well done liverpool

[nick_anarchy]

have to hold my hands up their and say it what a come back out played them ... im made up for the maneger th emost hes a top fella .. so honest .... its good for english football that a club that cant finish in the top 4 can win the cup ... :clap: :clap: :clap:

[Traxx]

At last some sense spoken through all the usual manc shit splatter. Good lad :clap:

[DJsmallpaul]

Absolutly best footie night i've had in years ****in superb :clap: :clap:

What a game, can't ask much more than that for a final :shock: :cool:

Well done Liverpool !!!! Regardless of who you support this is a special night :clap: :clap: :!:

[Ashley]

wow what a game, really thought AC had it in the bag then the second half was amazing :clap: :cool:

[nick_anarchy]

At last some sense spoken through all the usual manc shit splatter. Good lad :clap:

hahah

[Frank Dogshit]

Absolutely brilliant!

I take my hat off! :clap: :clap: :clap:

cant wait for the next 20 years of being reminded about liverpools 2005 triumph. :lol:

[DJsmallpaul]

Haha true true :lol:

[mattshephard]

****ing brilliant night. Well done lads..so proud!

[macca]

FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKINNNNNNNNNNNN GETTTTTTTTTTT IN THEREEEEEEEEEEEEE MIDDLE FINGER AGAIN 2 ALL THE BITTER ARSEHOLES WHO WANTED US TO GET BEAT HA HA HA


CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41185000/jpg/_41185457_gerrardtrophy.jpg

[nick_anarchy]

Absolutely brilliant!

I take my hat off! :clap: :clap: :clap:

cant wait for the next 20 years of being reminded about liverpools 2005 triumph. :lol:


indeed haha

[DJsmallpaul]

Was nice to Rafa smile the misrable sod & quite touching when he said the worst thing about winning was not being able to express his joy cause his english isn't very good.

[nick_anarchy]

rafa is a beast of a manager ....

[DJsmallpaul]

What about Dudek ? great antics on the line & top saves to boot :clap:

[Will]

Although for one of them he was about 6 feet off his line, so it should have been retaken! I have to admit I thought Milan would win on penalties, Dida's amazing on penalties normally, but I think Dudek's antics would have put me off more than Dida, and that's saying something! Must've have been well offputting!

It's a shame it wasn't settled with a goal, but penalties are entertaining when it's not your team - or when you win!

[Dabble]

You just gotta take your hat off to Liverpool. Most teams heads would've dropped after being 3-0 down against such a great team, but the reds kept the faith and they were absolutely fantastic from the 2nd half onwards.

Well done the scousers, hero's one an all!!!

[Dabble]

What about Dudek ? great antics on the line & top saves to boot :clap:

Wasn't he fantastic!!! They all were (apart from Kewell) but yeah, Dudek was superb.

[lukekendall]

What about Dudek ? great antics on the line & top saves to boot :clap:

Wasn't he fantastic!!! They all were (apart from Kewell) but yeah, Dudek was superb.

kewell is wank

[phantomdj]

dudek was awesome... i was laughing at the antics...

got to say though, hamann is first class... it was because of the introduction of the german that we could dictate play...

we should give him another contract... he is too good to lose....

[Dabble]

'Argentine legend Diego Maradona hailed Liverpool’s display as the most amazing fightback he has ever seen.

The 1986 World Cup winner said: “Even the Brazil team that won the 1970 World Cup could not have staged a comeback with Milan leading 3-0.'


Is Diego right or has he been on the coke again? :lol:

[phantomdj]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=334347&cc=5739


Thursday, May 26, 2005
Shevchenko praise for Reds' fightback

Andriy Shevchenko believes Liverpool were destined to claim the Champions League but still praised their 'winning mentality'.

Jerzey Dudek wins the trophy for Liverpool by saving Andriy Shevchenko's spot-kick (CliveBrunskill/GettyImages)
The AC Milan striker, who missed the decisive penalty in the shoot-out after a pulsating 3-3 draw in Istanbul, was impressed at the way Rafael Benitez's men hit back to take the game into extra-time after being 3-0 down at the interval.

He told PA International: 'It's very hard to explain.

'But I think it was destiny that decided to change sides and give the cup to Liverpool.

'With a 3-0 advantage it's difficult to think that any team can come back against Milan.

'But Liverpool found the courage to continue.

'Believe me, it's not easy when you are 3-0 down.

'They never lost hope, they believed right until the end that it was possible and I guess that is the winning mentality.'

Shevchenko, the 2004 European footballer of the year, was critical of the match officials after having a first half goal disallowed for a marginal offside decision.

He added: 'The referee made a mistake.

'I knew that my goal wasn't offside there and then because it's one of those classical plays that I always practise.

'I always look at the defensive line and I wait for the last pass from the midfield to make sure that I'm not in an offside position.'

The final appeared to be over at half-time after a Hernan Crespo double and a first-minute strike from captain Paolo Maldini gave the Rossoneri a commanding lead.

But the match changed in six dramatic minutes before the hour mark as Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso got the Merseysiders back on level terms.

'It's true that in those five or six minutes we were distracted,' said Shevchenko. 'But you never expect such an outcome.

'To Liverpool's credit they played very good football and scored three goals.'

The Rossoneri players wore stunned expressions at the final whistle but it is not the first time they have collapsed in such a manner.

In last season's Champions League quarter-final they held a 4-1 first leg advantage against Deportivo La Coruna only to lose the return 4-0 at the Riazor.

And they almost threw away their place in this year's final against PSV Eindhoven, squandering a 2-0 first leg lead, only for Massimo Ambrosini's last-gasp header to secure their place against Liverpool.

Past disappointments are nothing compared to the anguish felt on Wednesday, however.

'It's very painful,' said Shevchenko. 'But we must accept it.

'I don't think we underestimated Liverpool and I'm not surprised at how they played.

'This team knocked Juventus and Chelsea out of the competition and they did what they had to do to win.'

Shevchenko's penalty heartbreak was in stark contrast to his joy at netting the winning spot-kick as Milan beat Juventus in the 2003 final at Old Trafford.

'Penalties are cruel,' he admitted.

'There's only one winner and this time we were the ones to be at the other end.

'But (Liverpool keeper Jerzy) Dudek was outstanding throughout the game and he did well not only to save my penalty but to deny us the victory twice in extra-time.'

[Will]

I don't think Liverpool are quite up there with the 1970 Brazil team to be fair! Though it was as much their mental attributes as anything that won the day for them - whereas with Brazil it was the quality of their football... But if Brazil had pulled one back I'm sure Milan would have wilted, just as they did against Liverpool.

[phantomdj]

http://www.soccernet.com/images/england/20050523/dudekdouble_br.jpg

http://www.soccernet.com/images/england/20050523/serginhoskies_g.jpg

http://www.soccernet.com/images/england/20050523/prilomiss_g.jpg

http://www.soccernet.com/images/england/20050523/savefromshev_g.jpg

http://www.soccernet.com/images/england/20050523/runningcleb_g.jpg

http://www.soccernet.com/images/england/20050523/lfctop_g.jpg

[phantomdj]

I don't think Liverpool are quite up there with the 1970 Brazil team to be fair! Though it was as much their mental attributes as anything that won the day for them - whereas with Brazil it was the quality of their football... But if Brazil had pulled one back I'm sure Milan would have wilted, just as they did against Liverpool.

if liverpool assert themselves away from home as they have at anfield, then we will be moving up the table...looking forward to next season... u just hope that hamann is still there

[Dabble]

I don't think Liverpool are quite up there with the 1970 Brazil team to be fair! Though it was as much their mental attributes as anything that won the day for them - whereas with Brazil it was the quality of their football... But if Brazil had pulled one back I'm sure Milan would have wilted, just as they did against Liverpool.

Yeah totally agree with you there. It was that never say die spirit that won it in the end for Liverpool, rather than all round quality. But, that takes nothing away from Liverpool because they were still fantastic from the 2nd half onwards. Just goes to show that no matter how good the opposition is, if you have enough mental determination and the belief in yourselfs then the impossible can happen.

[phantomdj]

http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UCL/news/Kind=1/newsId=304967.html

Astonishing, unbelievable, bewildering, sensational. Liverpool FC's superlative victory against AC Milan has caught the imagination of the European media, with one German paper calling it the greatest ever UEFA Champions League final, and others in agreement that this was a throwback to the golden days of the European Champion Clubs' Cup.

Trounced by half-time, triumphant by the end, Liverpool celebrated their fifth European Cup all the more joyously because of the astonishing manner of victory. Alan Hansen and Kenny Dalglish had said that success against AC Milan would surpass any of their achievements and, in coming back from three goals down last night, Steven Gerrard and his team-mates can be sure they have earned their place in Anfield's hall of fame. (The Times, England)

It took someone with the vision of HG Wells to construct this stadium amid the pylons and rubble on the extreme margins of Istanbul. It would have required a storyteller with the equivalent imagination to foretell this night of football. In the space of six minutes early in the second half a formality warped into an epic. It was as if an Andy Pandy tale had been twisted into the Godfather. And at the end of it and with the clock showing half past midnight, sure enough, we had a shoot-out. (Guardian, England)

"We're gonna win 4-3!" they said at half-time. They might have got the method of victory incorrect, but otherwise no wonder they say Liverpool supporters are the most knowledgeable in football. Not content with having played a part in the finest UEFA Cup final of all time four years previous, Liverpool contrived to manufacture the most amazing European Cup showpiece since the days of Puskas, Di Stefano and all the other greats of a black-and-white age. (Liverpool Daily Post, England)

Unbelievable. Milan lost on penalties a trophy they had already won. They lost it in painful - extremely painful - fashion. Because a team that scores three goals in the first 45 minutes, outclasses the opposition, tears them apart with superb moves, cannot concede three goals in six minutes. Those fatal six minutes after the interval wiped out everything. (Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy)

It was not a question of Milan being tired because they dominated extra time. However, six minutes of madness at the start of the second half were enough. This was sufficient for Liverpool, humiliated in the first half, to pull of a success that was, frankly, unbelievable. (Corriere dello Sport, Italy)

Liverpool have been pronounced brilliant winners of the Champions League following a commanding penalty shoot-out performance against Milan. The encounter ended unresolved in 3-3 draw thanks to the overwhelming pride shown by Rafael BenÃ*tez's team in the first 15 minutes of the second half, with three goals in six minutes. (Marca, Spain)

Liverpool's renaissance, then, has no limit. Cruising from the third qualifying round to deal knockout blows to Juventus, Chelsea and Milan, the Reds gave Europe a bewildering final which ended in tears of joy for them. Perhaps an even greater upset than Manchester United's last-gasp victory against Bayern in the 1999 final. (L'Equipe, France)

It was gigantic. It was sensational. It was out of this world. Thank you, Milan. Thank you, Liverpool. For the best Champions League final in history. Milan were 3-0 up at half-time and Liverpool looked down and out. But then the wonder of Istanbul happened. The English side only needed six minutes to equalise and went on to win on penalties. The gigantic final had two heroes. Liverpool keeper Dudek, who saved two penalties, and then Didi Hamann. Our international came on as a substitute in the second half, took control in the engine room and sunk Liverpool's first penalty. (Bild, Germany)