Why indefatigable Milner is playing best football of his career at 32
James Milner only surpassed 20 league starts in one of his five seasons at Manchester City. The Yorkshireman was a spare part. Even Manuel Pellegrini, an always cautiously-spoken manager, discussed him as if he was something you'd keep in the top drawer among the elastic bands, watch batteries, and odd screws. An item you don't bin just in case you might need it some day.
"We must decide which is the best (solution)," Pellegrini thought out loud in December 2014 when devising ways to address a striking crisis. "I always said James is a very useful player for the squad. At some moments he wants to play more but wherever he plays, he is important. That is why we've kept him here."
Milner was eventually deployed as a false nine and, rather predictably, flourished. He scored twice on his 29th birthday in an FA Cup tie with Sheffield Wednesday but was soon shelved or shunted to the wing when Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko, and Stevan Jovetic returned to contention.
No wonder he wanted that move to Liverpool.
Following a spell as an ersatz left-back for much of his debut term on Merseyside, Milner is now a regular in the central midfield position he craved; the same spot in which he thrived for Aston Villa before his switch to Manchester. Milner has ingratiated himself with fans of every club he's played for due to his style - jutting his Disney-prince jawline, rolling up his sleeves, and going about his business in an unfussy, typically northern manner. Uncharacteristically, however, this season has been notable for individual statistics which illustrate him as one of the most creative players in Europe - eclipsing numbers from some of the continent's celebrated stars.
His eight assists - while some outlets incorrectly credit him with nine helpers, a shot rebounded off a post and into the path of a goalscorer doesn't count in UEFA parlance - are the most in the current Champions League campaign, and level with the all-time season high set by Neymar with Barcelona in the previous term.
Milner has benefited from being a perfect fit in Jurgen Klopp's gegenpressing approach, forming the second line behind the scuttling front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah. His fine tactical brain and grasp of Klopp's schematic has been obvious as he's dropped into pockets within which he can thieve possession in advantageous positions and then survey his options with the opposition's defence in disarray. In this season's Champions League, only Real Madrid's wrecking ball Casemiro, Sporting CP defender Cristiano Piccini, and Reds teammates Emre Can and Sadio Mane trump Milner's number of blocked passes (12); out of Liverpool midfielders, just Jordan Henderson beats his 11 interceptions, although the Sunderland product will regularly win the ball in a deeper setting than Milner. His assists aren't flukes, either, as Cesc Fabregas and Toni Kroos are the only midfielders to play more key passes in Europe's elite club competition.
The 32-year-old is in the form of his life, but that might not merely be down to feeling appreciated after his bit-part role at City and feeling comfortable in Liverpool's high-octane approach. Like Paul Scholes and Alan Shearer before him, Milner is adding longevity to his career by turning his back on England duty at a relatively early age. While club colleagues have been sharing jets with Premier League rivals to hurry back from all corners of the globe after national team obligations, Milner has been taking the opportunity to rest.
"His was a completely different situation to the international players," Klopp said in April. "He had three weeks without football in the whole season - in August, October/November, and then the third. That makes a massive difference. He is performing at a really high level. He understood the style of play completely in the midfield role.
"He was always a big leader in the dressing room and on the pitch. He still has this energetic style but he calms down in other situations too on the passing side. He is in absolutely good shape."
Liverpool's pre-Champions League final camp in Marbella was organised in the hope the squad can relax and re-focus, just as Milner has been able to do during each of this season's international breaks. Following the Englishman's example may be what Klopp's side needs to prevent Real Madrid's constellation of cocksure stars procuring a third consecutive Champions League title in Kyiv.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)