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Liverpool have reached the final of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in more than a decade. 2007 was the last time they played in the biggest match in club football, and they lost. AC Milan claimed revenge for Liverpool's incredible victory in 2005 when they beat the Reds 2-1 in Athens.
The core of Liverpool's team made it easy to see why this five-year spell under Rafa Benitez was very successful for the Reds in Europe. The team was solid from back to front and they proved it over the course of the 2006-07 Champions League season.
The Reds had some memorable performances against the likes of FC Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven and Chelsea en route to their last Champions League final. This is the last group of players to start a Champions League final for Liverpool, let us see what they are up to these days.
Goalkeeper
Pepe Reina
The Spanish goalkeeper was a key figure at Anfield for many years after 2007, winning his second of three consecutive Golden Glove awards that year. He was sent on loan to Napoli by Brendan Rodgers in 2013.
Reina returned to Napoli in 2015, after spending a year at Bayern Munich. After a total of four years at Napoli, he left them for AC Milan on a Bosman transfer in this window. He is currently in the news for the wrong reasons, though, because of his association with people linked to a mafia.
Defenders
Steve Finnan
Steve Finnan left Liverpool for Espanyol in 2008 and retired from the game in 2010 after a stint at Portsmouth. After retirement, he spent some charitable time in The Gambia. He is currently keeping a very low profile and living in London, running a property development company with his brother.
In 2015, a ten-year anniversary event for the 2005 Champions League win in Istanbul was planned. The organisers were locating and contacting all the former players from that famous triumph. They tracked everybody down fairly easily, except for Finnan. He was eventually found, but his low profile kept everyone concerned for his safety and well-being.
Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher was in the prime of his career in 2007, winning the 2007 Liverpool Player of the Season. He spent six more years as the vice-captain of his hometown club, before retiring. After retirement, he took his superior understanding of the game to the Sky Sports studio.
He formed a fun and entertaining and friendship with a former bitter rival, Gary Neville over the course of a few years on Monday Night Football. A spitting incident in March ended his season early, but Carragher is one of the best football pundits in England, even though his accent may be hard to understand at times.
Daniel Agger
The great Dane was a loyal servant for many years at the club, until he left for his former club, Brondby in 2014. He retired due to injuries in 2016, but can still play the occasional charity game for Liverpool Legends.
He, along with his family, moved to Marbella in Spain. The current Liverpool team actually went there, in preparation for this year's Champions League final. Agger and his family met with the squad, which turned out to be a surprise for his two sons. He is also a qualified tattoo artist.
John Arne Riise
The Norwegian left-back left Liverpool in 2008, after a difficult season. He went to AS Roma, where he spent three years. He returned to the Premier League with Fulham, before having multiple stints in the Indian Super League, at Delhi Dynamos and Chennaiyin FC. He retired from the game after his time in India.
Riise is currently an ambassador for Liverpool at various global events. He regularly shows his support on Twitter for both, Liverpool and Roma. In fact, he is possibly one of the most active ex-footballers on Twitter.
Midfielders
Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso has probably enjoyed the most success after 2007, than any other player on this list. He was a key player in Liverpool's midfield for two more years before he left for Real Madrid. He won many trophies at the Santiago Bernabeu, including the Champions League in 2014. In the same year, he left for Bayern Munich. He won back-to-back league titles there.
Alonso was also part of the greatest period in Spain’s footballing history, as they won two European Championships and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He retired in 2017, as a very well respected player throughout his career.
Alonso is still beloved by all three of his giant former clubs, he even played for both Liverpool and Bayern Legends in a charity game in March 2018. When it comes to pure class, not many in the game can beat the Spanish midfielder.
Javier Mascherano
Javier Mascherano had only joined Liverpool four months before they reached the Champions League final in 2007, and he instantly became a very important figure. He, along with Alonso, and Steven Gerrard formed an elite midfield trio that came so close to delivering Premier League glory to Anfield.
He also became the captain of the Argentina national team while at Liverpool.
However, Mascherano left Liverpool during the turmoil that was Roy Hodgson's reign as manager. He went to Barcelona, where he won an unbelievable amount of trophies which included four La Ligas and two Champions Leagues. Currently, the Argentinian is playing for Hebei China Fortune in the Chinese Super League.
Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard is one of those players, whose peak lasts for more than a few years. 2007 was right in the middle of his peak. He could pass, shoot, tackle and lead. He could do everything. Once he started getting older though, he limited his role in the team.
He almost captained his boyhood club to the league title in 2014 and left Liverpool the following year. He joined Los Angeles Galaxy, before retiring in 2016.
After retirement, Gerrard has taken up coaching. He was in charge of the Liverpool under-18's team until an intriguing job offer came along. Gerrard is going to manage Scottish Premier League side, Rangers from the start of next season. This will be an interesting challenge for the former Reds skipper.
Wingers
Jermaine Pennant
Jermaine Pennant is the only uncapped English player to start a Champions League final. This is a bizarre fact, almost as bizarre as the turn his career has been taking in recent times.
Pennant left Liverpool on loan to Portsmouth in 2009, and permanently to Real Zaragoza in the same year. He played for Stoke City in the Premier League for a few years, before he went club-hopping.
He had several stints at many different clubs, including Wigan Athletic and FC Pune City. The English winger was not able to properly utilise the talent he had as a youngster. He is currently playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division, for Billericay Town.
Bolo Zenden
The Dutch winger could have been a big part of the Liverpool team, but he had multiple injury problems that hampered his progress at Anfield. Zenden left for Marseille soon after the defeat in Athens, then returned to the Premier League in 2009 with Sunderland. He retired in 2011.
Zenden teamed up with former manager, Rafa Benitez to become the assistant manager of Chelsea, during the Spaniard's interim stay at Stamford Bridge in 2012-13. Currently, he is working under Darjie Kalezic, as the assistant manager of Jong PSV in the second tier of Dutch football.
Forward
Dirk Kuyt
The Dutch forward scored a late consolation goal for Liverpool to give them a small chance of salvaging something in Athens, but it was too late. His unbelievable energy made him one of the key figures in the Liverpool team for many years.
He won the 2012 League Cup with Liverpool, scoring a goal in the final against Cardiff City. He left for Fenerbahce later that year. After three years in Turkey, he returned to his former club, Feyenoord.
In 2017, Kuyt scored a hat-trick in the final game of the league season to help Feyenoord win their first Eredivisie title since 1999, and retired immediately after they won it. He, like a few others on this list, has taken up management.
Kuyt had to come out of retirement to solve a striker crisis at Dutch fourth division side, Quick Boys, where he was the assistant manager. The Dutch workhorse is set to become the manager of the Feyenoord under-19's team next season.
