Nestled among rows of houses on the outskirts of Eindhoven is where Cody Gakpo has chosen to start this story.
The Cruyff Courts, as they are now named, certainly look a little different to the ones he spent hours playing on; the concrete surface has gone, but the soul, the feel of the place remains, evoking some of Gakpo's happiest childhood memories.
Back for the first time as a Premier League champion at the place where he did so much of his growing up fills him with immense pride.
"You know, when you're young, you just do whatever you like and I liked to play football a lot, so that's what I did a lot," he says.
"I wouldn't believe you if you'd told me I'd be a Premier League champion, I wouldn't be thinking about it.
"Being here now it does make you think back about everything you've been through, those moments, we reached something very special this year."
In a matter of minutes, word is out and a small crowd begins to gather, all hoping to get a glimpse of the Liverpool star.
Born in a house a short walk away from these cages, Gakpo represents the dreams and ambitions of so many of the people that wait patiently to get a picture and a quick word at the end.
He was made here in Eindhoven and became one of the best in a place that is known as the "City of Innovation". Gakpo is just getting started.
I ask where he keeps the winners' medal. "It's now in England, but when my dad comes back from Africa, I think I have to give it to him. I cannot keep it myself. So I have to win it again, so maybe I can keep that one."
His dad, Johnny, is part of what weaves this story together and, without him, Gakpo might not have experienced one of the most memorable seasons of his life.
Gakpo managed 18 goals in all competitions and one of those came in the moment that, for him, stands above the rest - the home game against Manchester City in early December, which Liverpool won 2-0. "It felt like a statement: we are here and we really want to compete with them."
The day the club finally clinched the title against Tottenham was another when Gakpo played a key role. From the moment he woke up, he had a sense of how it would unfold.
"I thought this day just couldn't go wrong. So even when Tottenham scored, I think nobody on the pitch had a worried feeling or anything, because we knew we were going to seal the deal that day."
When he scored, Gakpo celebrated by lifting his shirt to reveal a t-shirt with the phrase 'I belong to Jesus,' emulating Kaka's iconic moment from the 2007 Champions League final.
The t-shirt had been at home for a while, but he had the belief he would score on such a historic occasion and goes on to smile as he talks about how Kaka has been in touch since.
He recalls "I think, because for a lot of players it was the first time and it being the biggest league in the world it was very special, and an emotional day for everybody involved.
"I think we were all very proud at the time, still are what we did last season but it also gave us a lot of hunger that we want to do it again and again, and even we felt a little bit of frustration that we were knocked out of the Champions League, because then maybe we had something more special."
Even the most ardent Gakpo fans in Eindhoven cannot have predicted his or Liverpool's story this season as Arne Slot took over from Jurgen Klopp. It was a transformation that even the locals, who pride themselves on that innovation, would be proud of.
"It's his detail that's amazing," says Gakpo when we talk about why his Liverpool career has flourished under the Dutch coach this season and how the team surprised the rest of the Premier League.
"In some games you just saw what he was like, he would say to Virgil to do a slight change, and then you see the whole team adapting, and then maybe we score a goal or we defend better and then when it works out you really believe in what he wants. You know how he wants to play, and then you have to adapt to that."
I ask what he is like as a person; the side we often don't get to see, the Ibiza title-winning-party-celebrations-side to Slot.
Gakpo laughs. "He's just very normal. When we start to train or when we do a meeting, he's very focused on what he wants us to do, and what he wants to teach us. He's very serious, very demanding as well, from the quality, from the intensity, but when the training is over and we do maybe a team activity or something, and he's there, he's very relaxed.
"I think everybody likes him as a person. Obviously, when you win, it makes it a little bit easier. Occasionally, like in the derby against Everton, we saw a little bit of raw emotion from the manager, but I think, overall, he's very calm, and tries to speak with logic a lot of times. He doesn't let the emotion get the better of him."
The next part of Gakpo's story takes us on a short walk through the park from the Cruyff Courts to the place where the foundations were really built. His biggest football inspiration lay closer to home in a grassy patch of land in the shadows of the house where he was born.
Gakpo has played under the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ronald Koeman, Klopp and Slot, but there is one coach who was the toughest of all.
"Dad was, by far," he says, pointing to the Cruyff Courts. "Playing football over there was the fun bit, but the hard work was done here. The toughest, but also the best. I am going to stick with him as a coach, I cannot fire him!
In my early teens, I was not maybe enjoying it so much, but when I look at what it has brought me and we're still doing it, I just really enjoy it."
Even after a Champions League game, if things haven't gone the way he might have hoped, the pair have been found out in the back garden going through drills. "It means I also get to spend time with him, I don't live in Holland anymore, so then those moments are also like spending time with him. We really enjoy doing that, but it's still tough."
Gakpo's dad was a footballer in Togo, his mum a rugby player for the Netherlands and the pair met when she travelled around the world, with them both eventually moving to Eindhoven.
Throughout the day, Gakpo talks about making big decisions in life and how it has shaped his path.
"Think about that one," he says, now sitting alongside his two brothers in the garden of the new family home.
"Mum made that big decision and then for my Dad to make the decision to leave Africa to come to Europe is also a big decision," he says, now sitting alongside his two brothers in the garden of the new family home.
"You need both situations, you need to be mentally very strong. That's what they learned at the end of it all, how to deal with such situations and how to always keep looking at yourself. How can you do better and how can you be honest to yourself and to grow."
It is that courage in his conviction that comes through more than any of the sporting genes, though they certainly played their part. The sense of belief, the drive the ambition - and, as his brothers both joke, the stubbornness - that has taken him this far.
It was evident from the age of seven, when Gakpo arrived at the PSV academy. Even before the club built a state-of-the-art complex, PSV had a reputation of nurturing and developing brilliant young players. The likes of Phillip Cocu, Arjen Robben and Memphis Depay stare down from the walls of the building and, most recently, Gakpo.
Twan Scheepers, who worked with Gakpo when he first arrived, knew from early on that he had something a bit special.
"Football was his life," he says. "He showed it then when he was around 10-years-old. He was an inspiration not only for the coaches, but also for the players around him. We looked at his skills and attributes and we thought 'OK, he's going to be a good player'.
"What made him strong was that every day he worked hard. He wanted to get everything out of his abilities. His strength and his mentality, it's unbelievable. His conviction to be the best player of the team or the best striker, he always wanted to do more.
"When he scored two goals, he wanted to score three goals. When he was a little bit down or his progress didn't go the way he wanted, he had the resilience and strength to come back. It's unbelievable."
Scheepers is still at PSV and remains close to Gakpo and his family. He's had the privilege of watching him over the last few years at Anfield.
"The first year is tough to adapt," he adds. "But he always had the ability to get better and also adapt. Liverpool, for Cody, was a big step. A very big step, but he made it."
Thanks, in part, he believes to the confidence that Slot has given him this season; feeling like he really belongs, being settled. It's when he thinks Gakpo is at his best.
I ask what he hopes Gakpo can achieve in the next five or so years, having secured his first Premier League title.
"Sorry to say this to all the Liverpool fans, I don't know where his level may be or may stop if he stays in this form and stays fit. His mentality can bring him everywhere. To Madrid or Munich, those are the rumours I hear, or if he stays for five years at Liverpool. Whatever he decides, I hope he's happy."
The stories linking Gakpo to Bayern Munich have been a constant this summer, but as we head to our final stop of the day, the mural of Gakpo next to the Philips Stadion, you do not get the sense he is in a hurry to move anywhere.
"I think if you go somewhere, and I'm very grateful that I can play for Liverpool, which is one of the best clubs in the world, then you are there, the goal is that, as a team, you win trophies and leave a legacy for the teams to come and then, when you play in that team that wins a lot then, you will become an important part of the history of the club. That's what we're all going to fight for."
I ask him about what his former coach and friend Scheepers said about him excelling in comfortable and familiar surroundings. "Yes, that's true". With that in mind, how much does he hope to still be around that club for the next few years, to see what they're capable of achieving?
"I hope to be around as long as possible, because what Twan said is right. For everybody, when they feel at home in an environment, they are loved by the people in the club, and obviously by the fans, who are amazing at Liverpool.
"It gives you more energy and desire to give them something back. We have a team that is still quite young in some positions, and hopefully we can stay together as long as possible and achieve something really beautiful.
"For a club like Liverpool, we have to aim very high for the Champions League. That's the highest prize in Europe that we can win - and that's what we will fight for again next year."
The next few weeks give Gakpo an opportunity to reset. He is spending time with his brothers and joining their dad in Togo to reconnect with family and friends, giving back to those that have helped him on his journey so far.
It has already taken him from Eindhoven to Liverpool and, next summer, Gakpo is looking to dominate beyond on the world stage as part of a Netherlands team looking to lift the World Cup for the first time.
"That would be amazing," Gakpo says. "That's also a goal we all fight for. We have a lot of players now who are reaching top teams, and this only gives us more quality and depth in the squad. Hopefully it will bring us very far next summer."
With that there is another small group who appear, waiting for a picture with him in front of his mural. Someone else rolls down the car window, shouting how much they love him.
One can only imagine what this city would be like if they do achieve that next year.
BieberSmith
1
thats what gakpo do,he is ambitious