My favourite football match?

What's my favourite football match?

As a Liverpool fan it is a very easy question to answer.

 2005 champions league final – The best comeback ever

I'm sure a lot of you will probably guess to this being my favourite match, although I have to say after 45 minutes of play if you'd asked me the same question, my reply would have been so different.

The excitement I felt in the days building up to the final was immense, I just had a feeling that this was going to be our year. We had all the "optimists" out there giving comparisons to 1981, if I remember rightly it was stuff like:

Year 1981

1. Prince Charles got married
2. Pope died
3. Australia lost the Ashes
4. Liverpool crowned Football Champions of Europe 

Year 2005

1. Prince Charles got married
2. Pope died
3. Australia lost the Ashes

So my burning question was "Will Liverpool win the champions League?"

Of Course they would ~ it was destiny

The day of the match, I was full of nerves, the butterflies had butterflies. My son had football training from 7pm that night, although I had begged the manager to start 30 mins early (which he did) so I could get back to watch the build-up to the match, after dropping my son off. I had arranged for his dad to pick him up at 8pm.

I sat in front of the TV with my daughter, Rosie with all our LFC tops and scarves on, Flags draped over the sofa's and with the most tense feeling in the world watched the start of play with all eagerness.

It wasn't long before I was reminding my husband, to pick our son up & telling him Liverpool were losing 2 - 0. I was miserable, Kev said they'll come back.

Not long after he arrived home we were 3 - 0 down and as usual he tried to pick me up with "This is Liverpool, if anyone can do it they can" (Btw he's an Arsenal fan).

So the long awaited 2nd half began (that half time break took ages), we could hear the fans singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" and my spirits were lifted. I sat with my hands clasped as if praying (I probably was praying actually) and then, it happened, I was leaping up and down as Captain Fantastic scored Liverpool's 1st goal. As he ran back to restart the game he swung his arms round getting the crowd going and encouraging his team, to say "Come on we can do this".  

What an inspirational man.

My hope was rising, I was so tense I'm not sure how I was breathing. Then the miracle happened, Vladimir Smicer scored & it was 3 - 2 and I really started to believe. My husband was saying "Told you" whilst I was still saying "but we still need another."

And then we all watched as Stevie was brought down in the box. "It has to be" I was thinking but I could barely look at Xabi took the penalty. Nooooo (missed) .....Yessssssss (put in the rebound).

I was on the edge of my seat for the rest of the match, extra time was so nerve racking, but the guys came through. Watching Stevie defend for his life when exhausted, watching Jamie defend for his life when he had cramp, watching them all just give their last breaths to ensure we made it to a penalty shoot-out was magnificent.

I was quietly confident with the shoot-out - but even so the nerves and excitement had screwed up my stomach. I was so tense.

Winning this match for me was so much better than the previous European Cup final wins, because I had my daughter watching with me and it was the first big trophy she had ever seen Liverpool win and it was a pleasure to share it with her. I now have someone in my family who has the same enthusiasm for this club as I have (I've never had that before) and it makes it all so much more special.

Other Liverpool related blogs :
A Hero From My Childhood

What does Hillsborough mean to me?  

How it all started for me