YES, WE
ARE CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE
MAY 25
Reds demand
chance to defend cup
BBC Sport Online
Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry said that Uefa
must allow them to defend the trophy after winning the
Champions League in Istanbul.
The Reds are set to miss Europe's premier competition
next year after finishing fifth in the Premiership -
unless Uefa lets them back in.
Parry said: "Look at the support, the worldwide audience
and the game.
"I think we have to be given a shot. We are worthy
champions and I think that's what the world will say."
Liverpool get to keep the European Cup trophy after
winning it for the fifth time by beating AC Milan on
penalties.
But their participation in the competition has been in
doubt since the Football Association decided that the
top four in the Premiership would take up England's
places next season.
Liverpool must now wait to see if Uefa will change its
own rules and grant an extra place in the Champions
League to Liverpool.
Parry added: "At least we get to keep this one so they
can't take it back off us if nothing else.
"You wouldn't have given a lot for our chances at
half-time but the boys were absolutely magnificent.
"It's good to win it for the supporters because they
were magnificent."
Reds skipper Steven Gerrard added: "It is called the
Champions League so the champions should be able to
defend it."
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez added: "We have won the
trophy. It is common sense that the winner should defend
the title."
MAY 25
Raf smoothes out
early flaws
By Martyn Ziegler - PA Sport
Rafael Benitez, the man with the Midas touch in
Europe, has assured himself a place forever among the
Anfield legends - but only after transforming a tactical
disaster into a triumph.
The most incredible final in European Cup history will
be remembered for Liverpool's astonishing comeback from
3-0 down to beating AC Milan on penalties, and questions
about their manager's initial approach will be submerged
under the waves of Scouse joy.
It may seem churlish to question what prompted Benitez
to abandon the tactics on which Liverpool's whole
European campaign had been founded in the final itself,
and such feelings will soon be forgotten - and rightly
so.
Even so, Benitez is a lucky man.
His whole European campaign had been founded on a
defensively-strong 4-2-3-1 formation and he chose to
sacrifice it to make room for, of all people, Harry
Kewell.
It was hard not to wonder why he decided not to start
with either Igor Biscan or Dietmar Hamann, harder still
when they were 3-0 down at half-time.
Benitez believed he had solved the problem of
Liverpool's fragility at set-pieces but the
vulnerability his side displayed at the start of the
season when they first tried to come to terms with a
zonal defensive system was apparent once more.
Perhaps Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti had noticed that
Liverpool's system at free-kicks from the flanks is to
defend the edges of the six-yard box and wait for the
attackers to run in.
If so, then it was a piece of tactical genius to tell
Paolo Maldini to hang back slightly.
Whether by judgement or luck, the Milan skipper's
positioning allowed him a free shot when Andrea Pirlo's
free-kick drifted in towards the penalty spot and
Liverpool were 1-0 down after 50 seconds.
There are advantages to a zonal system in that it is a
more scientific and team-based approach to defending
set-plays rather than relying on several individuals all
maintaining the intense concentration that is necessary
for man-to-man marking.
The disadvantage is that it encourages defenders to be
static - waiting for the attackers to make their runs
into the danger zone. Milan once more exposed the
frailty of the system at a Clarence Seedorf corner when
Hernan Crespo darted out of the heavily-manned six-yard
box and flicked a header that would have gone into the
goal had it not been for the alertness of Luis Garcia on
the near post.
Unfortunately for Liverpool in the first half, they were
no more comfortable dealing with open-play situations,
mainly because no-one picked up Kaka whenever he broke
from midfield - Hamann or Biscan would have done had
they been on the pitch.
Brazilian had already played Andriy Shevchenko through
twice - he slipped the first time and was narrowly
offside the second - when he did it again in the 39th
minute and this time the Ukrainian spurned a shot at
goal to set up Hernan Crespo for a simple finish.
Kewell contrived to have another disappointing game
before injury forced him off, and Liverpool's main
attacking ploy was to drop balls over the Italian side's
back four for Milan Baros to run on to. The Italians
countered that easily however by dropping deep,
squeezing the space between the line and the goalkeeper
and easily winning the aerial contest with the Czech
striker.
With Kaka in such mesmerising form, Milan looked capable
of heaping further embarrassment on the Reds, and so it
proved.
The Brazilian may not have had the best of seasons, but
only by comparison to the previous one, and he was pure
class as he turned away from Steven Gerrard with
exquisite simplicity and then sent a magnificent pass to
split the defence and invite Crespo to finish with an
delicious stabbed chip with the outside of his right
boot.
It was hard not to have a feeling of 'I told you so'
when Benitez sent on Hamann at half-time, though the
extraordinary turnaround was as much due to Milan's
complacency as Liverpool's change of approach.
That extra presence in midfield though immediately
limited Milan's opportunities going forward and with
Steve Finnan sacrificed there were more opportunities
for Liverpool in attack.
Even so, it still looked as though they faced an
impossible task even after Gerrard had placed a header
into the top corner while the Milan defence were taking
it far too easy.
It was a mountain but my how they climbed it, Kewell's
replacement Vladimir Smicer skidding a shot across Dida
and into the corner, then Xabi Alonso making the
scoreline an astonishing 3-3, following up after his
penalty was saved.
It was a wonderfully even contest after that. Forget
tactics and systems, it had just come down an open and
thrilling game of football. John Arne Riise's stunning
strike was parried by Dida, Djimi Traore cleared off the
line from Shevchenko, Kaka blazed wide from close range
then flicked a header just wide.
Milan reasserted their authority in extra-time but,
thanks who a quite unbelievable double save by Jerzy
Dudek from Shevchenko, Liverpool forced the game to
penalties and the most improbable victory in the history
of this illustrious competition.
MAY 25
You'll never
walk alone, Stevie
By Frank Malley - Sporting Life
Steven Gerrard raised the European Champions Cup to
the night sky and completed one of the greatest football
stories ever told.
That's the only phrase to describe the 2005 European Cup
final, a match which proved conclusively why football is
the most popular and exciting game on the planet.
A match of unrelenting drama, full of wonderful goals,
fine artistry, a Liverpool comeback which ranks as one
of the most remarkable in the history of football, the
drama of extra-time and a magical, oh so magical,
penalty shoot-out.
At half-time in this match Liverpool did not have a
prayer. They were 3-0 down, out-thought and out-played,
so much so that the engraver must already have been
carving the famous Italian name on the silver trophy.
And if the Liverpool faithful chanted "We're going to
win 4-3" then surely it was little more than a mix of
Scouse humour and bravura.
But what we got was a display of courage, determination
and such sheer bloody-minded will that surely somewhere
the great Bill Shankly, the father of the Anfield
revolution, must have supplied a divine kick or two.
Three goals in five second-half minutes as exhilarating
as sport gets transformed the game. And while they came
from Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso there were
heroes in red shirts in every corner of this chaotic
stadium.
But none more so than Gerrard, who followed a
distinguished line of Liverpool captains who have lifted
the famous trophy.
The late Emlyn Hughes in 1977 and 1978, Phil Thompson in
1981 after which he took home the trophy and plonked it
on the bar of his local pub in Kirkby and Graeme Souness
in 1984 after Liverpool had beaten Roma in their own
backyard of the Olympic Stadium.
Great nights one and all but this victory, orchestrated
by the sheer astuteness of Rafa Benitez and executed by
some players many said had no right to be on such a
stage, beats them all.
By all sporting barometers Liverpool, fifth in the
Premiership after a season of domestic frustration,
should not have been within 2,000 miles of this city
where east meets west.
But how could anyone deny them their hour of glory when
they had beaten the champions of Italy and England in
reaching the final and then dispatched one of the
greatest names to grace the game?
You couldn't. Not when you looked down at the Ataturk
Stadium pitch and saw wonderful, uplifting stories in
every corner.
Such as Djimi Traore, the full-back who just four months
ago thought he was on his way out of Anfield after
conceding the embarrassing own goal which saw Liverpool
beaten by Burnley in the FA Cup.
Such as Alonso, who broke a leg on New Year's Day and
prepared for a season of heartbreak but who scored the
all-important equaliser.
Such as Djibril Cisse, whose leg-break was so serious
surgeons believed they might have to amputate.
But especially hometown boys Jamie Carragher and
Gerrard, whose captain's performance was the surging
pivot on which Liverpool's victory finally hinged.
All of them jigged around the 80,000-seater national
arena, which formed the focal point of a 2012 Olympic
bid, without a care in the world.
They were European champions. Deservedly. Gloriously.
And if it didn't make any footballing logic then it
wasn't a time to over-dissect strategies and tactics. It
was a time to party.
It was a time to delight in the presence of Gerrard and
hope that this endorsement of Liverpool's calibre would
persuade him to stay at his home town club. How could he
leave after such a night?
It was a time to urge UEFA to accommodate Liverpool in
next year's competition so that they can defend their
trophy. And UEFA would have to have a heart of stone to
deny them.
It was also a time to salute Benitez, who had believed
in this side and tailored his tactics to Europe to the
scorn of many critics.
And to think at half-time we were feeling sorry for the
Liverpool fans, 35,000 or more of them who had
promenaded up and down Taksim Square for the past two
days, full of hope, many barely able to believe they
were again within touching distance of European glory.
It had been 21 years since the club had won the last of
their four European Cups. Many of those roaring
themselves hoarse were not even born when Graeme Souness
received that trophy.
To them Liverpool's great history was just that -
history.
But not until after Liverpool had made the worst
possible start.
Just 52 seconds after the first ball was kicked it was
rippling the back of Liverpool's net, Andrea Pirlo's
free-kick volleyed home by the imperious Paolo Maldini,
playing in his seventh final. It was a huge blow, the
first time Liverpool had been behind during the knockout
stages of this competition.
How would they deal with it? The answer was 'Not well'.
They were shaken, Luis Garcia had to head Hernan
Crespo's goalbound header off the line, Andriy
Shevchenko had a goal ruled out for offside.
There was more bad news when Harry Kewell, a starting
gamble by Benitez, limped off with an ankle injury to be
replaced by Smicer, although the boos which accompanied
the change suggested the fans were none too downhearted
with the hairband-wearing Australian's demise.
Then came what we thought was a defining 60 seconds.
Referee Manuel Gonzalez waved away Liverpool's appeals
for handball when Alessandro Nesta appeared to control
the ball with his elbow as Luis Garcia turned inside.
Within seconds Shevchenko was supplying the cross for
Crespo to slot Milan's second.
From potential 1-1 to a 2-0 deficit. That was a dagger
thrust to Liverpool's heart. But more bloodletting was
to come, again Crespo supplied a chipped finish of such
delicacy that you really wondered how he could have been
such a disappointment at Stamford Bridge.
So 3-0 down at half-time. Liverpool needed a footballing
miracle. Their fans believed. The Italians laughed.
Benitez didn't. He rung the changes, Traore going to
centre back, Dietmar Hamann coming on to supply some
steel and Gerrard pushed into a more forward role.
It worked swiftly and wondrously. Gerrard heading home
from Riise's cross, Smicer drilling in a 20-yarder which
embarrassed Milan goalkeeper Dida and then Alonso
slotting home a penalty on the rebound from the
goalkeeper after Gerrard had been brought down by
Gennaro Gattuso.
Three goals in five minutes, the miracle was on.
We wanted Liverpool to push forward, take the game to
the rattled Italians, ram home their psychological
advantage.
But, as so often happens, the fear of losing more than
the desire to win gripped both sides.
And so we went to extra-time with Smicer limping along
with cramp and Benitez on the touchline frantically
urging his men on to even greater deeds. Just when we
thought we had seen everything Dudek then pulled off a
double save from Shevchenko which defied all belief and
gave us penalties.
It was such a shame that such an epic encounter should
be settled on a mere lottery but in the end Dudek saved
from Shevchenko and the cup was Liverpool's. And, I
swear, I still don't believe it.
MAY 25
Gerrard stands out among peers
Sporting Life
Steven Gerrard emerged from a season of toil and
turmoil with Liverpool as a mature leader of men - and
the man who led Liverpool to their greatest European Cup
victory.
Without their captain, Liverpool would surely not have
beaten AC Milan in the final of the Champions League
tonight.
Back in December, needing a win by at least two goals to
win, Liverpool were leading Olympiacos 2-1 but heading
out of the competition. Gerrard saved them with a
stunning strike to get his side into the knock-out
stages.
Gerrard's influence played a huge role in getting
Liverpool to the final to meet Milan, but it was when
they needed him most that he produced his most
inspirational performance.
Trailing at half-time by three goals, Liverpool were
given little hope of getting back in the game. Gerrard
took this as a cue to grab the game by the scruff of the
neck, inspiring his side to victory on penalties after
scoring the first goal in a remarkable comeback.
Gerrard lifted the trophy, marking him as one of the
most complete midfielders in Europe.
Former manager Gerard Houllier had given Gerrard the
captain's armband midway through the previous season and
it was the signal for the midfielder to show he could
follow in the footsteps of great Anfield leaders like
Ron Yeats, Phil Thompson, Alan Hansen, Tommy Smith and
Graeme Souness
Houllier always suspected Gerrard would relish the
mantle of responsibility - but he knows this is only the
start for his protege.
He said: "Steven is continually developing as a man, a
person and a player. I am pleased he is not only a good
captain but he leads by example."
Houllier helped Gerrard along the path to greatness.
After all it was the Frenchman who, in the first weeks
of his Liverpool reign six years ago, decided to promote
the Huyton-born youngster from the Academy to the
first-team squad.
He helped to polish the star into one of the
Premiership's key figures.
The great Tommy Smith, a veteran of the sides of the
1960s and 1970s, said: "His all-action displays
constantly put pressure on opponents. He must be the
best midfielder in the world."
Houllier did not disagree. He said: "I am confident that
soon he can be a real world star player.
"Stevie keeps developing. Not only in terms of playing
but also attitude and leadership.
"We know what stage he wants to reach and we will help
him with that. Maybe one day he will get more
recognition than he has at the moment.
"That will come with time. He trains as he plays, he
gives everything."
The Frenchman knows players can be knocked down just as
easily as they are built up.
"You have to be careful in this country. The key in
football is humility and hard work. Let him do his job
now and then we will see in two or three years' time
what level he has reached."
Gerrard attributes his success to Houllier and coach
Steve Heighway, himself one of the greats of the Anfield
past.
The 24-year-old said: "I have been at Liverpool since I
was eight and there have been two people who have had a
massive influence on me.
"I will always be thankful to Steve Heighway for helping
me and giving me so much of his time when I was growing
up.
"At 17 he handed me over to Gerard Houllier and he has
made me a better player and a better person."
Euro 2004 was not the success for Gerrard everyone
expected but to his credit he bounced back from making a
catastrophic mistake in the opening game against France,
when his errant back-pass resulted in an injury-time
penalty and condemned England to defeat.
Gerrard accepted full responsibility for the error but
calmly insisted he would make amends.
He remained a key cog in his country's midfield and
played a pivotal role in the ensuing victories over
Switzerland and Croatia.
Gerrard was, by his own high standards, below par in the
quarter-final defeat to hosts Portugal but it did not
appear to affect his value.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich made no secret of his
admiration for the Liverpool star and was reportedly
willing to offer the Anfield club a seemingly
irresistible transfer fee in the region of £31million
for Gerrard's services.
But Gerrard's commitment to Liverpool proves his
determination to taste success with the team that
cultivated his talents.
With victory in Istanbul, he now looks set to lead a new
era at Liverpool.
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