2005 UEFA Champions League Final
Encyclopedia
The 2005 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League
, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Liverpool
of England and Milan
of Italy at the Atatürk Stadium in Istanbul
, Turkey on 25 May 2005. Liverpool, who had won the competition four times, were appearing in their sixth final, and their first since the Heysel Stadium disaster
in 1985
. Milan, who had won the competition six times, were appearing in their second final in three years and tenth overall.
Each club needed to progress through the group stage and knockout rounds to reach the final, playing 12 matches in total. Liverpool finished second in their group behind 2004
runners-up Monaco
and subsequently beat Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus
and Chelsea
to progress to the final. Milan won their group ahead of Barcelona
and faced Manchester United
, Internazionale
and PSV Eindhoven before reaching the final.
Milan were regarded as favourites before the match and took the lead within the first minute through captain Paolo Maldini
. Milan striker Hernán Crespo
added two more goals before half-time to make it 3–0. During the second half, in a stunning comeback, Liverpool scored three goals in six minutes to level the scores at 3–3, the goals coming courtesy of Steven Gerrard
, Vladimír Šmicer
and Xabi Alonso
. The scores remained the same during extra time, and a penalty shootout was required to decide the champions. The score was 3–2 to Liverpool when Andriy Shevchenko
's penalty was saved by Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek
. Thus Liverpool had won their fifth European Cup, were awarded the trophy permanently, and claimed the UEFA Badge of Honour in the process. Widely regarded as one of the greatest finals in the competition's history, the match is often referred to as the "Miracle of Istanbul".
runners-up AS Monaco
and subsequently beat Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus
and Chelsea
to progress to the final. Milan won their group ahead of Barcelona
and faced Manchester United
, Inter Milan
and PSV Eindhoven before reaching the final.
Liverpool entered the competition in the third qualifying round after finishing fourth in the 2003–04 FA Premier League. They faced Austrian side Grazer AK
and won the first leg 2–0 at Grazer after two goals from captain Steven Gerrard
. They lost the second leg 1–0 at Anfield
but progressed to the group stage by virtue of winning the tie 2–1 on aggregate. Milan entered the competition in the group stage after winning Serie A. The group stages were contested as eight double round-robin groups
of four teams, the top two qualifying for the knockout stages. Knockout ties were decided based on home and away matches.
Opponent
Result
Legs
Knockout stage
Opponent
Result
Legs
England Manchester United
2–0
1–0 away; 1–0 home
First knockout round
Germany Bayer Leverkusen6–2
3–1 home; 3–1 away
Italy Internazionale
5–0
2–0 home; 3–0 away
Quarter-finals
Italy Juventus
2–1
2–1 home; 0–0 away
Netherlands PSV Eindhoven3–3 (a
)
2–0 home; 1–3 away
Semi-finals
England Chelsea
1–0
0–0 away; 1–0 home
The 2005 final was the sixth time Liverpool had reached the final and it was their first appearance since 1985 European Cup Final
, when they lost 1–0 to Juventus and were subsequently banned from European competition for an indefinite period due to the Heysel Stadium Disaster
. They had previously won the European Cup on four occasions in 1977
, 1978
, 1981
and 1984
. The match was Milan's tenth appearance in the final. They had won on six occasions (1963
, 1969
, 1989
, 1990
, 1994, 2003
), and lost three times (1958
, 1993
, 1995
). In total the teams had participated in 14 finals between them. Prior to the game, Milan were assured of entering the Champions League next season after finishing second in Serie A, albeit with a match left. Liverpool meanwhile had failed to finish in the top four in the Premier League, and had to win the final to enter the competition the following season. Even if they did win the match, they were not assured of a place after UEFA
neither confirmed or denied if they would allow Liverpool to defend the championship the next season. The Football Association
supported Liverpool stating: "We have already submitted a written request to have an additional place, should they win the Champions League". Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti
had his own view on the situation: "I think a team that wins should have the right to defend it but we may just do the English federation a favour and solve this".
A total of 69,500 tickets were available for the final and each team was allocated 20,000 tickets. UEFA auctioned 7,500 tickets for the final through its website, whilst another 14,500 were distributed to its "football family". The Turkish Football Federation
also had 7,500 tickets available for fans from their country, but there were concerns these tickets would end up being sold on the black market. Hotel rooms in the city were scarce with the 100,000 available quickly booked by travel agents and fans. Some 30,000 Liverpool fans made the trip to Istanbul
but only 20,000 were expected to have tickets; those without tickets hoped to watch the match in the many bars in Istanbul. The BBC
reported early arrivals were lively but there was no violence and the mood between the two fans was friendly.
Milan were regarded as favourites and their team included many players who had experienced success in the competition. The most notable was captain Paolo Maldini
, who had won the competition four times previously, all with Milan, and Clarence Seedorf
who had won the competition three times with three different clubs. Liverpool had been considered underdogs throughout the competition but had beaten more favoured opposition including Juventus and Chelsea to reach the final. Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez
acknowledged this: "Maybe Milan are favourites, but we have confidence, and we can win". Arsenal
manager Arsène Wenger
felt Liverpool would win the match: "I fancy Liverpool as Milan look jaded physically and certainly mentally, by losing the title, I think they have never had a better chance than now to beat Milan". Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher
was not so optimistic stating that this Liverpool side were not as good as the one that won the UEFA Cup in 2001
: "No disrespect to the squad we have got now but it is obvious we are not as strong as we were when we won the UEFA Cup in 2001. Back then we had a settled team and that season when we went into games against Barcelona and Roma, we always felt we were as good as them".
Milan were expected to field a 4–4–2 formation, and there was much speculation about who would partner Andriy Shevchenko
in attack. Filippo Inzaghi
and Jon Dahl Tomasson
were touted but it was expected that on-loan striker Hernán Crespo
would be chosen. This was echoed by Milan manager Ancelotti: "I will not say if he will play from the start, but he will definitely play". Liverpool were expected to line up in similar 4–4–2 formation. Dietmar Hamann
was expected to start ahead of Igor Bišćan
, while there was doubt over whether Djibril Cissé
or Milan Baroš
would start as the main striker. Benítez gave no clues as to who would play when questioned on the matter: "Both are good enough, maybe both can play, why not?".
, who played just behind Milan Baroš, who himself had been picked ahead of Djibril Cissé. The inclusion of Kewell meant Dietmar Hamann
was left on the substitutes' bench and Xabi Alonso
and Steven Gerrard
started in the centre of midfield. Milan fielded a 4–4–2 diamond formation, with Hernán Crespo
preferred to Jon Dahl Tomasson
and Filippo Inzaghi
, who was not included in the match day squad. Liverpool lined up in their red home kit, whilst Milan wore a changed strip of all white. Liverpool won the toss
and kicked off.
Milan scored within the first minute of the match after captain Paolo Maldini
volleyed in an Andrea Pirlo
free kick
that had been conceded by Djimi Traoré
. The goal made Maldini the oldest scorer in the history of the competition. Liverpool responded almost immediately; John Arne Riise
, who was picked out by a corner kick
from Steven Gerrard, hit a volley from the edge of the penalty box. His shot was cleared only for Gerrard to cross in from the right wing, which Sami Hyypiä
headed towards goal producing a save out of Dida. Milan almost extended their lead in the 13th minute, after Crespo's header was cleared off the goal line by Luis García. A few minutes later, Liverpool made a substitution after Harry Kewell picked up a groin injury; he was replaced by Vladimír Šmicer
. Soon after, Kaká
passed through to Andriy Shevchenko
who put his shot past Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek
, but Shevchenko was adjudged to have been in an offside position and the goal did not stand. Shevchenko had another chance to score a few minutes later; after being played onside by Traore, his shot was saved by Dudek after he came under pressure from the Liverpool defence. Luis García had two chances to score following Shevchenko's shot; the first shot from the edge of the penalty area went well over the crossbar
and after he was headed through by Baroš his next shot went wide. Straight after this attack, Crespo went through on goal only to be flagged for offside. Almost immediately after this, Liverpool had a penalty claim turned down after Alessandro Nesta
allegedly handballed. Milan countered and scored; Kaka dribbled the ball into the Liverpool half and passed to Shevchenko, who passed to Crespo at the far post to score and make it 2–0. Minutes later, Crespo extended Milan's lead with a chip over Dudek after Kaka provided the assist.
At the start of the second half, Liverpool made a substitution with Dietmar Hamann replacing Steve Finnan
. Following this, they decided to play three in defence and four in midfield in an attempt to reduce the deficit. Liverpool had the best chance early on with Xabi Alonso sending an effort from 35 yards (32 m) narrowly past Milan's right hand post. Two minutes later, Andriy Shevchenko had a strong free kick from just outside the Liverpool box saved. A minute after this, Liverpool scored through captain Steven Gerrard, who headed in John Arne Riise's cross. Soon afterwards, Liverpool scored again; Vladimír Šmicer beat Dida in the Milan goal to leave Liverpool a goal behind. Three minutes after Šmicer's goal Liverpool were awarded a penalty, after Steven Gerrard was judged to have been fouled by Gennaro Gattuso
. Xabi Alonso's penalty was saved, but he scored from the rebound to equalise for Liverpool. Milan and Liverpool had chances to take the lead after this, but Clarence Seedorf
and Riise failed to score.
Milan almost took the lead in the 70th minute, after Dudek dropped a low cross towards Shevchenko, whose effort was cleared off the line by Traore. Gerrard then had a chance to score but he sent his shot over the crossbar. About ten minutes later García could not control a pass from Gerrard which led to a Milan attack, Crespo played the ball back to Kaka, whose subsequent shot was blocked by Jamie Carragher
. A number of substitutions were made before the end of full time with Liverpool replacing Milan Baroš with Djibril Cissé, while Milan replaced Hernán Crespo and Clarence Seedorf with Jon Dahl Tomasson and Serginho
respectively. Milan had the last chance before full time but Kaka failed to direct Jaap Stam
's header towards goal, meaning the final would go to extra time
for the 13th time in the competition's history.
Liverpool kicked off the first half of extra time. Pirlo had a chance in the early stages, but he put his shot over the crossbar. Tomasson came close in the later stages of the first period of extra time, but he could not make contact with the ball. Vladimir Šmicer required treatment for cramp
towards the end of the first period, as a number of Liverpool players felt fatigued. Liverpool had the most of the early exchanges after winning two corners, but could not score. Shortly afterwards, Milan make their final substitution replacing Gennaro Gattuso with Rui Costa
. The best chance of the second half came near the end when Shevchenko shot at goal. Dudek saved only for it to rebound back out to Shevchenko, who again shot from under 6 yards (5.5 m), which Dudek again saved by pushing the shot over the bar. Liverpool had one last chance at the end of extra time, but John Arne Riise's free kick shot was blocked and following this the referee signalled the end of extra time, which meant a penalty shootout would decide the championship.
's "spaghetti legs" antics during the shootout in the 1984 final
. Dietmar Hamann took Liverpool's first penalty and, despite having a broken toe, he scored to put Liverpool 1–0 up. Andrea Pirlo was next for Milan, and his penalty was saved by Dudek who dived to his right. Cisse then scored his penalty to put Liverpool 2–0 up. Tomasson scored Milan's next penalty to make the score 2–1 in Liverpool's favour. Riise was next for Liverpool, but his penalty was saved by Dida. Kaka then scored the subsequent penalty to level the scores at 2–2. Vladimír Šmicer took the next Liverpool penalty, and he scored to give them a one goal advantage. Shevchenko, who had scored the winning penalty in the 2003 final
, then had to score or Liverpool would win. He hit his penalty straight down the middle of the goal. Dudek went down to his right, but blocked the shot with his left hand. Liverpool thus won the penalty shootout by a score of 3–2.
two months before the next year's final, but they receive a scaled-down replica to keep. However, in this case, the rules specified that the trophy became the permanent possession of Liverpool because it was their fifth European Cup. The 2005–06 participants competed for a new (identical) trophy.
Liverpool celebrated their victory by parading the trophy around Liverpool
in an open-top double-decker bus
the day after the final. They were cheered by approximately 1 million fans as they toured the city, with 300,000 of those fans located around St George's Hall
– the final destination of the parade. Business experts estimated that one in five workers took time off following the victory after partying all night, and many Everton
fans were said to have taken the day off work to escape their colleagues' jibes about Liverpool's victory. It was also estimated that Liverpudlians had drunk 10,000 bottles of champagne celebrating the victory, with supermarket chain Sainsbury's stating: "We've never seen anything like it. We would usually expect to sell this much champagne at Christmas".
Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez
admitted after the match that the manner of his side's victory had stunned him: "My problem is that I don't have words to express the things that I feel at this moment", he said after the match. Benítez was also prepared to break up his winning side after the final with a number of players expected to leave the club to make way for new arrivals. One of those leaving was Vladimír Šmicer
, who had scored Liverpool's second goal – his contract expired at the end of the season. Dietmar Hamann
was in the same situation and Milan Baroš
and Igor Bišćan
expected to leave as well. There was controversy when some of the departing players hinted to the media that the teams second half transformation was down to on-field directions and instructions that were not part of the gameplans given to the team by manager Rafael Benítez at half-time, but instigated by captain Steven Gerrard on the field. Gerrard himself refused to deny or confirm this, as did Benitez when questioned.
Meanwhile, Milan were amazed at how they had lost the final after leading 3–0 at half-time. Manager Carlo Ancelotti
blamed a crazy period of play for their defeat: "We had six minutes of madness in which we threw away the position we had reached until then". The result compounded Milan's failure to win Serie A
a week before the match – their draw away to Palermo
meant Juventus
became Italian champions (although they would later be stripped of the title due to the 2006 Serie A scandal
). Milan's vice-president, Adriano Galliani
, played down the events, stating: "Even if we come second in the league, and second in the Champions League, this is not a disastrous season for us". Captain Paolo Maldini
was less optimistic stating that this was a "huge disappointment", but that he added that Milan would accept the defeat and "go out with their heads high".
Much of the discussion after the final was about the future of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard
who had been linked with a move to rivals Chelsea
. It is often said Gerrard won that Champions League Final all by himself, given the lack of superstar talents in his team. It was he who earned the man of the match, and him who lifted his team to victory with his goal to open the count for Liverpool. He gave a clue about his future intentions, stating: "How can I think of leaving Liverpool after a night like this?". Contract talks were slow to take place and it seemed Gerrard would move to Chelsea after his agent Stuart Marshall admitted talks had broken down with Liverpool and that they were "unlikely to be re-opened". Days later, media reports quoted Gerrard as saying that he wanted to leave Liverpool, citing events in the month after the Champions League victory as the reason. The next day however, Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry
released a statement confirming that Gerrard had decided to stay at Anfield, blaming the earlier breakdown on miscommunication between the two parties. Gerrard signed a new four-year contract on 8 July to end the speculation over his future.
Despite winning the competition, Liverpool's place in next season's Champions League was still in doubt, because they had ended their domestic season in 5th place, behind Everton
. They faced a three week wait to discover if they would be allowed to defend their title. UEFA
were to meet at Manchester
on 17 June to decide their fate, but a decision was made a week earlier on 10 June with UEFA confirming that both Everton and Liverpool would be able to compete in the Champions League. The UEFA Executive Committee amended the regulations for future competitions so that the holders will have the right to defend their title and therefore qualify automatically, though at the expense of the lowest placed team in those countries that have more than one qualifier, if like Liverpool they did not finish high enough. Liverpool were entered into the first qualifying round, and were given no "country protection"; meaning they could face another English club at any stage of the competition. Liverpool subsequently qualified, and were drawn against Chelsea
(because they had no 'country protection', they were liable to be drawn against an English club), Real Betis
and Anderlecht
. They qualified for the knockout stages in first place in the group (with Chelsea finishing second), but were knocked out by Benfica, losing 1–0 in Portugal, and 2–0 at Anfield.
As champions, Liverpool faced CSKA Moscow – the winners of the UEFA Cup – in the UEFA Super Cup. The subsequent match played on 26 August was won 3–1 by Liverpool after extra time. Their success also meant they would participate in the FIFA Club World Cup
. They were awarded a bye in the first round and faced Deportivo Saprissa
in the semi-final winning 3–0. They faced Copa Libertadores champions São Paulo in the final
losing 1–0 after having three goals disallowed.
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
of England and Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
of Italy at the Atatürk Stadium in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey on 25 May 2005. Liverpool, who had won the competition four times, were appearing in their sixth final, and their first since the Heysel Stadium disaster
Heysel Stadium disaster
The Heysel Stadium disaster occurred on 29 May 1985 when escaping fans were pressed against a wall in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, as a result of rioting before the start of the 1985 European Cup Final between Liverpool of England and Juventus of Italy...
in 1985
1985 European Cup Final
The 1985 European Cup Final was a football match played between Liverpool of England and Juventus of Italy at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium on 29 May 1985....
. Milan, who had won the competition six times, were appearing in their second final in three years and tenth overall.
Each club needed to progress through the group stage and knockout rounds to reach the final, playing 12 matches in total. Liverpool finished second in their group behind 2004
2004 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2004 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match played at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on 26 May 2004, to decide the winner of the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League...
runners-up Monaco
AS Monaco FC
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club are a French football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. The club was founded in 1924 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. The team plays its home matches at the Stade Louis II located within Fontvieille...
and subsequently beat Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
and Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
to progress to the final. Milan won their group ahead of Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
and faced Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
and PSV Eindhoven before reaching the final.
Milan were regarded as favourites before the match and took the lead within the first minute through captain Paolo Maldini
Paolo Maldini
Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...
. Milan striker Hernán Crespo
Hernán Crespo
Hernán Jorge Crespo is an Argentine footballer who plays for Parma in the Italian Serie A. Crespo has scored over 300 goals in a career spanning 18 years. His honors include an Olympic Games silver medal, a Copa Libertadores, an English Premier League title and three Scudettos. He was topscorer in...
added two more goals before half-time to make it 3–0. During the second half, in a stunning comeback, Liverpool scored three goals in six minutes to level the scores at 3–3, the goals coming courtesy of Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
, Vladimír Šmicer
Vladimír Šmicer
Vladimír Šmicer is a former Czech football midfielder and forward player. Šmicer was a devout player of Slavia Prague, the only Czech club he ever played for. He also played notably for Lens in France, with whom he won the Ligue 1 title. In 1999, Šmicer moved to England, where he played several...
and Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso
Xabier "Xabi" Alonso Olano is a Spanish World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Real Madrid as a midfielder.Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his home region Gipuzkoa. After a brief loan period at Eibar he returned to Sociedad where then manager John Toshack appointed...
. The scores remained the same during extra time, and a penalty shootout was required to decide the champions. The score was 3–2 to Liverpool when Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko is a Ukrainian footballer who plays for Dynamo Kyiv and the Ukraine national team as a striker. He is the third-highest scorer in the history of European club competition with 67 goals as of 2011-03-10, behind Filippo Inzaghi and Raúl. With 175 goals scored with A.C...
's penalty was saved by Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek
Jerzy Dudek
Jerzy Henryk Dudek is a retired Polish footballer who played as a goalkeeper.After beginning his career in his home country, he went on to have successful spells in Netherlands and England, winning the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, appearing in 186 official games for the club over...
. Thus Liverpool had won their fifth European Cup, were awarded the trophy permanently, and claimed the UEFA Badge of Honour in the process. Widely regarded as one of the greatest finals in the competition's history, the match is often referred to as the "Miracle of Istanbul".
Route to the final
Teams qualified for the Champions League group stage, either directly or through three preliminary rounds, based on both their position in the preceding domestic league and the strength of that league. Each club needed to progress through the group stage and knockout rounds to reach the final, playing 12 matches in total. Liverpool finished second in their group behind 2004 Champions League2004 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2004 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match played at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on 26 May 2004, to decide the winner of the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League...
runners-up AS Monaco
AS Monaco FC
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club are a French football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. The club was founded in 1924 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. The team plays its home matches at the Stade Louis II located within Fontvieille...
and subsequently beat Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
and Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
to progress to the final. Milan won their group ahead of Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
and faced Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, Inter Milan
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
and PSV Eindhoven before reaching the final.
Liverpool entered the competition in the third qualifying round after finishing fourth in the 2003–04 FA Premier League. They faced Austrian side Grazer AK
Grazer AK
Grazer AK, founded 18 August 1902 as Grazer Athletik-Sport Klub , is an Austrian sports club, from the city of Graz in the federal state of Styria . The football section is one of the most traditional Austrian clubs, most successful in the decade 1995 – 2005...
and won the first leg 2–0 at Grazer after two goals from captain Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
. They lost the second leg 1–0 at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
but progressed to the group stage by virtue of winning the tie 2–1 on aggregate. Milan entered the competition in the group stage after winning Serie A. The group stages were contested as eight double round-robin groups
Round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
of four teams, the top two qualifying for the knockout stages. Knockout ties were decided based on home and away matches.
| Milan | Round | Liverpool | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Legs | Qualifying phase | Opponent | Result | Legs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Third qualifying round |  Austria Grazer AKGrazer AK Grazer AK, founded 18 August 1902 as Grazer Athletik-Sport Klub , is an Austrian sports club, from the city of Graz in the federal state of Styria . The football section is one of the most traditional Austrian clubs, most successful in the decade 1995 – 2005... |
2–1 | 0–1 home; 2–0 away | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Group stage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 AS MonacoAS Monaco FC Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club are a French football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. The club was founded in 1924 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. The team plays its home matches at the Stade Louis II located within Fontvieille... |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 12 | |
| Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups... |
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 10 |
 Olympiacos |
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
 DeportivoDeportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia; founded in 1906 and currently playing in Segunda División... |
6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 9 | −9 | 2 |
England Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
Germany Bayer Leverkusen Italy InternazionaleF.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
Italy JuventusJuventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
Netherlands PSV EindhovenAway goals rule
The away goals rule is a method of breaking ties in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. By the away goals rule, the team that has scored more goals "away from home" will win if scores are otherwise equal...
)
England ChelseaChelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
Build-up
1985 European Cup Final
The 1985 European Cup Final was a football match played between Liverpool of England and Juventus of Italy at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium on 29 May 1985....
, when they lost 1–0 to Juventus and were subsequently banned from European competition for an indefinite period due to the Heysel Stadium Disaster
Heysel Stadium disaster
The Heysel Stadium disaster occurred on 29 May 1985 when escaping fans were pressed against a wall in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, as a result of rioting before the start of the 1985 European Cup Final between Liverpool of England and Juventus of Italy...
. They had previously won the European Cup on four occasions in 1977
1977 European Cup Final
The 1977 European Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool of England and Borussia Mönchengladbach of Germany on 25 May 1977 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. The showpiece event was the final match of the 1976–77 season of Europe's premier cup competition, the European Cup...
, 1978
1978 European Cup Final
The 1978 European Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool of England and Club Brugge of Belgium on 10 May 1978 at Wembley Stadium, London, England. It was the final match of the 1977–78 season of Europe's premier cup competition, the European Cup. Liverpool were the reigning...
, 1981
1981 European Cup Final
The 1981 European Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool of England and Real Madrid of Spain on 27 May 1981 at the Parc des Princes, Paris, France. It was the final match of the 1980–81 season of Europe's premier cup competition, the European Cup. Liverpool were appearing in...
and 1984
1984 European Cup Final
The 1984 European Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool of England and Roma of Italy on 30 May 1984 at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy. It was the final match of the 1983–84 season of Europe's premier cup competition, the UEFA Champions League. Liverpool were appearing in...
. The match was Milan's tenth appearance in the final. They had won on six occasions (1963
1963 European Cup Final
The 1963 European Cup Final was a football match between Milan and Benfica, held at Wembley Stadium, London, on 22 May 1963. Milan won the match 2–1, winning the European Cup for the first time.-Match details:-See also:*1962–63 European Cup...
, 1969
1969 European Cup Final
The 1969 European Cup Final was a football match held at the Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, on 28 May 1969, that saw Milan of Italy play against Ajax of the Netherlands to determine who would be the champions of Europe that season...
, 1989
1989 European Cup Final
The 1989 European Cup Final was a football match held at the Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain on 24 May 1989, that saw Milan of Italy defeat Steaua Bucureşti of Romania 4–0. Two goals each from Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit gave the Italian side their third victory in the competition.-Match...
, 1990
1990 European Cup Final
The 1990 European Cup Final was a football match between Milan of Italy and Benfica of Portugal, played on 23 May 1990 at the Praterstadion in Vienna, Austria...
, 1994, 2003
2003 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2003 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place at Old Trafford in Manchester, England on 28 May 2003 to decide the winner of the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League. The match was contested by two Italian teams in the shape of Juventus and Milan. The match made history as the...
), and lost three times (1958
1958 European Cup Final
The 1958 European Cup Final was a football match which took place at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, on 28 May 1958. It was contested by Real Madrid of Spain and Milan of Italy. Real Madrid won 3-2 after extra-time to claim their third European Cup in a row.-Match details:-Match...
, 1993
1993 UEFA Champions League Final
The 1993 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match between French club Marseille and Italian club Milan, played on 26 May 1993 at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany....
, 1995
1995 UEFA Champions League Final
The 1995 UEFA Champions League Final was the 40th edition and took place in Vienna between AFC Ajax and A.C. Milan. It was Milan's third European Cup final in three years and they were aiming to tie Real Madrid's record of having won the European Cup six times...
). In total the teams had participated in 14 finals between them. Prior to the game, Milan were assured of entering the Champions League next season after finishing second in Serie A, albeit with a match left. Liverpool meanwhile had failed to finish in the top four in the Premier League, and had to win the final to enter the competition the following season. Even if they did win the match, they were not assured of a place after UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
neither confirmed or denied if they would allow Liverpool to defend the championship the next season. The Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
supported Liverpool stating: "We have already submitted a written request to have an additional place, should they win the Champions League". Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti is an Italian football manager, Nicknamed Carletto, Ancelotti played as a midfielder and had a successful career with Roma – captaining the team – with whom he won one Scudetto and 4 Coppa Italia and was part of the legendary late 80's Milan team, with whom he won two Scudetti and...
had his own view on the situation: "I think a team that wins should have the right to defend it but we may just do the English federation a favour and solve this".
A total of 69,500 tickets were available for the final and each team was allocated 20,000 tickets. UEFA auctioned 7,500 tickets for the final through its website, whilst another 14,500 were distributed to its "football family". The Turkish Football Federation
Turkish Football Federation
The Turkish Football Federation , also called the Turkish Football Association, is the governing body of football in Turkey. It was formed on 23 April 1923. It organizes the Turkish national teams and the Turkish football league. By 2004, there were 4,956 football clubs organized in Turkey, and a...
also had 7,500 tickets available for fans from their country, but there were concerns these tickets would end up being sold on the black market. Hotel rooms in the city were scarce with the 100,000 available quickly booked by travel agents and fans. Some 30,000 Liverpool fans made the trip to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
but only 20,000 were expected to have tickets; those without tickets hoped to watch the match in the many bars in Istanbul. The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reported early arrivals were lively but there was no violence and the mood between the two fans was friendly.
Milan were regarded as favourites and their team included many players who had experienced success in the competition. The most notable was captain Paolo Maldini
Paolo Maldini
Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...
, who had won the competition four times previously, all with Milan, and Clarence Seedorf
Clarence Seedorf
Clarence Clyde Seedorf OON is a Dutch footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie A club Milan. Seedorf is the first player to have won the Champions League with three different clubs - Ajax in 1995, Real Madrid in 1998 and Milan in 2003 and 2007...
who had won the competition three times with three different clubs. Liverpool had been considered underdogs throughout the competition but had beaten more favoured opposition including Juventus and Chelsea to reach the final. Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez
Rafael Benítez
Rafael "Rafa" Benítez Maudes is a football manager, and former player. He is currently unemployed, after leaving as manager of Internazionale in December 2010....
acknowledged this: "Maybe Milan are favourites, but we have confidence, and we can win". Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
manager Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...
felt Liverpool would win the match: "I fancy Liverpool as Milan look jaded physically and certainly mentally, by losing the title, I think they have never had a better chance than now to beat Milan". Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher
James Lee Duncan "Jamie" Carragher is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League side Liverpool...
was not so optimistic stating that this Liverpool side were not as good as the one that won the UEFA Cup in 2001
2001 UEFA Cup Final
The 2001 UEFA Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool of England and Alavés of Spain on 16 May 2001 at the Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany. The showpiece event was the final match of the 2000–01 edition of Europe's secondary cup competition, the UEFA Cup. Liverpool were...
: "No disrespect to the squad we have got now but it is obvious we are not as strong as we were when we won the UEFA Cup in 2001. Back then we had a settled team and that season when we went into games against Barcelona and Roma, we always felt we were as good as them".
Milan were expected to field a 4–4–2 formation, and there was much speculation about who would partner Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko is a Ukrainian footballer who plays for Dynamo Kyiv and the Ukraine national team as a striker. He is the third-highest scorer in the history of European club competition with 67 goals as of 2011-03-10, behind Filippo Inzaghi and Raúl. With 175 goals scored with A.C...
in attack. Filippo Inzaghi
Filippo Inzaghi
Filippo Inzaghi, Ufficiale OMRI commonly known as Pippo, is a World Cup and UEFA Champions League-winning Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club Milan....
and Jon Dahl Tomasson
Jon Dahl Tomasson
Jon Dahl Tomasson is a retired Danish footballer and assistant manager at the Dutch football club SBV Excelsior....
were touted but it was expected that on-loan striker Hernán Crespo
Hernán Crespo
Hernán Jorge Crespo is an Argentine footballer who plays for Parma in the Italian Serie A. Crespo has scored over 300 goals in a career spanning 18 years. His honors include an Olympic Games silver medal, a Copa Libertadores, an English Premier League title and three Scudettos. He was topscorer in...
would be chosen. This was echoed by Milan manager Ancelotti: "I will not say if he will play from the start, but he will definitely play". Liverpool were expected to line up in similar 4–4–2 formation. Dietmar Hamann
Dietmar Hamann
Dietmar "Didi" Hamann is a German footballer who was most recently manager at Stockport County. Throughout his career, he has played for Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Liverpool, and Manchester City primarily in a defensive midfield position. He also spent time at Milton Keynes Dons as a...
was expected to start ahead of Igor Bišćan
Igor Bišcan
Igor Bišćan is a Croatian professional footballer, playing for Dinamo Zagreb. He also played for the English team Liverpool and Greek side Panathinaikos, also spending one-year loan at NK Samobor in his early career...
, while there was doubt over whether Djibril Cissé
Djibril Cissé
Djibril Aruun Cissé is a French international footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Lazio as a striker. He is noted particularly for his speed and acceleration. Since 2005, he has held the title of Lord of the Manor of Frodsham....
or Milan Baroš
Milan Baroš
Milan Baroš is a Czech footballer who plays as a striker for Galatasaray and the Czech national football team.In the 2008–09 season, Baroš scored 20 goals in Turkish Süper Lig, the highest total in the league...
would start as the main striker. Benítez gave no clues as to who would play when questioned on the matter: "Both are good enough, maybe both can play, why not?".
Summary
Liverpool fielded a 4–4–1–1 formation, with the surprise inclusion in the squad being Harry KewellHarry Kewell
Harold "Harry" Kewell is an Australian professional football midfielder who plays for Melbourne Victory in the A-League. Internationally he has received 55 caps, and scored 16 goals, while playing for the Australian national team...
, who played just behind Milan Baroš, who himself had been picked ahead of Djibril Cissé. The inclusion of Kewell meant Dietmar Hamann
Dietmar Hamann
Dietmar "Didi" Hamann is a German footballer who was most recently manager at Stockport County. Throughout his career, he has played for Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Liverpool, and Manchester City primarily in a defensive midfield position. He also spent time at Milton Keynes Dons as a...
was left on the substitutes' bench and Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso
Xabier "Xabi" Alonso Olano is a Spanish World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Real Madrid as a midfielder.Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his home region Gipuzkoa. After a brief loan period at Eibar he returned to Sociedad where then manager John Toshack appointed...
and Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
started in the centre of midfield. Milan fielded a 4–4–2 diamond formation, with Hernán Crespo
Hernán Crespo
Hernán Jorge Crespo is an Argentine footballer who plays for Parma in the Italian Serie A. Crespo has scored over 300 goals in a career spanning 18 years. His honors include an Olympic Games silver medal, a Copa Libertadores, an English Premier League title and three Scudettos. He was topscorer in...
preferred to Jon Dahl Tomasson
Jon Dahl Tomasson
Jon Dahl Tomasson is a retired Danish footballer and assistant manager at the Dutch football club SBV Excelsior....
and Filippo Inzaghi
Filippo Inzaghi
Filippo Inzaghi, Ufficiale OMRI commonly known as Pippo, is a World Cup and UEFA Champions League-winning Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club Milan....
, who was not included in the match day squad. Liverpool lined up in their red home kit, whilst Milan wore a changed strip of all white. Liverpool won the toss
Coin flipping
Coin flipping or coin tossing or heads or tails is the practice of throwing a coin in the air to choose between two alternatives, sometimes to resolve a dispute between two parties...
and kicked off.
Milan scored within the first minute of the match after captain Paolo Maldini
Paolo Maldini
Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...
volleyed in an Andrea Pirlo
Andrea Pirlo
Andrea Pirlo, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian World Cup winning footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Juventus, and for the Italian national team. He is usually deployed as a deep-lying playmaker for both Juventus and Italy and is regarded as one of best players in this position...
free kick
Indirect free kick
An indirect free kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football. Unlike a direct free kick, a goal may not be scored directly from the kick. The law was derived from the Sheffield Rules that stated that no goal could be scored from a free kick...
that had been conceded by Djimi Traoré
Djimi Traoré
Djimi Traoré is a French-born Malian footballer who currently as either a left back or centre back. He plays for French Ligue 1 club Olympique de Marseille...
. The goal made Maldini the oldest scorer in the history of the competition. Liverpool responded almost immediately; John Arne Riise
John Arne Riise
John Arne Semundseth Riise is a Norwegian footballer who currently plays as a left wing-back for Fulham and the Norwegian national team. Riise spent seven years playing for Premier League side Liverpool before moving to Roma in 2008...
, who was picked out by a corner kick
Corner kick
A corner kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football. It was first devised in Sheffield under the Sheffield Rules 1867...
from Steven Gerrard, hit a volley from the edge of the penalty box. His shot was cleared only for Gerrard to cross in from the right wing, which Sami Hyypiä
Sami Hyypiä
Sami Tuomas Hyypiä is a retired European Cup winning Finnish footballer who played in the centre back position. He last played for German Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen and was the captain of the Finland national football team. He joined Leverkusen in summer 2009, ending a ten year spell at...
headed towards goal producing a save out of Dida. Milan almost extended their lead in the 13th minute, after Crespo's header was cleared off the goal line by Luis García. A few minutes later, Liverpool made a substitution after Harry Kewell picked up a groin injury; he was replaced by Vladimír Šmicer
Vladimír Šmicer
Vladimír Šmicer is a former Czech football midfielder and forward player. Šmicer was a devout player of Slavia Prague, the only Czech club he ever played for. He also played notably for Lens in France, with whom he won the Ligue 1 title. In 1999, Šmicer moved to England, where he played several...
. Soon after, Kaká
Kaká
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite , commonly known as Kaká , is a Brazilian football attacking midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team. Kaká started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club...
passed through to Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko is a Ukrainian footballer who plays for Dynamo Kyiv and the Ukraine national team as a striker. He is the third-highest scorer in the history of European club competition with 67 goals as of 2011-03-10, behind Filippo Inzaghi and Raúl. With 175 goals scored with A.C...
who put his shot past Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek
Jerzy Dudek
Jerzy Henryk Dudek is a retired Polish footballer who played as a goalkeeper.After beginning his career in his home country, he went on to have successful spells in Netherlands and England, winning the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, appearing in 186 official games for the club over...
, but Shevchenko was adjudged to have been in an offside position and the goal did not stand. Shevchenko had another chance to score a few minutes later; after being played onside by Traore, his shot was saved by Dudek after he came under pressure from the Liverpool defence. Luis García had two chances to score following Shevchenko's shot; the first shot from the edge of the penalty area went well over the crossbar
Crossbar
- Structural engineering :* A primitive latch consisting of a post barring a door* The top tube of a bicycle frame* The horizontal member of many sports goals including those for hockey, association football, rugby league, rugby union and American football...
and after he was headed through by Baroš his next shot went wide. Straight after this attack, Crespo went through on goal only to be flagged for offside. Almost immediately after this, Liverpool had a penalty claim turned down after Alessandro Nesta
Alessandro Nesta
Alessandro Nesta, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Milan. Considered by many as one of the best centre backs to have ever played the game, he is a four-time member of the annual UEFA Team of the Year.-Early life:Nesta was raised in...
allegedly handballed. Milan countered and scored; Kaka dribbled the ball into the Liverpool half and passed to Shevchenko, who passed to Crespo at the far post to score and make it 2–0. Minutes later, Crespo extended Milan's lead with a chip over Dudek after Kaka provided the assist.
At the start of the second half, Liverpool made a substitution with Dietmar Hamann replacing Steve Finnan
Steve Finnan
Stephen John "Steve" Finnan is a retired Irish international footballer who played as a right back. He is the only player to have played in the World Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, all four levels of the English league football and the Football Conference.-Early career:Finnan was born in...
. Following this, they decided to play three in defence and four in midfield in an attempt to reduce the deficit. Liverpool had the best chance early on with Xabi Alonso sending an effort from 35 yards (32 m) narrowly past Milan's right hand post. Two minutes later, Andriy Shevchenko had a strong free kick from just outside the Liverpool box saved. A minute after this, Liverpool scored through captain Steven Gerrard, who headed in John Arne Riise's cross. Soon afterwards, Liverpool scored again; Vladimír Šmicer beat Dida in the Milan goal to leave Liverpool a goal behind. Three minutes after Šmicer's goal Liverpool were awarded a penalty, after Steven Gerrard was judged to have been fouled by Gennaro Gattuso
Gennaro Gattuso
Gennaro Ivan Gattuso, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian footballer, who plays for Serie A club Milan. He mainly plays as a defensive midfielder. Gattuso is an aggressive, hard tackling player and in his prime, was widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world...
. Xabi Alonso's penalty was saved, but he scored from the rebound to equalise for Liverpool. Milan and Liverpool had chances to take the lead after this, but Clarence Seedorf
Clarence Seedorf
Clarence Clyde Seedorf OON is a Dutch footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie A club Milan. Seedorf is the first player to have won the Champions League with three different clubs - Ajax in 1995, Real Madrid in 1998 and Milan in 2003 and 2007...
and Riise failed to score.
Milan almost took the lead in the 70th minute, after Dudek dropped a low cross towards Shevchenko, whose effort was cleared off the line by Traore. Gerrard then had a chance to score but he sent his shot over the crossbar. About ten minutes later García could not control a pass from Gerrard which led to a Milan attack, Crespo played the ball back to Kaka, whose subsequent shot was blocked by Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher
James Lee Duncan "Jamie" Carragher is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League side Liverpool...
. A number of substitutions were made before the end of full time with Liverpool replacing Milan Baroš with Djibril Cissé, while Milan replaced Hernán Crespo and Clarence Seedorf with Jon Dahl Tomasson and Serginho
Sergio Claudio dos Santos
Sérgio Cláudio dos Santos is a former association footballer, who last played as a left winger and left back for A.C. Milan. His nickname is Il Concorde, due to his quick and tireless pace on the pitch.-Career:He played for Cruzeiro EC and Bahia, and moved to AC Milan from São Paulo FC in 1999...
respectively. Milan had the last chance before full time but Kaka failed to direct Jaap Stam
Jaap Stam
Jakob "Jaap" Stam is a retired Dutch football player who was twice voted best defender in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League. He played for several European clubs like PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, S.S. Lazio, A.C. Milan and AFC Ajax before retiring in October 2007...
's header towards goal, meaning the final would go to extra time
Overtime (sports)
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw. In most sports, this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination...
for the 13th time in the competition's history.
Liverpool kicked off the first half of extra time. Pirlo had a chance in the early stages, but he put his shot over the crossbar. Tomasson came close in the later stages of the first period of extra time, but he could not make contact with the ball. Vladimir Šmicer required treatment for cramp
Cramp
Cramps are unpleasant, often painful sensations caused by muscle contraction or over shortening. Common causes of skeletal muscle cramps include muscle fatigue, low sodium, and low potassium...
towards the end of the first period, as a number of Liverpool players felt fatigued. Liverpool had the most of the early exchanges after winning two corners, but could not score. Shortly afterwards, Milan make their final substitution replacing Gennaro Gattuso with Rui Costa
Rui Costa
Rui Manuel César Costa, OIH is a former Portuguese football player and current Director of Football for Sport Lisboa e Benfica. An attacking midfielder also capable of playing as a deep-seated defensive midfielder, he most recently played for Portuguese club Benfica...
. The best chance of the second half came near the end when Shevchenko shot at goal. Dudek saved only for it to rebound back out to Shevchenko, who again shot from under 6 yards (5.5 m), which Dudek again saved by pushing the shot over the bar. Liverpool had one last chance at the end of extra time, but John Arne Riise's free kick shot was blocked and following this the referee signalled the end of extra time, which meant a penalty shootout would decide the championship.
Penalties
Liverpool and Milan had each won their last European Cups after winning penalty shootouts, and it was also the second time in three years that the final would be decided in such a way. Milan were first to take a penalty, but Serginho shot over the crossbar after attempts from Jerzy Dudek to distract him, which mimicked Bruce GrobbelaarBruce Grobbelaar
Bruce David Grobbelaar is a former football goalkeeper and manager.He played for a number of clubs in a career which spanned for more than 20 years at professional level, most notably Liverpool during their dominant period in the 1980s and early 1990s.-Early years:In his teenage years, Grobbelaar...
's "spaghetti legs" antics during the shootout in the 1984 final
1984 European Cup Final
The 1984 European Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool of England and Roma of Italy on 30 May 1984 at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy. It was the final match of the 1983–84 season of Europe's premier cup competition, the UEFA Champions League. Liverpool were appearing in...
. Dietmar Hamann took Liverpool's first penalty and, despite having a broken toe, he scored to put Liverpool 1–0 up. Andrea Pirlo was next for Milan, and his penalty was saved by Dudek who dived to his right. Cisse then scored his penalty to put Liverpool 2–0 up. Tomasson scored Milan's next penalty to make the score 2–1 in Liverpool's favour. Riise was next for Liverpool, but his penalty was saved by Dida. Kaka then scored the subsequent penalty to level the scores at 2–2. Vladimír Šmicer took the next Liverpool penalty, and he scored to give them a one goal advantage. Shevchenko, who had scored the winning penalty in the 2003 final
2003 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2003 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place at Old Trafford in Manchester, England on 28 May 2003 to decide the winner of the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League. The match was contested by two Italian teams in the shape of Juventus and Milan. The match made history as the...
, then had to score or Liverpool would win. He hit his penalty straight down the middle of the goal. Dudek went down to his right, but blocked the shot with his left hand. Liverpool thus won the penalty shootout by a score of 3–2.
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Man of the Match: Steven GerrardSteven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger... (Liverpool) Assistant referees: Clemente Plou (Spain) Oscar Samaniego (Spain)Fourth official: Arturo Dauden Ibáñez (Spain) |
Post match
By winning the European Cup for a fifth time, Liverpool earned the privilege of the UEFA badge of honour. Under normal competition rules, the winning club gets to keep the trophy for only 10 months, as they must deliver it to UEFAUEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
two months before the next year's final, but they receive a scaled-down replica to keep. However, in this case, the rules specified that the trophy became the permanent possession of Liverpool because it was their fifth European Cup. The 2005–06 participants competed for a new (identical) trophy.
Liverpool celebrated their victory by parading the trophy around Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
in an open-top double-decker bus
Double-decker bus
A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or 'decks'. Global usage of this type of bus is more common in outer touring than in its intra-urban transportion role. Double-decker buses are also commonly found in certain parts of Europe, Asia, and former British colonies and protectorates...
the day after the final. They were cheered by approximately 1 million fans as they toured the city, with 300,000 of those fans located around St George's Hall
St. George's Hall, Liverpool
St George's Hall is on Lime Street in the centre of the English city of Liverpool, opposite Lime Street railway station. It is a building in Neoclassical style which contains concert halls and law courts, and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building...
– the final destination of the parade. Business experts estimated that one in five workers took time off following the victory after partying all night, and many Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
fans were said to have taken the day off work to escape their colleagues' jibes about Liverpool's victory. It was also estimated that Liverpudlians had drunk 10,000 bottles of champagne celebrating the victory, with supermarket chain Sainsbury's stating: "We've never seen anything like it. We would usually expect to sell this much champagne at Christmas".
Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez
Rafael Benítez
Rafael "Rafa" Benítez Maudes is a football manager, and former player. He is currently unemployed, after leaving as manager of Internazionale in December 2010....
admitted after the match that the manner of his side's victory had stunned him: "My problem is that I don't have words to express the things that I feel at this moment", he said after the match. Benítez was also prepared to break up his winning side after the final with a number of players expected to leave the club to make way for new arrivals. One of those leaving was Vladimír Šmicer
Vladimír Šmicer
Vladimír Šmicer is a former Czech football midfielder and forward player. Šmicer was a devout player of Slavia Prague, the only Czech club he ever played for. He also played notably for Lens in France, with whom he won the Ligue 1 title. In 1999, Šmicer moved to England, where he played several...
, who had scored Liverpool's second goal – his contract expired at the end of the season. Dietmar Hamann
Dietmar Hamann
Dietmar "Didi" Hamann is a German footballer who was most recently manager at Stockport County. Throughout his career, he has played for Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Liverpool, and Manchester City primarily in a defensive midfield position. He also spent time at Milton Keynes Dons as a...
was in the same situation and Milan Baroš
Milan Baroš
Milan Baroš is a Czech footballer who plays as a striker for Galatasaray and the Czech national football team.In the 2008–09 season, Baroš scored 20 goals in Turkish Süper Lig, the highest total in the league...
and Igor Bišćan
Igor Bišcan
Igor Bišćan is a Croatian professional footballer, playing for Dinamo Zagreb. He also played for the English team Liverpool and Greek side Panathinaikos, also spending one-year loan at NK Samobor in his early career...
expected to leave as well. There was controversy when some of the departing players hinted to the media that the teams second half transformation was down to on-field directions and instructions that were not part of the gameplans given to the team by manager Rafael Benítez at half-time, but instigated by captain Steven Gerrard on the field. Gerrard himself refused to deny or confirm this, as did Benitez when questioned.
Meanwhile, Milan were amazed at how they had lost the final after leading 3–0 at half-time. Manager Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti is an Italian football manager, Nicknamed Carletto, Ancelotti played as a midfielder and had a successful career with Roma – captaining the team – with whom he won one Scudetto and 4 Coppa Italia and was part of the legendary late 80's Milan team, with whom he won two Scudetti and...
blamed a crazy period of play for their defeat: "We had six minutes of madness in which we threw away the position we had reached until then". The result compounded Milan's failure to win Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
a week before the match – their draw away to Palermo
U.S. Città di Palermo
Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo is an Italian football club from Palermo, Sicily which currently plays in Serie A, the top level of Italian football. Formed in 1900 as Anglo Panormitan Athletic and Football Club, the club had various names before assuming its final form in 1987 and is currently...
meant Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
became Italian champions (although they would later be stripped of the title due to the 2006 Serie A scandal
2006 Serie A scandal
The 2006 Italian football scandal involved Italy's top professional football leagues, Serie A and Serie B...
). Milan's vice-president, Adriano Galliani
Adriano Galliani
Adriano Galliani is an Italian entrepreneur who has been serving as vice-president and C.E.O. of Italian football club Associazione Calcio Milan since 1986. During his tenure as CEO, Milan have won five European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles and eight Serie A titles among other achievements and...
, played down the events, stating: "Even if we come second in the league, and second in the Champions League, this is not a disastrous season for us". Captain Paolo Maldini
Paolo Maldini
Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...
was less optimistic stating that this was a "huge disappointment", but that he added that Milan would accept the defeat and "go out with their heads high".
Much of the discussion after the final was about the future of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
who had been linked with a move to rivals Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
. It is often said Gerrard won that Champions League Final all by himself, given the lack of superstar talents in his team. It was he who earned the man of the match, and him who lifted his team to victory with his goal to open the count for Liverpool. He gave a clue about his future intentions, stating: "How can I think of leaving Liverpool after a night like this?". Contract talks were slow to take place and it seemed Gerrard would move to Chelsea after his agent Stuart Marshall admitted talks had broken down with Liverpool and that they were "unlikely to be re-opened". Days later, media reports quoted Gerrard as saying that he wanted to leave Liverpool, citing events in the month after the Champions League victory as the reason. The next day however, Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry
Rick Parry
Rick Parry is the former chief executive of Liverpool Football Club, and the former head of the FA Premier League. He is currently on the board of directors at New York Cosmos .-Career:...
released a statement confirming that Gerrard had decided to stay at Anfield, blaming the earlier breakdown on miscommunication between the two parties. Gerrard signed a new four-year contract on 8 July to end the speculation over his future.
Despite winning the competition, Liverpool's place in next season's Champions League was still in doubt, because they had ended their domestic season in 5th place, behind Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
. They faced a three week wait to discover if they would be allowed to defend their title. UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
were to meet at Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
on 17 June to decide their fate, but a decision was made a week earlier on 10 June with UEFA confirming that both Everton and Liverpool would be able to compete in the Champions League. The UEFA Executive Committee amended the regulations for future competitions so that the holders will have the right to defend their title and therefore qualify automatically, though at the expense of the lowest placed team in those countries that have more than one qualifier, if like Liverpool they did not finish high enough. Liverpool were entered into the first qualifying round, and were given no "country protection"; meaning they could face another English club at any stage of the competition. Liverpool subsequently qualified, and were drawn against Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
(because they had no 'country protection', they were liable to be drawn against an English club), Real Betis
Real Betis
Real Betis Balompié S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Seville, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 12 September 1907, it currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at Estadio Benito Villamarín....
and Anderlecht
R.S.C. Anderlecht
Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht or RSCA , is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht in the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian Pro League and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions as well as in the...
. They qualified for the knockout stages in first place in the group (with Chelsea finishing second), but were knocked out by Benfica, losing 1–0 in Portugal, and 2–0 at Anfield.
As champions, Liverpool faced CSKA Moscow – the winners of the UEFA Cup – in the UEFA Super Cup. The subsequent match played on 26 August was won 3–1 by Liverpool after extra time. Their success also meant they would participate in the FIFA Club World Cup
FIFA Club World Cup
The FIFA Club World Cup is a football competition between the champion clubs from all six continental confederations.The first FIFA Club World Championship took place in Brazil in January 2000...
. They were awarded a bye in the first round and faced Deportivo Saprissa
C.D. Saprissa
Deportivo Saprissa S.A.D. is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its football team. The club is located in San Juan de Tibás, San José, and plays their home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá....
in the semi-final winning 3–0. They faced Copa Libertadores champions São Paulo in the final
2005 FIFA Club World Championship Final
The 2005 FIFA Club World Cup Final was an association football match between São Paulo of Brazil and Liverpool of England on 18 December 2005 at the International Stadium, Yokohama, Japan. It was the final match of the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship, a competition for the winners of the primary...
losing 1–0 after having three goals disallowed.