For many of us, especially the younger generations of Liverpool fans who weren’t able to enjoy the highs of the greatest players like Kenny or Rushie, whether they are Liverpool born and bred or growing up on all four corners of the earth, Steven Gerrard has been a beacon. A rarity in football these days. A player that was passionate about his club, and who stayed loyal, when he could go anywhere in the world. A player who gave it all,
all the time.
His ability to rally the team and make the best he could till the last second of the game, no matter how difficult the situation was, it’s what stays with me the most and the best memory of that is Istanbul. The best night of his life... of our lives...
I cannot start remembering that run in the champions league without getting goosebumps. From the group stages there was something special about it all, and when Stevie scored that goal against Olympiakos something clicked, something seemed to say that we were up for it till the end. That passion, the fight, the-never-give-up attitude... that goal, you beauty!!! What a hit son, what a hit...
<![CDATA[<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/pJEk_yLZ4kI" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/pJEk_yLZ4kI</a>]]> Then Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea, the thrill and elation after eliminating them was fantastic and we felt we were back where we belong; the crème de la crème, about to play in a Champions league final, something we hadn’t experienced in 20 years.
The man who was leading us, Steven Gerrard, fulfilling his childhood dreams and the childhood dream of many of us. There was something about Stevie that night, and that is that he carried the hopes of many on his shoulders; his own, his teammates, the 40,000 fans in the Ataturk stadium, his city and Liverpool fans all over the world. What a ride it was, what a game he lead... from absolute despair in the first half, being crushed by Milan, the favourites, who were expected to beat us comfortably, and were doing just that in the first 45 minutes to absolute oblivion.
Half time was one of the things that make this football club mythical. Our fans in the stadium (I bet if you were at home like I was, you were singing too) giving a sublime rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone, a call to arms, for fight, for not giving up, and the message went across the walls of the stadium. It was what reignited and fired up our players and particularly Steven. He was still there, trying to fulfil his/our dreams.
Second half started and with it the biggest rollercoaster of emotions I’ve ever been into. Our team came out ready to leave their skin on the field. Minute 54, Riise has the ball on the left side, cross it to find Steven in the middle of the area surrounded by Stam and Pirlo and he jumped, higher than anyone around him, like a giant heading the ball, and then he put it in the back of the net!. Booom!!! That’s all we need it, we needed some confidence back and there was our Stevie scoring, raising his arms and encouraging everyone with a red shirt in that stadium to keep supporting and keep believing, keep playing and keep fighting, just keep on. So we did. Two minutes later we were still attacking, Hamann passed it to Smicer who shot from long range, almost hitting Baros who dodged it like Neo in the Matrix... Dida couldn’t stop it... it was in, and so were we! Still in this crazy game. 3-2!!! What I remember most is the face of that man, with his hand on his forehead in the middle of the craze in the stands about to faint in disbelief.
"We are going to get this" I kept on repeating to myself. I don’t know if it was pure naivety, blind faith or super confidence, but it was there. Four minutes later my beliefs were going to be right. We were still attacking and Captain Fantastic was running through the middle of Milan’s defence until Gatusso, once in the area touched Stevie and he fell. The referee immediately called for a penalty and Ataturk Stadium almost collapsed from pandemonium. Xabi Alonso took the penalty, it was stopped by Dida but Xabi managed to get there first and tap it in. Ball in the back of the net and, as the chap from Sky said in that moment, Mission Impossible was accomplished.
What came after that is a big blur for me, the game was up and down and we were defending with our lives, and biting our nails, all the way through extra time. The spirit was still there, the fight was there, the courage was there... we didn’t have the legs but the mentality was there and that proved to be the most important thing.
Penalties. Dudek’s pulling a Grobbelar and becoming Schevshenko’s worst nightmare. We were Champions of Europe in the best and most thrilling final in history.
<![CDATA[<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/gteDQCFG9Po" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/gteDQCFG9Po</a>]]> Dreams come true, and following Liverpool they become true in quite a fashion. That night in Istanbul was the pinnacle of excitement for many. We were Liverpool, we were one, we were Gerrard... we were the kids who played footie in the school yard, in the neighbourhood and won the European Cup every Saturday, and there representing us was Stevie. He kissed the cup, lifted it up, and it was simply spectacular; you could see it in his face and all of our player’s faces. Hard work, and belief pays off, even when you’re the underdog. Never give up. Stevie never did.
That’s what I admire the most about Gerrard, about the team and about that night. It’s what I love the most about the club and how it is ingrained in us. As long as that never give up spirit stays within our players we will reach new heights.
Thank you Steven for keeping that flame alive. Now it’s time for the players who stay to keep it lit as well, because they are us, and We Are Liverpool.
