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Martin Skrtel, in an interview he gave recently to the club’s official website, claimed that Anfield was made for European nights, issuing a battle cry for the return leg of their round of 32 Europa League tie vs Zenit St. Petersburg which they lost 2-0 in Russia. Numerous football fans, players and pundits can testify his statement. Anfield has something mystical about it when the floodlights go on; the chants of YNWA just before the kick-off set your spine tingling and the constant noise is deafening for even the most experienced player to play in. Year after year, Liverpool have had great European nights at Anfield. Here are according to me the top 5 European nights at Anfield, but in the post European cup era i.e. since the inception of the Champions League format.
It was not just one of the great European nights at Anfield, it had something else too. Gerard Houllier, nearly 5 months ago had disappeared from the dugout due to a heart problem and something much more important than his career was on the line. And this was the night he was going to return. Liverpool needed to win by two clear goals against a strong Roma team which had Totti and Batistuta as their strike force and Fabio Capello at the helm. The odds were against them but their 12th man drove them on, with a penalty from Litmanen and a wonderful header from Heskey (Yes, you read that right), they won the game with the required score. The fans were amazing and it is safe to say that the win was inspired by the return of ‘The Emperor’.
This was probably the last of the great European nights Anfield has had till now. Coming up against the most decorated club in European competition, was a tie I was excited about but not too confident when I first saw the draw. But what was to follow was magic. Liverpool became only the second English team ever to beat Real at the Bernabeu with a late Yossi Benayoun goal and the return leg was simply outstanding. Liverpool were first off the blocks with a Fernando Torres goal in the first 20 minutes and two Steven Gerrard goals along with another late goal from Andrea Dossena wrapped up another famous night at Anfield. Iker Casillas was probably the only reason that Madrid conceded only 4 goals.
This tie was an emotional one. Before the game, Anfield did not forget to pay its respects to the victims of the Heysel disaster. The tribute saw the Kop holding out a mosaic which said ‘Memoria e Amicizia’ which translated to ‘in memory and friendship’. Also, past heroes from both the clubs, Platini and Ian Rush laid a wreath in the victims’ honour. The match saw two spectacular goals, first by Sami Hyypia and the second one by Luis Garcia when he volleyed it home from a good 25-30 yards over the head of ‘the world’s most expensive Goalkeeper’ Gianluigi Buffon. Fabio Cannavaro scored for Juve but over the two legs, Liverpool went through after both sides drew blank in the return leg in Turin.
Probably, this was the night which shaped the course of Liverpool’s Champions League campaign that season. Liverpool had to win by two clear goals to be sure of progress into the next round but Rivaldo threw a spanner in the works by scoring a goal near half time which meant Liverpool now had to score 3 times in the next 45 minutes. Soon after the break, Florent Sinama Pongolle (a half time substitute) scored for the reds and then, Neil Mellor scored at the 80th min mark to set up a nervous final 10 minutes. The stage was now set for probably the most nauseating moment of a Liverpool fan’s memory. The ball was whipped in from the left by Jamie Carragher, which was cushioned by Mellor towards Steven Gerrard for the most glorious strike from 25 yards to score the all important 3rd goal. As Andy Gray went mad screaming,”Oooh ya beauty”, Liverpool were marching on to conquer Europe.
If any person asks you “What is so special about Anfield?”, show them a video of this match and they shall never dare ask that question again. This was the chance for Liverpool to return to a European cup final after 21 years and they did so with a famous Luis Garcia goal, dubbed the “Phantom goal” just 6 minutes after the match started. If there ever was a perfect example of how a crowd can influence a game, this was it. They say Anfield was full an hour before the game and did not stop shaking an hour after it. This day was to go down in the Anfield folklore as the most famous European night yet.
These were my top 5, give me yours by commenting below.
