James Milner wants Liverpool to begin an era of dominance that is so successful it will be tough to remember how many trophies they lifted and the year in which they won them.
Liverpool’s vice-captain moved from Manchester City four years ago because he felt it offered his best chance to win the Champions League, and he succeeded in June. But his desire has not been sated and he wants to add the Club World Cup to his list of honours.
Milner, who starts today’s semi-final against Mexican side Monterrey, said: ‘We don’t want to be remembered as the team who won one major trophy. We want people to remember us as a group and forget when we won each trophy.
‘You have to be successful to be here and they are all strong teams. It will be difficult but you want to get that winning habit and win trophies together and to keep adding them.’
If Liverpool are successful this weekend in Doha, it would be their best year for silverware since 2001 when Gerard Houllier’s squad won five trophies.
Having won the Champions League and European Super Cup in the last six months, Milner believes there is substance to what manager Jurgen Klopp has built.
The 33-year-old, who last week signed a new deal that runs to 2022, said: ‘Since I have been at the club it was important to get that first trophy. We had been unfortunate in a few finals but the team has moved on. You could see how we bounced back from the Champions League final defeat when we went back and won it this year. The group is focused on the next step. It’s special to be here.’
It has been argued Liverpool’s quest to become Premier League champions has been compromised due to them having to embark on a 7,000-mile round trip before Christmas. But this ignores that Liverpool have a chance to do something none of the other teams from the club’s past did.
Milner said: ‘We are in good form and hopefully we can keep that momentum going. It is fantastic to win a trophy. If a chance to win a trophy is a distraction, then this is a pretty good distraction.’