Getty/GOALIn a GOAL exclusive, the Dutchman discusses the Rossoblu's remarkable rise, as well as former team-mates Joshua Zirkzee and Riccardo Calafiori
Sam Beukema speaks for just under half an hour – and not once does the smile disappear from his face. It's easy to understand why, of course. On Wednesday, he's likely to line out at Anfield for the first time as a player, with Bologna taking on Liverpool at one of the most famous venues in football.
Beukema still can't quite get his head around it. He was on FaceTime with team-mates Lewis Ferguson and Dan Ndoye when the draw for this season's Champions League was made back in August, and they knew because of the nature of the new format that they were guaranteed to face one big, Pot One team away from home.
"But when we got Liverpool at Anfield, we were all like, 'This is going to be so cool!'" he tells GOAL in an exclusive interview. "I've only been there once before as a kid with (current Netherlands international) Tijjani Reijnders, as we were playing together in the Twente youth team at the time.
"The club brought the whole squad to a Europa League game against Zenit (in 2013) and Luis Suarez scored twice. Hearing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' before the game was so impressive and the atmosphere was amazing right until the end. It was a great experience, so going there now with Bologna is going to be magical no matter what happens."
