COPIED:

Did you hear about Liverpool’s Super Cup triumph over Chelsea last night? It doesn’t matter whether you’re a football fan or not, there’s something in it for you.

Sadio Mane shone really bright, scoring two goals -- one equalising Olivier Giroud’s neat finish, and the other, a deft strike, putting Liverpool ahead before the ref gifted Chelsea a non-penalty. But Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian was the undisputed hero; it was he who saved the penalty that earned the Reds the crown, and it was he Jurgen Klopp and the rest of the team sprinted towards at the blast of victory. Actually, Adrian had no business being the hero. Let me tell you a little about him.

After six years in the employ of mid-table club West Ham United, Adrian — full name Adrián San Miguel del Castillo — was let go in June at the expiration of his contract. West Ham, a side that was only good enough to finish 10th at the end of the 2018/19 season, deemed Adrian surplus to requirements. He wasn’t even first choice for them that season. At only 32, Adrian was no longer going to have a club. Towards the end of the transfer window, though, Real Valladolid, a side only good enough for a 16th-place finish in the 2018/19 Spanish La Liga season, entered talks with him. You see Adrian’s life? Rejected by a 10th-place side, approached by a 16th-place one.

Eventually, in the 59th minute of the eleventh hour, Liverpool stepped in to take him on a free transfer. Actually, Liverpool signed him to rot on the bench — as replacement for second-choice Simon Mignolet, who had left for Club Brugge to get game time. Alisson Becker was always Liverpool’s number one; Adrian wasn’t going to get it. He was merely backup. In a twist of fate, within a week of Adrian’s arrival at Liverpool, Alisson got injured in the very first EPL match of the season, paving the way for Adrian’s debut. In his second match for Liverpool last night, Adrian, the rejected and unneeded one, won the first ever medal of his goalkeeping career. Until yesterday, he had never won jack!

Who is that person that has deemed you useless? Who is that boyfriend/girlfriend, wife/husband, that broke up with you? Who is that employer that sacked you? Who is that employee that unceremoniously resigned from your company? Who’s that lecturer saying you’d never succeed in life? In fact, who are those people coming to you because they only see you as second option? Take a cue from Adrian; you can succeed regardless of multiple rejection. Your biggest moment of glory can come during your toughest or longest spell of rejection. It’s all in the mind!