Monday, November 24, 2008

My single best moment of Liverpool

I'm quite bored at the moment, and since it's been awhile since i updated, decided to take some time to talk about this particular topic, and to take my mind off the disappointing draw last night.

So take note, here comes a post from incredible india. HAHAHA

There are so many special moments which i remembered like it was yesterday, the "michael owen" fa cup final, the 5-4 thriller UEFA cup final, the champ league semi final with chelsea when gudjohnsen missed that sitter, and the 35 yard strike by gerrard at the "Steven Gerrard" FA cup which got me screaming at the top of my lungs(the weird part being me watching it at home alone).

Theone that stands out for me as a younger generation fan who did not get to witness the brilliance of the 70s and 80s, is still Istanbul. I still remember quite clearly, me sneaking up in the middle of the night, slowly opening my door, and tiptoeing to the living room(not that it would matter later).

Got my eyes adjusted to the brightness of the tv for awhile, and the match was on the way. 1st half ended in an instant, 3-0, and the words of andy gray repeated in my mind over and over again when it went to commercial, "game well and truly over". I felt sick, i was close to tears, i hate kaka for being so damn good, and like every liverpool fan watching the game that night, we prayed to the higher power above, please, no more. I guess if there was a devil trading a goalless 2nd half, many would have considered taking it. Milan was a class apart that first half, fact.

Of course, i was thinking fuck it, i better get some sleep, i've got freaking school in the morning. Something that day kept me awake, it was just not the liverpool way, wherever you are, be it in the stadium, in the pub, or at home, that's not the way liverpool fans react. NEVER.

2nd half, and the players started running onto the pitch, and i don't think they caught the part where the travelling kops belted out our famous theme. It would have been nice to see the looks of the milan fans, sorry mates, we are a class apart.

Dietmar hamann on, can't remember to replace who, to be honest i was still in a daze and was afraid of watching. 2nd half on the way, and hamann brought composure to the team, and immediately, you could see how clever he is, protecting the back 4, neutralising the kaka threat.

Through a stroke of good luck, riise manage to send a cross in from the left, and in the middle of the penalty box, stands our skipper, who jumps and cooly guides it into the top right corner of the goal. YES, get in man, you could see the fire in our captain's eyes, looking for the travelling kop, and signalling to them and the team, this is for you, come on let's do this.

I still believe that if it was somebody else scoring that goal, we wouldn't have been able to make that comeback, that's how influential Stevie G is. To digress abit, it's his 10 years at the club since making his first team debut, congrats and hope long may it continue.

Then as they say, the rest is history. Smicer smacking one in from outside the box, and stevie G again, bombing into the box before being fouled by gattuso. PENALTY. The nerves, i can't imagine how the player react to the tension and atmosphere when taking a penalty. I can't even bear watching(oh yes i've off the tv during a penalty before, then on it after a liverpool player takes it), and he has to place the ball, and feel the millions of eyes on him before he takes the shot.

3-3, what a comeback, extra time, serginho is dangerous down the right, and stevie G was instructed to defend that area. He totally pawned serginho, and looked like he had been a right back all his life, so comfortable, so easy, so natural.

Then the last notable chance, was shevchenko miss in front of goal. Ball fell to shevchenko in the penalty box, he shoots, dudek saves, and the ball fell back to shevchenko. Time at that moment stop, i stopped breathing, staring helplessly as shevchenko hit the rebound, and out of nowhere, dudek's hands managed to make contact and keep it out. I still held my breath even after the ball went out for the corner. Watched the replay, and still couldn't believe my eyes, from then on, i know, no. 6 is coming home.

The emotions, the euphoria, the ups and downs, all in 1 night, i'm very sure it's the greatest night of my life. The image of steven gerrard lifting the trophy, i won't forget it ever.

So that's it for my best moment, i can't wait to get home, i miss everything, absolutely everythnig.