Barcola adopted by Liverpool supporters on his debut with the Reds

Bradley Barcola was treated to his personal chant on his first appearance in a Liverpool shirt, during the trip to Ipswich Town that ended in a 2-0 victory.

The former PSG striker came on in the 64th minute, and the Reds supporters in the away section were quick to dedicate a song to him: “Bradley, Bradley Barcola! He runs on the wing for me, du du dudu du.” Simple, effective, and already well embedded in the fans’ throats.

Those in the know immediately recognised the melody: it is the same tune that was once used for Maxi Rodriguez, the Argentine international who played at Anfield between 2010 and 2012. Only the name changes; the rhythmic structure remains identical.

The tradition of personalised chants is one of the hallmarks of English football. Supporters recycle popular melodies — television theme tunes, forgotten hits, nursery rhymes — to adapt them to their new signings, sometimes in just a few days. The chant dedicated to Barcola is based on the musical theme from Heartbeat, a British police series broadcast from 1992 to 2010, set in the 1960s.

Liverpool can boast a long tradition in this regard: Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Luis Diaz have all had their personal anthem, often sung in unison at Anfield. Barcola thus joins a well-stocked musical pantheon, and that from his first minutes in red.