[lfc-news] Cup returns to spiritual home - Echo

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Liverpool Echo, 26 May 2005
Cup returns to spiritual home
by Chris Bascombe in Istanbul, Liverpool Echo

WHEN you get homesick nothing will stop you returning to the arms of
those you love.

AC Milan had a few tricks up their sleeves to keep the European Cup away
from her spiritual base.

They tempted her with sublime skills, destructive finishing and a
fairytale script, courtesy of their legendary captain.

Paolo Maldini wasn't just holding the trophy at halftime, he was
planning his fifth acceptance speech.

What he never foresaw was the homing device triggered by 35,000
Liverpool fans in the Ataturk Stadium who inspired their side to
transform the most humiliating night in their history to the most
triumphant.

The European Cup didn't fancy Paolo. She wanted Steven but it took a
series of remarkable chat-up lines from the Liverpool manager to ensure
his skipper got his wicked way.

The only reason Liverpool weren't fatally wounded by a first half blitz
is the fortunate fact immortals can't be destroyed.

Gerrard and company have rewritten football "possibilities" throughout
this campaign but even the heroic efforts of Olympiakos, Juventus and
Chelsea were rendered insignificant compared to this.

It shouldn't have happened. Some of us aren't convinced it did. Only the
pinch marks confirm it. We thought it was all over. It wasn't.

Liverpool fans faced a sickening dilemma. What do you do when your side
is 3-0 down in the Champions League final to a side superior in every
position?

Praying was one option. Another, which was rather attractive at half
time last night, was to grab the nearest taxi back to Taksin Square and
drink the night away trying to forget the embarrassment they had just
suffered.

The other alternative, which one red-shirted gent decided was more
favourable, was to start an impromptu rendition of You'll Never Walk
Alone, drowned in the kind of sentimentality Liverpool's opponents find
repulsive.

But the 35,000 didn't sing it with hope in their hearts, nor with fire
in their bellies. It was poignant rather than passionate.

The tear in the eye wasn't one of joy but despair. A mere 45 minutes
into a ceremony 21 years in preparation and a dream had died.

As the second chorus faded Liverpool's players ran back onto the pitch
to an astonishing ovation.

The cresendo of noise somehow injected volumes of self-belief into the
hitherto drained souls.

The inspirational orchestrator of the famous anthem had perfectly
complimented Rafa Benitez's team talk.

He had inadvertently inspired the greatest fightback ever witnessed in
any football stadium in any decade by any team ever.

Okay, a few belated but painfully necessary tactical changes helped.

The previous manager's fatal mis-take in this competition was subbing
Didi Hamman during a crucial European clash three years ago.

Far more serious was the decision to omit him completely.

Benitez made an astonishing gamble, abandoning caution for an attacking
formation which backfired so hideously, the away end resembled a series
of portraits of Edward Munch's The Scream.

Everything which could go wrong did, until Harry Kewell was injured.

Djini Traore endured a nightmare start, conceding possession and then a
free kick which allowed Maldini to score in his seventh final.

Then Kewell, a surprising choice, pulled a muscle and limped out of his
second showpiece of the season.

Whether this was a blow or a blessing was debatable. The choice of
Vladimir Smicer ahead of the overlooked anchorman, however, ensured the
only immediate change was to Liverpool's detriment.

Not because of Smicer who gave the performance of a player who should be
signing a new deal rather than waving goodbye, rather Liverpool's
defence remained exposed.

The Reds pushed for an equaliser as if eight minutes remained, not 89.
And they were duly punished.

With no riot gear to protect them the defence was left bruised by the
combined force of Kaka, Crespo and Shevchenko.

Three-nil could have been five but for Luis Garcia's goal line clearance
and a generous offside flag when Gerrard's tackle sent Shevchenko clean
through.

"It's embarrassing," admitted Jamie Carragher later.

If a black hole had appeared in the centre circle some of the players
would have dived into it, swiftly followed by the fans.

Halftime was a painkiller. Not losing by more than three represented a
triumph.

What followed defied logic. If Elvis rose from the grave, brushed off
his white suit and announced plans for a world tour we'd still say it
wasn't as good a comeback as Liverpool's in Istanbul.

Freed by the essentially restored Didi Hamman, Gerrard started to
advance. The most important cross of John Arne-Riise's life found the
skip-per's head.

Then Smicer matched his former nemesis thanks to Dida's careless dive.
Yes, Smithy, Vlad has now scored a crucial European Cup goal just as you
did!

The improbable was suddenly possible. By the time Gennaro Gattuso (the
biggest culprit when it came to counting chickens at halftime) tripped
Gerrard Liverpool were rampant.

Gattuso should have seen red. Liverpool's equaliser at the second
attempt from Xabi Alonso was an acceptable consolation.

But the momentum shifted back to Milan. The Reds looked like they had
punched above their weight once too often. The only winner seemed
destined to come from a white shirt with Shevchenko and the increasingly
confident Dudek engaging in a personal duel.

When the Pole made an astonishing double save with two minutes of extra
time remaining rumour had it the engraver started with an L on the
famous trophy.

Penalties were still Liverpool's only hope. The spirit of 1984 was
enacted. Dudek was the hero. What's likely to be his final appearance
for Liverpool will sit comfortably alongside the images of Bruce
Grobbelaar - although the Pole's weren't the only knees wobbling by this
stage.

All that remained was for Gerrard to grab his prize.

The European Cup seemed to radiate a smile which beamed as broad as the
skipper's face.

The dreams of the captain, the manager, the squad and fans were realised
in a way the most elaborate fantasist couldn't have imagined.

Finally a new generation of Liverpool fans and players know how it feels
to be no games from greatness.

And the European Cup is coming home.

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