Talent, training and work ethic is important for any footballer to truly make it at the top level of football.
While some players have the natural talent on a football pitch to create magic out of nowhere, the other type of footballer is willing to train his legs off on the way to glory, attempting to turn his idols into his rivals or even better, his teammates.
And while new Liverpool signing Thiago Alcantara might be an instance of the former, Japanese forward Takumi Minamino is definitely an example of the latter as he is soon to fulfil his dream of playing with one of his favourite footballers when they kick a ball for the same club in a few weeks.
Minamino was signed from Austrian outfit RB Salzburg in January this year, while Thiago made his move to Liverpool official only yesterday.
Picture of a 21-year-old Minamino dating back to 2016, along with Thiago, went viral online soon after the Spaniard’s acquisition was announced by the Premier League champions.
In 2016 Takumi Minamino took a picture with Thiago as a “fan” as Bayern were staying at the same hotel.
The Bayern Munich squad were staying at the same hotel in Qatar as the former RB Salzburg forward who was there simply as a schoolboy on a trip, and Minamino took his opportunity to pose for pictures with one of the best midfielders of the world, purely as a fan.
If one told him on the aforementioned night that he would go on to play alongside the very same Thiago for one of the best clubs in the world who have won the Premier League and the Champions League in just under an year, he might just have shrugged it away with a chuckle.
