In our glorious history we've won countless major cup finals,
but...you 'can't win them all' as they say, and we have lost a few along the way.
Which Final loss hurt you most, and for what reasons, could be reasons not just footy related, as in for sentimental or family reasons etc, as was one of mine a few years ago.
I took my young daughter to Cardiff for the League Cup Final against Chelsea, would have been fantastic to win that, especially since we took an early lead. My little girl soon grew tired of footy as she got older, so that'll be the only Final she ever goes to no doubt,would have been great to look back and say I took her to see Liverpool win the Cup when she was a little girl..but it wasn't to be!
Losing big matches seems worse when you're a kid yourself , I was 13 when Arsenal best us in the 71 FA Cup a Final. I was heartbroken when Charlie George got that winner that screamed past Clemence.
I was thinking just get the fuck up and get on with the game as he lay on the ground for what seemed an eternity while his team mates engulfed him in celebration. However,when I saw a clearly exhausted Alec Linsay, socks rolled down, cutting such a dejected figure I knew there was no way back, we where dead on our feet after that goal.
But the Final we lost that hurts me most took place on May 5th 1966, the European Cup Winners Cup Final. That Cup will always remain the one major trophy we never won, and if we did we would have been one of only a handful of clubs that won all 3 major European Trophies.
I remember the night of that Final vividly, I lived in the Lee Park area of Liverpool at the time, I was 8 years old at the time. The match was on live on telly, very rare in those days to show an mid week evening game live, had to be an International or a European game featuring an English team.
So that night was our turn, live from Hampen Park, the team I'd loved since I saw them win the FA Cup against Leeds the previous season against this strange sounding team, I had no idea who they where or where they even came from!
I always remember how vast and open Hampen Park looked, and no where near full.I think the capacity was reduced to 41,000 for the match. Although we far out numbered the Germans, they had strong local support, after all we did beat Celtic on the way to the Final!
It was a B/W telly we had of course, so Liverpool where in their in the familiar all 'grey' kit, Borrusia Dortmund in some sort of light shirt dark short combo. Just after the hour mark Dortmond took after Siegfried scored a long range screamer, poor old Tommy Lawrence, not the most agile of tallest of keepers got nowhere near it.
But just 6 minutes Sir Roger equalised with a controversial goal, sweetly taken after a brilliant run and cross from Peter Thompson, but the linesman flagged for the ball going out before Thommo crossed it, howver the Ref gave the goal. Haha que pitch invasion by the travelling reds, some waving banners, mobbing the players while they where at it!
The game went to Extra Time and after 109 minutes Dortmund got a fluke winner, Lawrence ran out to superbly block and save a quick one on one break, the ball went 40 yards up field and with Tommy still out of his goal it was hit goal bound by Reinhard Libuda his effort hit the bar and cannoned of Ron Yates into the net.
I was absolutely gutted, we lost the game 2-1 to a team I'd never even heard of, I thought we where unbeatable after that Leeds Final, never crossed my mind we'd lose and wouldn't be running around the pitch with a trophy at the end of the game.
Bill Shankly clearly upset that we dominated but lost the game said afterwards 'We where beaten by a team of frightened men'
That night in May, always sticks in my mind and to this day remains the most disappointed I've ever been after losing a Cup Final.
http://youtu.be/uGMX7krLVHc(Check out that pitch invasion!)
