Cody Gakpo used to carry a photograph around in his wallet when he was younger, though, these days, the crumpled card has been replaced with an electronic version on his phone.
The picture is of Pelé, and its importance to Gakpo is clear.
“I am a bit of an old soul,” the Holland and Liverpool forward once said. “I believe I should know the history of my sport.”
To that end, Gakpo would also study grainy black and white footage of the Brazil icon, who was a favourite of his father, Johnny, when he was growing up. He scrutinised the careers of other luminaries, too, from Diego Maradona to modern superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
From knowing his history, Gakpo now stands on the brink of shaping it providing he can spike England’s momentum in Wednesday’s Euro 2024 semi-final in Dortmund.
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As Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane scratch around for rhythm, the 25-year-old has emerged as something of a surprise standout to date. He is the tournament’s joint-top goalscorer with three goals and has performed with the sort of panache that should provide Liverpool with pointers for the future.
Yet Gakpo’s displays have not been a total bolt from the blue. He finished the Premier League season strongly, a heart-to-heart with Jürgen Klopp credited with rousing him from a lull in fortune that the former Liverpool manager admitted he had caused in the first place.
There was a period when, with injuries biting at Anfield, Gakpo found himself being used in midfield, which did not play to his strengths and led to doubt slowing his stride.
He finished the club campaign as a central striker, yet, for Holland, it has been a role off the left in which he has been a revelation, with goals against Poland, Austria and Romania capping some lively performances.
Saturday’s 2-1 quarter-final victory over Turkey was sealed when Gakpo’s dash off the wing resulted in an own goal from Mert Muldur.
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“First, his position is on the left side,” the head coach Ronald Koeman, whose side are seeking to win a first European title since 1988, said. “He is really dangerous if he comes one-against-one with the right back. Inside, outside, he has his qualities, he’s strong.
“He’s playing at a great level at this tournament. He’s maybe the [most] important player until now and I hope that the rest can come to that level. Yes, he can play as a striker, but he has shown that he’s most dangerous from the left side.”
It is the position Gakpo played at his boyhood club PSV Eindhoven after first rising through the youth ranks where one of his team-mates was Remco Evenepoel. The Belgian later joined Anderlecht before swapping football for cycling, where he has flourished in the grand-tour events, winning a stage at this year’s Tour de France.
Bolo Zenden, Phillip Cocu and Mark van Bommel all coached Gakpo at the Dutch side, yet Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s influence, in particular, appears to have left a lasting impression.
“With Ruud we practised running patterns,” said Gakpo, who recently became a father for the first time to son, Samuel Seth, with partner Noa van der Bij. “He would tell us about his Manchester United team with [Ryan] Giggs and [Paul] Scholes. Everyone there knew exactly what run they would make.
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“The message was: you have to interact, communicate, to make operating as a unit much easier.”
Last season for Liverpool, Gakpo occupied a role on the left for only 17 per cent of his total minutes, with Luis Díaz usually favoured there. New manager Arne Slot’s interest in the progress of his fellow Dutchman must surely have been piqued.
For now, however, it is Gareth Southgate who must come up with a plan to stop Gakpo.
Holland’s left side has been their big strength, while England’s right flank has provided a rare source of inspiration so far. The semi-final will be heavily influenced by whichever side is able to impose itself on that side of the pitch.
The burden of being Holland’s talisman now lies with Gakpo, though he seems comfortable with the load. He also scored three goals at the World Cup in Qatar, after which he joined Liverpool from PSV for £35million — the only European player with more goals across the past two tournaments is Mbappé (nine).
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Gakpo’s faith is integral to everything he does. He is one of the key figures in the team organising religious gatherings in Germany which half of the squad attend.
Gakpo enjoys self-help books and has also been reading Black Box Thinking by The Times’ Matthew Syed during the tournament. He explained to the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad about his quest for fulfilment.
“I mainly read books about psychology, faith and mindset,” Gakpo said. “Black Box Thinking is about making mistakes and how much you can learn from them. I am now at a chapter dealing with medical mistakes and how they are dealt with. Due to the fear of lawsuits errors are not often admitted openly.
“However, if you create a culture where admitting your mistakes is key, people will develop more. I try to translate this to the football pitch. There are plenty of things I am doing incorrectly. Why should I hide from that? Because other people may judge me?
“I always try to own my mistakes.”
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So far in Germany, there have been few of those.
