Well Done Liverpool

As a die-hard Manchester United supporter, I have surprised myself with the satisfaction I am taking out of Liverpool’s historic Champions League win last night in Istanbul. Now, I know some are saying that this is the greatest European final, while others are saying that this is the greatest comeback in Champions League final history; and yes, I would have to agree. I know, I know; 1999 two goals in stoppage time by United to win were amazing. However, coming back from the dead, down, out, and downright embarrassed, it appeared as if Liverpool's dreams were shattered at half-time as gloom of a trouncing came into focus.

However, here is a team who somehow have overcome so many hurdles placed in their Champions League path: four minutes away from being knocked out of the competition by Olympiakos before Steven Gerard’s amazing strike, and then going on to triumph despite being rated underdogs against top sides like Juventus and Chelsea. From agony to ecstasy, the zeroes became heroes. For once, every cliché seemed to fit the bill.

The run up to the match billed it as a Spartan affair: the 'boring' Brits facing the defensively astute Italians. Fifty seconds in, we were all wrong. A beautiful strike in the first minute, 3-0 up by half time, and an Italian goal dubiously disallowed. Sumptuous football from one of the most stylish sides in Europe. After 45 minutes, it was set to be the most one-sided final of all time.

Cue captain Marvel Steven Gerrard. He had not read the script. He was too busy writing it. It was not just the scale of the comeback, it was the speed too. Within the space of six minutes, the three-goal deficit had been sensationally overcome. Has a game ever been turned around in such a short space of time?

Few words could possibly sum it all up. Therefore, I will try to keep it very short and sweet: Incredible. Amazing. Unbelievable. And some that are just plain unprintable. Everyone who watched it seems to have had the same sense of absolute disbelief.

There is a minute to go and a keeper who has been, how shall I put this, inconsistent, somehow repels Europe's best player from point-blank range. Not once, but twice. Even Gordon Banks only made one sensational save from Pele back in 1970. Dudek may have known little about Shevchenko's strikes. He even may have just gotten lucky. So what? Take a goalkeeping curtain call alongside Aston Villa's one-off 1982 Euro star Nigel Spinks and Tottenham's 1984 UEFA Cup shoot-out stopper Tony Parkes.

A fifth win means the famous giant trophy is Liverpool's forever. The Kop faithful can rightly sing 'It's just like watching Brazil' as Pele's calypso kings claimed the World Cup as their own after winning the competition for the third time in 1970. After punching well below their best for the past decade or so, Liverpool are up off the canvas and truely back as one of Europe's heavyweights.

The dark chapters of Heysel and Hillsborough are permanent reminders of torrid times, which scarred the Merseyside club's trophy-laden history. Nevertheless, despite a massive police presence, sparked by fears of anti-English feeling among their Turkish hosts and Italian opponents, it appears to have been a largely trouble-free night in Istanbul. It is a hard-hearted person who cannot be moved by 40,000 supporters belting out the ultimate anthem - You'll Never Walk Alone.

Wednesday, 25 May, 2005, was the night when many Britons became honorary Scousers. Suddenly, and slightly surreally, neutral fans were transformed into passionate supporters. From Donegal to Dover, they partied like it was 1999. Well, maybe not exactly like us Manchester United supporters, but you get the drift. There were even a few followers of rivals Everton cheering on their local rivals…possibly.

Who cares if they are fair or not when you get something approaching the Keystone Cops meeting Tarzan. Penalty shoot-outs provide the best nerve-jangling entertainment in sport.
And, we even had a Brucie bonus: Dudek somehow managing to upstage the spaghetti legs of his 1980’s penalty predecessor Bruce Grobbelaar. One Italian newspaper reckoned Jerzy was break-dancing, and it was certainly an eye-popping, body-popping treat.

Then there is Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, the homegrown Mersey heartbeat of a side they supported as children. Skipper Gerrard actually slept with the cup as he emulated the likes of Keegan, Dalglish, and Souness: great names that thrived when Stevie was in red nappies. He led like a general, inspired the fightback, and waved his arms in a frenzied effort for the fans, his compatriots, to turn up the decibel level. Carragher even defied cramps, in both groins according to one BBC Five Live pundit, and, let us face it…no final could be great without stricken players crippled by cramp.

For a proper final, you need a team to defy those who supposedly know best: the bookmakers. Liverpool was rated 100-1 no-hopers at half time. Remember, this is in a two-horse race. On the computer betting exchanges, they were even bigger, with faithless punters offering prices of up to 350-1 on the most unlikely of comebacks. Irish betting outfit Paddy Power was left with a £150,000 headache after being forced to refund bets as part of a cashback offer, should the game go to penalties. The bookies out of pocket: priceless.

The victory celebrations must be evoking memories of Liverpool's epic European glory nights of the 1970’s and 80’s. Moreover, the late, great Liverpudlians of yesteryear, from Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley, to John Lennon and John Peel, must have been smiling down from their bench in football heaven.

Chief among them would surely have been Emlyn Hughes, the cheery skipper who lifted the huge European trophy twice. Hughes, who died last year after suffering a brain tumor, was an archetypal Red. He was affectionately known as Crazy Horse. Moreover, on a crazy, crazy night, there were tears among the cheers and beers.