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LIVERPOOL 1-1 CHELSEA BBC 22 April 2008 |
| John Arne Riise's injury-time own goal gave Chelsea the advantage in their Champions League semi-final. | |
| Dirk Kuyt's close-range finish three minutes before the interval looked to have secured Liverpool a slender lead. And it took fine saves from Petr Cech to deny Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres as Liverpool threatened to put the tie out of Chelsea's reach. But Riise headed in Salomon Kalou's cross five minutes into injury time to give Chelsea a priceless away goal. Chelsea boss Avram Grant surprisingly gave Florent Malouda the nod on the left flank, while Liverpool dropped Sami Hyypia and drafted in Alvaro Arbeloa. In a typically cagey start, Chelsea had more of the possession but Liverpool carved out the clearer opportunities. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard shot straight at Cech after seven minutes, then Kuyt's poor control let him down after he was sent clear by Xabi Alonso, allowing the Chelsea keeper to make the clearance. Joe Cole wasted Chelsea's best opportunity when he was sent clear in the area, but he failed to realise the amount of time he had and the chance was gone. Chelsea had penalty appeals waved away when Didier Drogba tumbled under Jamie Carragher's challenge before Torres was denied by a brilliant save from Cech. The Spanish marksman was cleverly played in by Gerrard, but Cech was alert and came out to make a crucial block. But he was powerless when Liverpool took advantage of a catalogue of defensive errors to take the lead two minutes before half-time. Chelsea were caught out by Alonso's quick free-kick and when Lampard failed to clear, Kuyt stole in on the end of Javier Mascherano's mis-kick to steer the finish past Cech. The goal gave Liverpool a further injection of confidence and they dominated the early stages of the second half, with Ryan Babel fizzing a 25-yard shot just wide after 58 minutes. Chelsea needed to regain a foothold in the game, and boss Grant made a change to send on Kalou for the subdued Joe Cole. Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina had been virtually unemployed, but he was in action after 66 minutes when Michael Ballack headed on Lampard's free-kick. And it then took a vital interception from Mascherano to block Malouda after Lampard carved open the Liverpool defence. Chelsea had shown greater purpose in the latter stages, but once again Liverpool's trademark defensive resilience had kept them at bay. And with six minutes left they broke the shackles and Cech needed to produce a stunning stop to turn Gerrard's rising volley over the bar. Cech made another fine block from Torres in injury-time - and its value was emphasised by dramatic events seconds later. Kalou's cross sparked uncertainty in the six-yard area and Riise, in two minds, sent a spectacular flying header into the top corner at The Kop end. | |
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José Manuel Reina Páez(born 31 August 1982 in Madrid), commonly known as Pepe Reina (his preferred nickname), or José Reina, is a Spanish goalkeeper who currently plays for Premier League club Liverpool F.C. The son of famed Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Reina Santos, Reina has won the last two Premiership Golden Gloves awards.
Álvaro Arbeloa Coca (born 17 January 1983) is a Spanish football player who is currently playing for English Premier League side Liverpool. He is a right back, although he can play as a central defender and he started most of his early games in the 2007-08 season as left back.
Andriy Viktorovych Voronin (Ukrainian: Андрій Вікторович Воронін, born 21 July 1979 in Odessa) is a Ukrainian footballer, who currently plays for Liverpool FC. He usually plays as a striker, but can also play on the wing or as a play-makerHis previous clubs include Chornomorets Odessa, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Mainz, Köln and Bayer 04 Leverkusen. In the 2002-03 season, Voronin became top goalscorer in the 2nd Bundesliga. At international level he has frequently been played in midfield but he is much happier playing as a striker.He shares a very strong bond with his father Josef Ballard Voronin and credits much of his career to his father's commitment. Lucas Pezzini Leiva (born 9 January 1987 in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul) is a Brazilian midfielder, who currently plays for Liverpool FC. In Brazil he has been publicly known solely by his first name, Lucas. He is the nephew of former Brazilian football player Leivinha and holds an Italian passport.
Mohamed Lamine Sissoko Gillan (born 22 January 1985 in Mont-Saint-Aignan, France), often referred to as Momo Sissoko is a French born footballer who represents Mali at international level and who is currently signed to Juventus F.C. ( Italian Serie A). Sissoko is a tough tackling defensive midfield player. He is often compared to Patrick Vieira due to his playing style.
Daniel Munthe Agger (born 12 December 1984 in Hvidovre) is a Danish professional footballer who currently plays as a central defender for English club Liverpool. He started his senior career at Danish club Brøndby IF in July 2004, with whom he won the 2005 Danish Superliga championship. Since his debut in June 2005, he has been capped 18 times and scored two goals for the Danish national team. Known for his combative presence and solid positioning, he is regarded as one of the best young center backs in the world.
Peter James Crouch (born 30 January 1981 in Macclesfield, Cheshire) is an English international football player. He currently plays for the English club Liverpool as a striker. His height of 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) makes him the tallest man ever to play for either Liverpool or the England national team, as well as one of the tallest players currently in the Premier League.
Dirk Kuyt, officially spelled Dirk Kuijt (born 22 July 1980, in Katwijk aan Zee) is a Dutch professional football player, who currently plays for English club Liverpool FC. He plays in the position of striker and is known for his work-rate. In his early career, and often for the Dutch national team, Kuyt played on the wing.
Ryan Guno Babel (born 19 December 1986 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch professional football player who currently plays for Liverpool. He is right footed and plays as a striker, but also plays as a left or right winger He has been a member of the Netherlands national football team since 2005.
Fábio Aurélio Rodrigues, often shortened to Fábio Aurélio, (born 24 September 1979 in São Carlos) is a Brazilian football player, who currently plays for the English Premier League team Liverpool. He is versatile enough to play at left back or left midfield and is noted for his accurate passing and crossing ability. On August 13, 2006 Fabio became the first Brazilian to play for Liverpool, coming on as a substitute in the 56th minute of the Reds' 2–1 win over Chelsea in the 2006 Community Shield.
Fernando José Torres Sanz (born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish football player currently playing for Liverpool.In the five seasons preceding his move to Liverpool from Athletico Madrid, Torres was one of the leading goal scorers in La Liga. Prior to that, Torres also played two seasons in the Spanish second division.
Sami Tuomas Hyypiä (born 7 October 1973 in Porvoo) is a Finnish footballer who currently plays for Liverpool F.C. in the English Premier League. Hyypiä plays as a central defender for Liverpool F.C. and Finland. Harold (Harry) Kewell (born 22 September 1978 in Smithfield, New South Wales), is an Australian football (soccer) player who currently plays for Liverpool FC in the English Premier League.
Stephen John Finnan (born 24 April 1976) is an Irish football player who currently plays for Liverpool at right back. He is the only player to have played in the World Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup, all four levels of English League football, and the English Conference.
James 'Jamie' Lee Duncan Carragher (born 28 January 1978 in Bootle, Merseyside) is a central defender/right-back playing his club football at Liverpool where he is the current vice-captain.
Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980, Whiston, Merseyside) is an English football player. He is the captain of his home-town club Liverpool, where he wears the number 8 shirt. He has been called an influential and versatile midfielder, and is known for his long-range shots and defence-splitting passes, he is usually employed in the "box-to-box" midfield role, although he has often been deployed as a right-sided midfielder, and occasionally as a second striker. During his career he has won the PFA Young Player of the Year, PFA Player of the Year, European Midfielder of the year, Premier League Most Valuable Player (twice), and UEFA Most Valuable Player. He has also been awarded the MBE for his outstanding contributions in both the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final and the 2006 FA Cup Final in which he greatly inspired his team's comeback.He has been nominated three times for the FIFA Player of the Year, in 2005, 2006 and 2007. On 5 February 2008, it was announced he had been voted by fans as the Nationwide England Player of the Year for 2007.
Javier Alejandro Mascherano (born 8 June 1984 in San Lorenzo, Santa Fe) is an Argentine football player who currently plays for Liverpool. He joined the club on loan from Media Sports Investments in January 2007 and later signed permanently for Liverpool in February 2008. Mascherano holds an Italian passport due to his ancestry.Mascherano's two most used nicknames (in Argentina) are Masche and Jefecito (Little chief).
Xabier Alonso Olano(born 25 November 1981 in Tolosa, Basque Region, Spain) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Liverpool F.C.. He wears the number 14 shirt at Liverpool and is a central midfielder, often playing as a deep-lying playmaker. He is regarded as one of the best passers of the football in the world today.
Jermaine Lloyd Pennant (born 15 January 1983 in Nottingham) is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool. He signed for them in June 2006 having previously played for Notts County, Arsenal, Watford, Leeds United and Birmingham City.
Yosef Shai "Yossi" Benayoun(born 5 May 1980 in Dimona, Israel) is an Israeli football player with Liverpool FC of the English Premier League. Benayoun plays as an attacking midfielder, occupying the space just behind the striker. In Israel he is nicknamed "The Kid" and "The Diamond", and he is the captain of the Israeli national football team.
John Arne Semundseth Riise(born 24 September 1980 in Ålesund) is a Norwegian football player who currently plays for Liverpool F.C. Riise is renowned for the shooting power and accuracy of his favoured left foot, as well as his excellent physical conditioning, most notably his outstanding stamina levels. |
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On what will go down as THE most incredible night in this club's illustrious history Liverpool reclaimed their crown as Kings of Europe after miraculously overcoming a 3-0 half-time deficit to defeat AC Milan at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul. |
It was the Reds first appearance in a European Cup Final for 20 years and, despite defeating Juventus and Chelsea during a memorable run to the final, they went into the game as overwhelming underdogs against the formidable Rossoneri.
An estimated 40,000 Liverpudlians followed their heroes to Istanbul but when Milan raced into a 3-0 interval lead it looked as though their trip had been vain. Cue an inspirational half-time team talk from the boss, a passionate rallying cry from the fans and the most amazing comeback of all time.
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Jamie Carragher (LFC player 1996 – present): "It was one of the greatest finals of all-time. People will be talking about it in 20 or 30 years time. I don't think it can ever be bettered. Obviously this club can win the European Cup again but I think it's the way we won it that made it so special." |
Diego Maradona (Argentinean football legend): "Even the Brazil team that won the 1970 World Cup could not have staged a comeback with Milan leading 3-0."
The Reds were hit with a sucker punch after just 53-seconds when veteran Milan captain Paolo Maldini fired the Italians ahead. It was to get worse. Harry Kewell limped off injured in the 23rd minute and before the interval striker Hernan Crespo, on loan from Chelsea, had added another two. Liverpool's Champions League dream looked all but over and the half-time whistle couldn't come quickly enough.
Steven Gerrard (LFC player 1998 – present): "Milan had played the ball so quickly and so fluently and cleverly that we were lucky to be 3-0 down at half time. It took a lot out of us chasing their shadows because we could not get near them."
Jamie Carragher: "They were a good side. Kaka was causing us all sorts of problems. We were deflated when we went in at half-time and I didn't think we could turn it around."
Rafael Benitez (LFC manager 2004 – present): "It was very difficult to go into that dressing room and see the players with their heads down. We talked about different things. We had worked very hard for ten days and we needed to fight to the end. You have to keep believing in yourself. We had fought hard to be in the final. I was thinking about what to say and what to change. I needed to change the system and we needed to be more aggressive. I had to give confidence to the players."
Steven Gerrard: "The manager came in at half time and he calmed us down basically. He drew some things on his board, he made a few changes and he said that we should just try to score early. He said if we scored early, it would change the game. I couldn't concentrate. I don't know what was going through my head. It was weird. I was sitting there and my head was in my hands. I thought it was over."
Rafael Benitez: "At half-time we needed to do something and decided to make some changes. There is no way we could have went back out and lost by four or five goals in front of our wonderful fans. Once we started thinking and believing we could do it, anything was possible."
Pako Ayesteran (LFC assistant manager 2004 – present): "We couldn't change things in the first half because of the problems with Harry's injury but he (Benitez) came up with a great solution at half time. Didi started winning the second ball and that became a great help."
Djimi Traore (LFC player 1999 – present): "When we were back in the dressing room the Milan players were outside already celebrating that they were champions, celebrating the victory. That really got to us and gave us the hunger to come back at them."
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Rafael Benitez: "I was last in the dressing room. I didn't hear Milan celebrate but Alex Miller did. He told the players they were celebrating winning the cup. That was a good thing for us." |
As well as Rafa's inspirational half-time pep talk the Liverpool players were also lifted by the sound of the club's phenomenal followers.
Luis Garcia (LFC player 2004 – present): "We were sitting in the dressing room and we could clearly hear thousands of fans singing You'll Never Walk Alone. Can you imagine how that felt? We were 3-0 down in the Champions League final and all we could hear were 45,000 people letting us know they still believed in us. We knew they had endured a long journey and made so many sacrifices to be there. It was at that point we started to believe too."
The comeback of all comebacks began in the 54th minute. Riise crossed from the left and Gerrard glanced a header past Dida to lift Liverpool's flagging spirits.
Jamie Carragher: "The best thing the manager did on the night was bringing on The Kaiser (Didi Hamann). What a performance from Didi. When he wasn't there in the first half Kaka caused us all the problems. We couldn't control him when he just kept breaking at our defence but Didi did. When we got the goal Milan just seemed to go."
Djimi Traore: "Once we scored the first one they were scared, and they fell back. When we brought Didi on it gave us a lot of experience in midfield and it really disrupted them."
Rick Parry (LFC Chief Executive): "At half time we knew it would be an uphill struggle but then you think of Basel and you think of Olympiacos and you say to yourself it is possible. But then you say you're playing AC Milan and they don't concede three goals. The early goal got us going and from then on we thought we could do it. It was just an amazing night."
Liverpool's first goal may, at the time, have seemed nothing but a mere consolation but when Vladimir Smicer, on as a substitute for the injured Harry Kewell, added a second hope sprang eternal.
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Johan Cruyff (Dutch football legend): "There's not one club in Europe with an anthem like You'll Never Walk Alone. There's not one club in the world so united with the fans. I sat there watching the Liverpool fans and they sent shivers down my spine. A mass of 40,000 people became one force behind their team. That's something not many teams have. For that I admire Liverpool more than anything." |
With the Milan defence visibly rocking Liverpool continued to lay siege to their goal and the all-important equaliser duly came when Xabi Alonso converted on the rebound after Dida had saved his spot-kick.
The tension inside the stadium was now at fever pitch but there was to be no further goals in open play thanks mainly to the brilliance of Jerzy Dudek.
Jaap Stam (AC Milan player): "We put ourselves in a very good position to win the cup thanks to an excellent first half performance, but a six minute spell of magic from Liverpool took it away from us. After that we had enough chances to win the game but we couldn't beat Jerzy Dudek."
Steven Gerrard: "When Jerzy made that double save from Shevchenko, just before he hit it, I thought 'goal', and I knew that would be the end of it but then when it went over the bar, I thought maybe it was going to be our day."
Jamie Carragher: "When Jerzy made that save from Shevchenko I thought we would go on to win it because Shevchenko is a top striker and he put in a top performance. There was no way he was going to miss that chance. I was just waiting for the ball to hit the back of the net. When it stayed out, you begin to think these things happen for a reason - Stevie Gerrard scoring in the last minute against Olympiacos, coming back from being 3-0 down in a final."
Jerzy Dudek (LFC goalkeeper 2001 – present): "My brother phoned me the morning after the game and asked me had I seen the match again? I said no and he said 'you need to see it because your save from Shevchenko was the hand of the God'. I told him I didn't know how I did it."
The tension heightened as the penalty shoot-out commenced but just like in Rome 21 years before the Reds held their nerve to triumph.
Djimi Traore: "We had so many injuries at the end of normal time and in extra time. We were well prepared and physically ready for the game, but the tension and the mental fatigue were too much. It was a question of praying for penalties and we were desperately hanging on. We showed grit, determination and bravery. We were strong mentally."
Jerzy Dudek: "We had studied the Milan penalty takers on video and knew which way they kicked the ball but when it came to it, I dived the other way to the way I'd been instructed. Carra came up to me after extra time and said 'Remember Grobbelaar and the rubbery legs of 84 - and do the same. Dance, do anything, put them off'."
Djimi Traore: "We didn't decide before the game who was going to take the penalties as we never expected it to get that far. Rafa asked all the players if they wanted to take on but I said 'No thank you'."
Dudek's final save from Shevchenko sparked delirious scenes on and off the pitch. Liverpool were Kings of Europe once again and the celebrations commenced.
Jamie Carragher: "At the end I just took off towards our fans. I couldn't believe it. There were probably 40,000 Liverpool supporters in the stadium and yet the exact place I ran to was where all my family and friends were celebrating. It was unbelievable because I honestly hadn't a clue where they were in the stadium. I went so mad that I must have had a bit of a blackout. I just crashed to the floor somewhere and I can't remember a single thing that was going on around me for a few moments. What I do remember as I was lying on the floor was starting to cramp up again!"
Jerzy Dudek: "To be honest when I saved the penalty from Shevchenko I didn't know that was it but when I saw all the guys running towards me it was just a great feeling. You honestly can't describe the feeling as it is just special. We celebrated into the night and it was magnificent. We had a few drinks, well maybe a bit more than a few!"
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Steven Gerrard: "I didn't sleep with the cup but I had it in my room! It was just special and I just had to have the cup with me, lifting the cup as Liverpool captain was just the best moment of my life." |
Vladimir Smicer (LFC player 1999-2005): "I celebrated with the largest cigar you have ever seen. I went with the fans to dance in the streets. It was incredible to be with the fans. I just wanted to share with them what I felt. It was the greatest night of our lives. I didn't go to bed at all. There is no need for sleep after a night like this. I just wanted to go out on a high."
Jaap Stam: "You have to applaud Liverpool's players for showing a lot of determination and for never giving up. They showed a lot of character to come back from three goals down. I don't know if it was Liverpool's destiny or not to win, but I thought we were the better team."
Diego Maradona: "The English club proved that miracles really do exist. I've now made Liverpool my English team. They showed that football is the most beautiful sport of all. You knew they could defend but the team showed they could play too and wrote a page in the history books. The match will last forever. The Liverpool supporters didn't let me go to sleep the night before. There were 10 of them to every three Milan supporters. They showed their unconditional support at half-time when they were losing 3-0 and still they didn't stop singing."
Johan Cruyff: "With this victory Liverpool now has a coach touched by the glory of the great Liverpool teams of the past."
Rafael Benitez: "This was without doubt my biggest night in football. I was so proud of my players."
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The 2006 FA Cup Final will be remembered in Anfield folklore as the Gerrard final as captain fantastic Steven Gerrard rescued Liverpool with a stunning last minute equaliser to break West Ham's hearts and force extra-time. |
The final was also a fairytale ending to a fantastic debut season from goalkeeper Pepe Reina who saved three penalties in the shoot-out to give Liverpool their seventh FA Cup.
Things had looked bleak for the Reds when West Ham were 2-0 up after 28 minutes but you never write off Liverpool in finals and that Istanbul fighting spirit was seen once again as Gerrard began to influence his side. He set up Djibril Cisse for a fantastic goal to make it 2-1 and then scored a wonderful goal himself to make it 2-2 after 54 minutes.
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However, the Hammers regained the initiative when Paul Konchesky's cross come shot found its way past Reina into the net. Gerrard wasn't to be denied his chance of lifting more silverware for his boyhood club though and just as the stadium announcer in the Millennium Stadium announced how much injury time was to be played, the Reds midfield powerhouse hit a venomous shot from 35-yards out that nestled into the bottom corner of the net to make it 3-3. |
Ironically there were more than a few similarities between Istanbul 2005 and Cardiff 2006. Liverpool were in red and West Ham, just as AC Milan wore a year earlier, were in white. The final score after extra-time was 3-3 and just before penalties Reina emulated Jerzy Dudek with a stunning save to deny Hammers skipper Nigel Reo-Coker. It wasn't quite as sensational a moment as Dudek's from Schevchenko but it was a vital one to say the least.
Reina then emulated Dudek in the penalty shoot-out and Didi Hamann, Gerrard and John Arne Riise all scored from the spot to give the Reds the cup. It sealed another truly amazing roller-coaster ride of a recovery and gave Rafael Benitez another trophy.
The run to Cardiff was also as eventful with some fantastic Liverpool performances and thrilling matches. The 3rd round tie at Luton was unbelievable with Liverpool fighting their way back from 3-1 down to win 5-3 and Xabi Alonso scored a sensational goal from inside his own half after a break from a Luton corner. After beating Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth in a tricky tie at Fratton Park a Peter Crouch goal saw off Manchester United at Anfield. It was at this point that Reds fans sensed another trip to Cardiff could be on the cards.
The quarter-final was a magnificent seven for the Reds as relegation threatened Birmingham City were trounced 7-0 at St Andrews. Then, just like the road to Istanbul Chelsea lay in wait in the semi-final which was at Old Trafford. Liverpool were magnificent and great goals from John Arne Riise and Luis Garcia (again) ensured the Reds a ticket to their second home at the Millennium Stadium. The rest as they say is history.
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Rafael Benitez (LFC manager 2004 – present): "I must give credit to my players as after a 62 game season a lot of them had cramp but they kept going until the end, never gave up and have done a fantastic job. |
"Steven Gerrard scored two fantastic goals and you know the quality he has and I give him credit but for me it was the success of the team. Steven would say that himself and the energy levels the players showed was amazing. It was a fantastic final.
"Our supporters were fantastic as always and they kept us going. I was a little bit disappointed with the mistakes we made but we changed things. Cisse got a goal just before half-time which was important then I put Kromkamp on down the right side because Konchesky had cramp. We needed to control the midfield more and I put Didi Hamann on and he kept the ball and passed it for us."
Benitez also praised his goalkeeper Pepe Reina for his heroics in the shoot-out when he made three saves.
"Pepe is famous back in Spain for saving penalties so we had confidence in him and he did his job for us," added Benitez.
Steven Gerrard (LFC player 1998 – present): "We felt our best chance was penalties because we had no energy left. We always knew if it went to penalties we had a really good chance, we feel we've got the better goalkeeper on the day. Pepe made a great save in the last minute and he deserves to be the hero.
"It's very special, the supporters are fantastic and West Ham were brilliant today, but we had the never say die attitude. It's a dream for me to score two, and a penalty, and to be able to celebrate with all these magnificent fans. We've got a great team spirit - It doesn't matter how many goals we go down, we'll keep fighting till the end."
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Pepe Reina (LFC player 2005 – present): "I think really that I didn't deserve it because my game today wasn't the best - it was a difficult day for me. But in the lottery of the penalties this time I was lucky." |
John Arne Riise (LFC player 2001 – present): "I never thought we'd lost the game, not even when there was only five minutes left and not even when we went into injury time. When you have the best player in the world in your side then you know that anything is possible. I was just praying for somebody to do something special and Stevie came up trumps again. When the ball hit the net I felt like running over to him to give him a big kiss but then I decided against it!
"Gerrard is the best for me. He is still young, he's got everything in his game and he can do whatever he wants in football. It was just brilliant to win the final. The odds were against us at one stage but there's a great belief in this team now and we never believe we are beaten.
"I asked the manager to let me take the fourth penalty given what happened in Istanbul last year. That hurt me. I was carrying an injury at the time which meant that I couldn't blast the penalty there which I'd normally do. I had to place it and their keeper (Dida) saved it. That was a nightmare, even though we won the cup, it still left me demoralised but I could use the power now.
"I know my penalty here wasn't a great penalty, but a goal's a goal. I blasted it down the middle and it flew in, and as soon as it hit the back of the net, I burst into tears. They were stinging my eyes. It was just so emotional after what happened last season. This was closure, a chance for me to get revenge and put things right."
Alan Pardew (West Ham manager): "The players have been absolutely magnificent and we are proud of the way we played in making it a great game. It felt like a defeat when the third goal went in but we rallied and had the biggest chance of extra-time.
"We had to dig in, this was a top team we were playing, but I really felt we were going to win it. Only a 35-yard smasher from Gerrard was going to change that."
Rafael Benitez: "We do like to make things difficult for ourselves in finals and maybe it's not the best for my heart! People have said to me it was like Istanbul but I say 'no' because then we were 3-0 down at half-time. Cisse scored a goal just before half-time to make it 2-1 and I had confidence we could come back and win. Credit to the players who just kept on going until the end and we never gave up."
David Moores (LFC Chairman): "Steven Gerrard is our talisman - I mean you just can't replace him. Thank goodness everything was sorted out last year! Everything's settled down now and I know he will be with us for life. He's an unbelievable player and I wouldn't swap him for anyone. He has got everything and never ceases to amaze. He has been magnificent, different class."
Steven Gerrard: "Just before my second goal I had taken a free-kick and it nearly went out of the stadium, my legs were so weary, so I don't quite know where I got the energy from.
"I must admit I was absolutely delighted to hit the next shot like that. I didn't mean to put it exactly there but knew I had to get good contact to make sure it would hit the target and I caught it really sweetly. It was a great moment when it went in, and I don't know how I did it. I just concentrated on giving everything to the shot.
"I didn't hear the stadium announcer say how much extra was being added, but I knew there wasn't long left and it was really hard - I was all over the place. In fact, in extra time I just didn't want the ball. I just kept looking at the clock and wanting it to run out. I had absolutely nothing left."
"When you see the supporters and how the club works it is like a religion to them. We will try to do our best to bring more trophies back for them." Rafael Benitez
England's most successful football club has a record 18 League Championships, 14 League and FA Cups, plus 3 UEFA and European Super Cups apiece. But it's the FIVE EUROPEAN Trophies that place the club in an exclusive group, clubs which have won the most prestigious prize of all five times or more.
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