Milan 2007. I think if Crouch played, the cup was won.
or bellamy
i remember it well. even united fans in work wanted us to win it for me. i mentioned earlier it was a rough year, one of my friends was killed in a freak accident the start of the season, i was flat out in work for months and months to the point where one day i actually considered killing myself
i hadnt had a day off in months, barely time in work to eat a lunch, never got a minute and every time you were supposed to have a break something cropped up and people in work piling work on you relentlessly and taking the piss out of you
this was supposed to make up for it. im quite superstitious, i walked the same way home off the bus going home as i did in 2005, i listened the same music but i had a horrible feeling, it had been a shit year and this was just going to make it worse. superstition? well the previous year we were playing benfica and i bumped into a friend on the way down to the pub that night, i bumped into him again, the same spot too. I was meeting him for a pint anyway but i had a horrible feeling when i saw him. he was all excited and threw his arms around me and hugged me but i knew something felt bad
when the match started i was on edge, one fella who was drinking with us wasnt very well liked, one of them guys you are forced to put up with, he strolled into the pub half an hour into the game crying whinging and abusing us for not keeping him a seat (cos it was everyone elses fault he was late of course), the absolute cheek of him.
another lad who was in the pub who only speaks to you when he wants to slag you off. half time he was outside giving it loads, i told one lad
"if we lose and he comes over here straight after i am going to hit him, and i dont care if im barred"
2005 we got a huge slice of fortune, no question, we were an average team but somehow beat a very very good team to win the european cup, 2 years on we had a much stronger team, and Milan werent as strong but despite dominating the first half they had a half time lead.
One lad beside me was defiant when the free kick was given
"no sweat this going nowhere"
"oh shut up will you, its going in now you said that"
"this is going nowhere, not a chance"
"SHUT UP"
sure enough it deflects in, to this day i still blame the guy sat next to me
second half seemed to flash by, ive never seen a second half go so quick, before we knew it we were into the last 20 and 10, and sure enough there was Inzaghi through, the game was up, he walked around Reina,the ball made its way into the net, i watched it in slow motion and the game was up.
Dirk Kuyt scored late on, i ran around screaming as if i could influence something, around me in 2005 everyone was up giving it socks, this time it was like looking around a funeral home, defeated reds knew the game was up anyway, most sat stone faced and emotionless. there was still a very short time to salvage it but i knew in my heart of hearts it was over, the shouts were bravado really.
there was to be 3 minutes added on and with Peter Crouch on as a sub Milan were shitting it, i remember distinctly Milan actually brought a sub on in injury time but even though only about 2 and a half minutes were played and we were about to launch it towards Crouch the ref blew up anyway.
the end of the night was messy drunk, i fell over in the jacks, i fell on the way home, i was convinced i was kinda happy drunk, i knew Liverpool had given everything and nothing more could have been asked that night, the next day i learned i was in a chippy crying my eyes out on the way home, i have no recollection of it
next day i lay in bed thinking it was around 11, maybe 12, i was in work at 530. Dad next of all burst in
"GET UP"
"its my day off, im not in til 530pm"
"ITS NEARLY 4"
yes it was a hangover, but also my first day off in months, it was exhaustion and the end of a long hard season
i wasnt sorry to see the back of it but it should have had a happier ending