Liverpool star's response after Man Utd win left team-mate going 'what the f***'

14 May 2024 , 15:53

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Adam Bogdan fondly recalls his time at Anfield (Image: Getty Images)

A former Liverpool goalkeeper has revealed just what it's like to play for a top Premier League team such as the Reds.

Adam Bogdan joined Liverpool in July 2015 on a free transfer from Bolton Wanderers. Bogdan made just two appearances for the Merseyside outfit from 2015-2019 but has now pulled back the curtain and opened up on the demands a professional footballer can face when plying their trade for a club such as Liverpool.

Bogdan divulged what it was like behind the scenes at Liverpool and just why it was so 'frightening', he exclusively told Ladbrokes Fanzone: "I joined up with the team (Liverpool) in that summer, and I just realised, you know, these guys deserved everything. The amount of hours you need to put in, and what was considered normal at Liverpool, was frightening."

Perhaps most striking was the Hungarian national's reaction to one of his team-mates a day after the Reds had beaten arch rivals Manchester United. Bogdan elaborated: "I can remember one weekend, we'd just beaten Manchester United, and then the next day, Simon Mignolet was back in the gym. I can remember just thinking 'what the f***, man, we've just beaten Man United!'‌ That attitude wasn't unique, like it might have been at a smaller club. You're just one of the guys, because that's how everyone thinks at a club like Liverpool. You're expected to win every game."

Bogdan made a promising start to life at Liverpool. His debut in a League Cup third round tie against Carlisle United at Anfield saw the shot-stopper save three penalties in the shootout which helped Brendan Rodgers' team to win the shootout 3–2.

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It's no secret that elite players across the Premier League need a great deal of mental acumen, however Bogdan has lifted the lid on the sacrifices it takes to make it at the highest level. Bogdan has spoken on how top level sport can affect your social life and dictates your lifestyle to a dramatic effect.

He added: "These guys put in a lot of effort. With that comes so much physical strain, and so you need a lot of mental strength, too, to stay at that level. You know, you can't go out. You can't go out for dinner in Liverpool, or in Manchester, or anything like that. What you can do is live in a nice house, drive to training, train a lot, spend so much time with physios, in recoveries, you watch what you eat, you watch what you drink, you go home and then you come back and do it again."

Adam Bogdan of Liverpool celebrates with team mates after saving the crucial penalty during a penalty shoot out in the Capital One Cup Third Round match between Liverpool and Carlisle United at Anfield on September 23, 2015 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

Bogdan perhaps didn't cover himself in glory when he made his Premier League bow for the Reds with the keeper making an error in a 3-0 defeat to Watford at Vicarage Road but he has told Ladbrokes Fanzone that it's 'not easy' when the tide is against you at an elite-level Premier League club. He said: "If you win a game against Liverpool, when you're playing at a club like Bolton, that's huge, you know. But for Liverpool, it's just a normal game. You need to win all the games. It's just this intense cycle of staying at the top of the game, doing it all again and again, with hardly any days off. It's not easy at all, especially when things aren't going right. Particularly nowadays."

Bogdan, who made over 100 appearances for Bolton, also disclosed the toll social media and the press can have on a player saying: "Players feel it enough themselves, when things are going wrong. But then you hear and read all of these things in the news and on social media. And if you try to block it out, then your mum will see it, or your friend sees it, and it comes back to you."

Bogdán joined Wigan Athletic on loan for the 2016–17 season where he turned out 17 times at the DW Stadium. He also went on to earn 20 caps for Hungary and play for Hibernian and was playing for Hungarian side, Ferencváros last season.

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