Jacob Murphy’s footballing story is what makes neutral fans love the beautiful game. No, he is not a young prodigy who signed for a club for 100 million pounds, nor is he the star player for his club, but rather a faithful servant of the game who received something he may not have dreamed about 2 years ago.
A Norwich City youth product, the 28-year-old made his debut for the Canaries back in 2013. Since then, his footballing journey has been a ride in itself.
The winger did not even succeed in the Premier League as he was loaned to various obscure clubs, even playing in the Championship. Just in the year 2014, he made three loan moves, playing for Swindon Town, Southend United, and Blackpool.
Again in 2015, he played for two clubs on loan, Scunthorpe United and Colchester United. He also spent the 2015/16 season on loan at Coventry City. He would then make a permanent move to Newcastle United from Norwich City in 2017.
However, his loan spells would still continue as he played for West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield Wednesday during the 2019/20 season, and just after 3 years he is playing in the Champions League for the Magpies.
Newcastle United played their first Champions League match at the San Siro against 7-time champions AC Milan, making their return to the competition after almost 20 years. While the match ended in a draw, Magpies supporters were thrilled to see their team play at the summit of European football and so was Jacob Murphy.
This clip of Jacob Murphy hearing the Champions League anthem before his first appearance in the competition is genuinely heartwarming.
While players stood for the iconic UCL anthem before the start of the match, the excitement displayed by Jacob Murphy was a reflection of what it means for a player to play on the biggest stage of club football, that too after the struggle he had. Fans who are aware of his journey were delighted to see his excitement as moments like these are embedded in the “special moments of football”.
For Jacob Murphy, it is going to be a moment that will linger on through the rest of his life. He has also mentioned that Newcastle was his favorite club while growing up, and it was an honor for him to wear the black and white jersey.
There's a lot of narratives at play here for #NUFC, but Jacob Murphy's one is special.
▪️Joined his boyhood club at 22 ▪️Struggled to make an impact, had two Championship loans ▪️ Became a valuable leader and squad player ▪️And now, at 28, he starts vs AC Milan in a UCL match. pic.twitter.com/w8WvtxINvb
Such a context makes his UCL debut even more special as he is not just playing for another club but his dream club, that too in a historic stadium like San Siro against the most successful club in this competition after Real Madrid.
