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Were you pogo-ing?
Are your ears still ringing?
George Sephton’s dulcet tones boomed out over the tannoy, a red flare spewed light and smoke into the night air to my left and all around me the energy and colour of the Kop refused to subside. This was a picture that will live with me forever and George’s words seemed to frame it perfectly. This was a game that we would recall to our grandchildren and one that would be turning eyes misty and cracking smiles for years to come. Over the previous two hours, Liverpool FC: the team, the fans, the staff and the stadium had fulfilled its potential and it was all simply too awesome to leave. Too awesome for Roma anyway as the Italian Champions were swept aside by a tide of footballing superlatives and raw passion.
Roma came to Anfield needing a draw. Liverpool had drawn four of their previous five group games and so they must have fancied their chances. Capello left Delvechio and Montella on the bench but the array of talent that did start the game was enough to suggest the Italian title was well at home with the Rossanero. Batistuta, Totti, Samuel, Aldair… these are all names that will be gracing billions of TV screens this summer.
In the red corner, we were without Michael Owen (hamstring), Didi Hamman (suspended), Nicolas Anelka (cup tied) and David Fairclough (lack of match fitness). But looking through the team there was little cause for concern. Dudek, Henchoz, Hyypia, Carragher and Xavier would, as a unit, grace any team in the world. In front of them, Riise, Gerrard and Murphy provide enough movement and grit to satisfy Tarmac. Infront of them, Jari Litmanen in his favoured floating role, Smicer and Heskey to complete a 4-3-3 formation that must have surprised Capello. Except it wasn’t 4-3-3, it was 40,000-4-3-3 and therein laid the Italians’ problem.
Anfield was a living, breathing monster long before I got inside. I filed through turnstile E5 (a lucky number of mine) and merged quickly with the collective voices of the Spion Kop. As I found my patch of concrete and opened with a first “Liii-verpoool, Liii-verpoool” the butterflies in my stomach were released. Butterflies that had been on speed ever since I heard the Five Live rumour that Gerard would be back. I didn’t stop singing hours later. In fact this article has been sponsored by Solpadeine and Strepsil.
The noise was deafening but somewhere in the centre a whistle was blown. Somewhere by the far touchline sat a slimline Gallic Genius and somewhere behind me a voice said “he IS here, look!”. It would have been a cruel twist of fate to ruin this script. But luck wasn’t to have a hand in the proceedings. In fact Lady Luck was probably in the Kop, swinging a scarf round her head, pogo-ing up and down and singing “Allez, allez… allez allez… Gerard Houllier”. Everyone else seemed to be after all.
For me there’s always an early sign of how a game might go. It’s usually a crunching Stevie G tackle, but not this time. This time it was a rasping Smicer drive from 25 yards. Who said he had the finishing skills of Steve McManaman? A foot higher and he’d have opened the scoring. As it was the resulting Riise corner was cleared only as far as Murphy. Assuncao took his standing foot and we had a penalty on six minutes.
The Kop had barely stopped singing before Mulletman had sent Antonioli the wrong way, very convincingly. Cue complete bedlam in the stands. I’ve no idea who the lad next to me was but he got a hug anyway… before the regulation heterosexual distance between us was restored of course. The singing resumed, “Liii-verpool Liii-verpool” followed by “Oh when the reds go marching in”, followed by Scouser Tommy, the old “Liverpool, Liverpool” and of course the Gerrard Houllier medley. Roma were visibly shaken.
A fifteen minute barrage of the Annie Road end was sustained with Smicer looking at home playing with Jari, Riise taking the game to their defence and Murphy clearly inspired by the vocal support. We finally got a close up of Totti and co. after 20 minutes or so, but that was only for Gabriel to make an arse of himself infront of the Kop. Nice overhead kick Mr “Liverpool won’t be composed” Batistuta.
The game settled for a while, but not the fans. I can barely remember 30 seconds without a new song starting up. “We love Pinochio”, “John Arne Riise”, “Sami Sami Sami Sami Hyypia” and of course a “Emile Heskey clap-clap clap-clap clap”. Emile was absolutely awesome. Highly rated by the Roma captain before the game it was easy to see why. Samuel could, quite conceivably, lift the World Cup for Argentina in the summer but he won’t have a more torrid time than this. Emile was full of fast, powerful running, excellent hold up play and provided a constant threat to which Roma generally responded with two defenders.
Half time couldn’t come soon enough for the referee, so he blew early to relieve a tense and deafening situation. Gerrard had been pushed into the Kemlyn Road advertising hoardings in a cowardly after-the-ball challenge. Clearly he’d hit his head. However, he was off the pitch and Roma continued the game to the ear splitting cacophony of boos and whistles from all corners of the ground.
Half time saw Jesus being pulled off. Not the last temptation of Christ but the substitution of the hapless Batistuta for Montella. Delvechio also came on for Lima but not even Bruce Forsythe could shuffle this pack to engineer a win. True, Totti went on to produce their best effort… saved (unsurprisingly) by a Henchoz block. This was one of many that earned a full rendition of “When we attack he’s always back, Henchoz, Henchoz, Henchoz, Henchoz” from the Kop.
A Roma resurgence was clearly too much for Monsieur Houllier to contemplate… so he stood up. The deafening chant to mark the occasion was as thunderous as it was prolonged. Refuelled by volume, the reds pressed again towards Antonioli’s goal (you’re supposed to return the applause the Kop gives visiting keepers mate, tsk). Riise now seemed to be turning up in the centre more with Jari looking even more mobile and looking for the ball. His quick feet were too much for Tomassi who dragged him back after being left for dead 30 yards out. It was a clumsy enough challenge to earn a yellow card, but the greatest reward came from the free kick. Murphy curled a beauty into the far post and Heskey rose, head, shoulders and pecs above the rest to head down into the turf.
The net flickered and delirium broke out around the ground again. We knew Enrique had grabbed a goal in Istanbul, but with two of our own we had now put ourselves in the driving seat. “Emile Heskey” rang round Anfield and at last a “Super Danny Murphy” was heard. His running was tireless, his positional play flawless and he didn’t even give his hankie waving critics a loose ball to whinge about. Get in there Danny.
It was now party time on Merseyside. In between the swinging scarves and raised hands of a standing Kop I could see Totti and Montella attempt to weave some magic. But Sami and Stephane were equal to it each time and a third Liverpool goal looked more likely than a Roma spoiler. In the stands a “We love you Liverpool” faded into a “Go back to Italy” and then a “Show them the way to go home”. It was stupendous stuff.
For all the technical ability on show, Roma were now completely undone. Liverpool slipped back to a holding 4-4-2 in what could prove to be a window on the future of football. A team that can adapt it’s tactics and metamorphose into a unit that the opposition can’t deal with? Ged might have something here you know. This was now the 4-4-2 that Fabio Capello expected. I doubt he expected to face it two goals down with two subs used and half an hour to play though.
The remaining minutes seemed endless. First Biscan and the Gary Mac came on providing us with a cue for at least two more songs, but it was the Gerard Houllier anthems that saw the game out. In fact the walkways and stairs behind the Kop resonated to the same songs long after the game ended. I swear the Kop flexed and moved as thousands bounced to “Allez allez, (allez allez), allez allez, (allez allez) Gerard Houllier”. That will be my clearest lasting memory from the night, that song, the swinging scarves and the sheer volume of Anfield in all its glory.
Thommo had said before the game that this could be “St Etienne, The Return”. He couldn’t have been more right. Many of us weren’t old enough to buy our own Panini Stickers when David Fairclough scored that goal in 1977. But here at last was a golden moment in Liverpool’s history that we had contributed to, we had been a part of and we could recall in years to come and say, “I was there”.
Redmen
Dudek: Proved himself human by missing one cross, I suspect his call for the ball was drowned in the noise. Safe and secure for the remainder of the game, but surely a “Jerzy, Jerzy Dudek in our goal” is better than the big pole song?
Xavier: Class. Added to his sterling performance in Barca with another solid, calm and composed game here. Also assured in the air and cleaned up the few aerial balls that Sami and Stephane couldn’t reach.
Hyypia: Was shaken for one of the few times this season. But it took a couple of elbows to the face to faze him and even then he strode out the master.
Henchoz: The interceptor. Countless “last ditch” blocks and interceptions are not as flukey as they may appear to the ley person (or bitter). Has made “looking out of breath” fashionable.
Carragher: Delighted the Anfield faithful by beating two players in the first half and romping down the left wing like a winger in the second. Also defended. Must surely be a certainty for the England squad now.
Riise: Typical John Arne display of commitment, touch and power. Chanced his arm a couple of times with long shots but gave up peppering the wall with free kicks to allow Gerrard an effort.
Hamman: Looked cool in the stands. In fact nobody really played the role infront of the defence until Spud and Stevie G alternated late in the second half.
Gerrard: Welcomed Lima to Anfield in his own special way. Busy, solid and didn’t suffer any from the bang on the head before half time. Top class.
Murphy: Stunning display of positional play, chasing, harrying, short passing and movement. Perhaps aided by the constant availability of the three infront of him.
Litmanen: Once again a couple of twinkle toed moments to create genuine openings, safe passing, linked well with Smicer and found Heskey with consummate ease. Tired towards the end.
Smicer: Looking more in his element and buoyed by his first half strike and successful link up play with all round him. Another player who raised his game with the occasion.
Heskey: Man of the match. Busy, always causing problems and possibly the best hold up play we’ve seen for some time. Rose in dramatic fashion to take his goal and showed why the coaching staff value him so highly
Gary Mac: We love your baldy head (yer baldy head), your Coventry pen. (yer Coventry pen.) yer derby goal (yer derby goal)… whoooooaaah, Ga-ry Macca Gary-Gary Macca
Biscan: Gotta get me one of those hair cuts.
The Kop: 10/10. Unbelievable, non-stop energy, singing and 100% support. This is what that hill was created for and this is the memory Roma fans will take away with them. To be fair, the singing came from all corners and unconfirmed reports have been received that even fans in the Main Stand joined in (joke, don’t email me!).
© Barrettski 2002
