Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold is already an icon in more ways than one, and this is the story of how one of his legends was able to grow.
The story of the Liverpool lad is a brilliant one and it sets the benchmark for any Mersey kid looking to come through and play for the first team.
Every generation needs its heroes and just as Jamie Carragher, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard inspired the next wave of Anfield youngsters to want to break through to the top level of the game.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is breaking records and setting trends but he’s also done something none of those other players managed to do: create an icon with a number nobody cared about before this boy broke through.
His 66 jersey has now become iconic, but it happened through luck more than judgement. A story of the official club website explained the roots of it all through the eyes of kit management coordinator Lee Radcliffe.
Whenever youth players get called up for first team games, they are handed high numbers of purpose, explained the man, in order to keep their feet on the ground and dispel any notions that they have made it.
It just so happened that Alexander-Arnold was given 66, a number he has come to love and a number he’s held for 125 first team games. We’re now seeing kids walking around Liverpool wearing that top – and it’s all down to the right-back.
"Radcliffe continue: “I think he’s that laidback that he’s obviously been given the number and thought, ‘Yeah, that’ll do me. I’ll keep that’, and not realised how iconic it’s become over the years.”"
It’s now reached a point where to change back down to a more traditional number, say a two, would cause a little bit of a reaction. We’ve seen murals with TAA and 66 on them, it’s almost become embedded within the player.
He was asked on Twitter if he would ever change it and the reply was non-committal, so that could be something that happens in the future. But it would destroy an icon that was created almost by accident, and that’s a beautiful thing that should be celebrated, not taken away.