In February 2021, Alisson Becker, Liverpool’s goalkeeper, lost his father, José Becker, who drowned near the family home in Brazil. “When I got the call that my father died, I was an ocean away from home,” Alisson later wrote in The Players’ Tribune, and “it was right in the middle of the pandemic, and the logistics of getting home were a nightmare.” “We had to watch his funeral on FaceTime.” “When he died, it destroyed me.”
That season Liverpool, the reigning champions, “lost each of their last six Premier League games at Anfield,” CBS Sports reported on March 7, 2021, “the longest top-flight home losing streak by a title holder.” On May 16 they went to West Bromwich Albion. “We were playing a crucial match against West Brom,” Alisson wrote. Without a win, AFP said, Liverpool “would have needed favours from Leicester and Chelsea in their final two games.”
He wrote that “it was 1-1 with a few seconds remaining.” “But then we won a corner.” “So I ran up the pitch as fast as I could, and I arrived in the box just as Trent was taking the corner.” AFP reported that “the Brazilian was sent forward for a corner deep into stoppage time and headed home Trent Alexander-Arnold’s delivery,” a “95th-minute winner.” “Alisson is the first goalkeeper ever to score a competitive goal for the club,” Sky Sports wrote.
“I remember I looked up to the heavens, and it was one of those grey rainy days in England,” he wrote. “But for me, the sky was filled with light.” “It’s for you, Dad!” After the match he told Sky Sports, PA reported: “With my father, I hope he was here to see it, but I’m sure he was seeing, with God at his side, celebrating.”
The win left Liverpool “one point behind fourth-placed Chelsea,” AFP reported, and “victories over Burnley and Crystal Palace will take Liverpool into the top four.” They won 3-0 at Burnley on May 19, Sky Sports reported, and on the final day, May 23, they beat Crystal Palace 2-0 to secure “third spot,” the Premier League reported, finishing third with 69 points.
Fact check
The facts and where they come from
- Months after losing his father, a goalkeeper ran up for one last corner, and scored. Premier League: the winner came “three months after his father’s death.” Alisson, in The Players’ Tribune: “So I ran up the pitch as fast as I could, and I arrived in the box just as Trent was taking the corner.” 21
- His name is Alisson Becker. AFP: “Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson heads his way into EPL history books.” 7
- In February 2021, his father drowned near the family home in Brazil. CBS Sports (February 24, 2021): “Father of Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson drowns in Brazil.” NBC Sports, from Reuters: “near his holiday home in southern Brazil.” 34
- He was an ocean away, in a pandemic. Alisson, in The Players’ Tribune: “When I got the call that my father died, I was an ocean away from home.” Premier League: “it was right in the middle of the pandemic, and the logistics of getting home were a nightmare.” 12
- He watched the funeral on FaceTime. The Players’ Tribune: “We had to watch his funeral on FaceTime.” 1
- “It destroyed me,” he said. The Players’ Tribune and the Premier League: “When he died, it destroyed me.” 12
- His team, the champions, lost six home games in a row. CBS Sports (March 7, 2021): “Liverpool have lost each of their last six Premier League games at Anfield”; “the longest top-flight home losing streak by a title holder.” 5
- In May, at West Brom, they needed a win to keep their top-four hopes alive. Sky Sports: “Goalkeeper Alisson scores injury-time header to keep the Reds’ top-four hopes alive.” AFP (May 16, 2021): without the win, Liverpool “would have needed favours from Leicester and Chelsea in their final two games.” Alisson: “We were playing a crucial match against West Brom.” 671
- It was 1-1, with seconds left. Alisson: “it was 1-1 with a few seconds remaining.” AFP: “95th-minute winner.” 17
- Liverpool won a corner, and Alisson sprinted up the pitch. Alisson: “But then we won a corner.” … “So I ran up the pitch as fast as I could.” 1
- Trent Alexander-Arnold sent it in, and the goalkeeper headed it home. AFP: “the Brazilian was sent forward for a corner deep into stoppage time and headed home Trent Alexander-Arnold’s delivery.” 7
- Never, in 129 years, had a Liverpool keeper scored a competitive goal. Sky Sports: “Alisson is the first goalkeeper ever to score a competitive goal for the club.” (The Short counts from the club’s founding in 1892.) 6
- He looked up to the heavens. “It’s for you, Dad.” Alisson: “I remember I looked up to the heavens, and it was one of those grey rainy days in England.” “But for me, the sky was filled with light.” … “It’s for you, Dad!” 1
- Liverpool won their last two games and finished third. Sky Sports (May 19, 2021): Burnley 0-3 Liverpool. Premier League (May 23, 2021): Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 2-0 to secure “third spot.” AFP: “victories over Burnley and Crystal Palace will take Liverpool into the top four.” 9107
- “I hope he was here to see it,” he said. PA (his words to Sky Sports): “With my father, I hope he was here to see it, but I’m sure he was seeing, with God at his side, celebrating.” AFP: “I play since I remember with my father. I hope he was here to see it.” 87
Sources
- When You Walk Through a Storm (Alisson Becker, April 29, 2025) The Players’ Tribune
- Alisson: When my dad died I couldn’t think about football (May 1, 2025) Premier League
- Father of Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson drowns in Brazil (Gabriel Fernandez, February 24, 2021) CBS Sports
- Alisson: Father of Liverpool goalkeeper killed in tragic accident (Joe Prince-Wright, from Reuters, February 25, 2021) NBC Sports
- Liverpool vs. Fulham score: Reds fall again at Anfield as home losing streak sets Premier League record (James Benge, March 7, 2021) CBS Sports
- West Brom 1-2 Liverpool: Goalkeeper Alisson scores injury-time header to keep the Reds’ top-four hopes alive (Peter Smith, 2021) Sky Sports
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson heads his way into EPL history books (May 16, 2021) AFP, on Al Jazeera
- Emotional Alisson Becker dedicates dramatic goal to his late father (May 16, 2021) PA, on BreakingNews.ie
- Burnley 0-3 Liverpool: Reds go fourth into driving seat for Champions League football (May 19, 2021) Sky Sports
- Liverpool and Chelsea make top four on dramatic final day (May 23, 2021) Premier League
Notes
His words after the match: he spoke English on Sky Sports, and the agencies wrote them down differently. PA has “With my father, I hope he was here to see it, but I’m sure he was seeing, with God at his side, celebrating”; AFP has “I play since I remember with my father. I hope he was here to see it.” The Short quotes only the words both share.
“Seconds left” is his own phrase (“a few seconds remaining”); the goal came in the fifth minute of stoppage time (Sky Sports; AFP: “95th-minute winner”).
“Six home games”: Premier League games at Anfield, from January 21 to March 7, 2021 (CBS Sports). His father died during that run; the Short doesn’t tie the two together.
“129 years”: Sky Sports says he is “the first goalkeeper ever to score a competitive goal for the club”; the Short counts the years from Liverpool’s founding in 1892 to 2021.
His father: the Short and this page say only that he drowned near the family home in Brazil. Accounts of the circumstances differ, and they are not told here.
Alisson Becker and Trent Alexander-Arnold are alive. Only Alisson’s own published words, match reports and results are used. Left out: everything about his father’s death beyond the Short’s one line, and his family and private life.
Pictures: no free photo shows the West Brom match, the corner or the goal; every picture of them we found is broadcast, agency or club material, so none is used. Alisson Becker is at Austria v Brazil in Vienna on June 10, 2018, his hand on his chest; catching a cross at Salzburg v Liverpool in the Champions League on December 10, 2019; at Manchester United v Liverpool at Old Trafford on August 22, 2022, with Joe Gomez and Marcus Rashford; arriving at Craven Cottage for Fulham v Liverpool on January 4, 2026; and at Brazil v Morocco at the 2026 World Cup on June 13, 2026 (two photos). Cody Gakpo is about to take a Liverpool corner at Fulham on January 4, 2026, and Trent Alexander-Arnold is walking to take a corner against Leicester City on February 10, 2022; neither is the 2021 corner. The Hawthorns is seen empty on May 19, 2009 (two photos); the Kop at Anfield, empty, on March 9, 2013; Anfield, empty, on October 11, 2019; the Royal Liver Building from a Mersey ferry on July 19, 2021; and the town of Lavras do Sul, Brazil, on March 10, 2012, a general view, not the family’s home.
Photo credits
The archive photos in this story
The photographs and illustrations in this story are in the public domain or shared under open licenses; each one is credited below with its license. Tap one to enlarge it, or follow the link to its Wikimedia Commons page for the full record. The narration, captions and graphics in the Short are our own; its music and sound effects are credited below.
Music and sound effects
Music: Satie, Gymnopedie No. 1 (Lent et douloureux) (Robin Alciatore, piano, public domain); Beethoven, Coriolan Overture, Op. 62 (Musopen Symphony Orchestra, CC0); Dvorak, Symphony No. 9 'From the New World': II. Largo (Musopen, public domain).
Sound effects: Freesound, CC0.
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