emerged as one of Europe’s most promising forwards and Liverpool’s desire to sign him in 2014 was underlined when he was allowed to spend an extra year at Lille as part of the agreement.

Origi celebrates his Champions League final goal in front of the travelling Liverpool fans

Yet with one eye on Anfield, Origi’s star faded in France. He scored just eight goals in 33 league appearances in his final campaign in Ligue 1.

The French newspaper L’Equipe named him in their ‘worst team of the season’ with an average rating of 4.46. An enduring personal memory comes from a small room at Lille’s training ground in March 2015. 

Origi had toiled for 20 games without a goal and when the tapes were off after an interview with a French colleague, he admitted to losing confidence and direction. His personal turmoil was a sad sight and, leaving Lille that day, it was hard to foresee a striker who could strike gold in English football.

Under Jurgen Klopp’s stewardship he has become a man for the big occasion

Yet his personality resonated. Fluent in four languages — English, French, Swahili and Flemish — Origi is an engaging character. He has studied psychology and he was full of questions about English culture and the history of Liverpool — the docks, the Beatles, the politics, the people.

Four days later, Origi stunned his French critics when he ended his drought by scoring a 34-minute hat-trick against Rennes. As Barcelona and Tottenham will now attest, Origi is a man you can never truly keep down.