At the age of 34, Kieran Trippier is not the dynamic, all-action England international full-back he once was, but ahead of Newcastle United’s biggest game of the season, the old warrior still has plenty of fight left in him.
He will need all of it against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, but Newcastle will also need his experience, his in-game intelligence and his calming influence.
There are not many more streetwise footballers in the Premier League than Trippier. Skills he already possessed when he left Tottenham Hotspur for Atlético Madrid were honed, fine-tuned and mastered under manager Diego Simeone during his time in Spain.
When Trippier arrived at Newcastle and became captain, they were one of the most annoying and difficult teams to face. He set the tone. He knew every trick in the book to help Newcastle play the game at their pace and to stop the opposition gaining momentum.
He also has a nasty side. He can be a wind-up merchant, he does not shy away from physical or verbal confrontation.
If Newcastle are going to win their first domestic trophy for 70 years, you suspect they will need to get under Liverpool’s skins, as well as play their best football.
Newcastle have more talented and more explosive players than their veteran right-back, but none of them have won a La Liga title. None of them have played in European Championship finals. He is, along with Italy international Sandro Tonali, the only Newcastle player who has lifted a major piece of silverware in their careers up to this point.
It is in cup finals that you tend to need players like Trippier. He knows what it takes. He has played on that stage before, he knows how to handle the spotlight, the pressure and the nerves. He may no longer wear the captain’s armband, as he is no longer an automatic choice to start, but Trippier is a natural leader and Newcastle will need him to guide them through the ultimate test against Liverpool.
Whatever he has lost in pace and athleticism, Trippier makes up for with the tools and tricks of the old pro.
Eddie Howe, the Newcastle manager, loves him. Trippier has been open to leaving for over a year, but he has blocked all of that out. Howe made it clear that he could not afford to lose him. Even when he has not been playing, Trippier has been a positive influence in the dressing room. He commands respect.
Tellingly, it was Trippier who started at right-back in the semi-final win over Arsenal, even though Tino Livramento was fit. Howe wanted him on the pitch to deal with the pressure of trying to reach a second domestic cup final in three years. Trippier was superb in that game.
With Lewis Hall out injured, Livramento will start on the left with Trippier on the right. It may be a decision forced on Howe, but there is a suspicion Trippier may well have started at Wembley regardless.
Against West Ham, Trippier barely put a foot wrong. In fact, it was fitting that the last kick of the game in Newcastle’s narrow win was his sliding tackle to snuff out another attack.
It had been the full-back, spotting the danger as the ball went over the heads of centre-backs Fabian Schär and Dan Burn, who stopped West Ham’s best player Mohammed Kudus scoring in the first half.
Trippier did not need to make a tackle, he did not risk a red card, but he got his body in the right position to force Kudus to try to turn back inside, a spin manoeuvre he could not pull off. The danger was cleared.
It was a small moment, but if Newcastle had fallen behind in east London, it would have been difficult for them to recover, given a run of five defeats in eight heading into the game.
When Newcastle were running down the clock to protect their lead, it was Trippier who steered them through. He was constantly talking to team-mates, urging them to calm down; to switch on. When to press, when to drop deep.
He did his job well, but it was the influence he had on those around that will make him so valuable in the cup final. He will not be overawed or fazed by anything.
After the win against West Ham, it is a game Newcastle can finally look forward to. For many supporters, Trippier is the best right-back to have played for the club, certainly in his first two seasons on Tyneside.
Now they will hope he is not only the best right-back, but the first one to lift a domestic trophy for 70 years. Nobody would deserve it more.
