In the penalty shootout, Jerzy Dudek attempted to distract the Milan players by utilising the 'spaghetti legs' technique used famously by former Liverpool 'keeper As this was Liverpool's fifth European Cup victory, as per UEFA rules, Liverpool were permitted to keep the trophy itself, instead of being awarded a replica. The 2005–06 Serie A season opened with success in the Supercoppa Italiana, beating Juventus 1–0 in extra time with a goal scored by Verón. It was supernatural. He was quite calm. That was a sign of destiny. Therefore, we knew that we still had to make an effort. Anyway, Liverpool can be very proud of itself and Britain's very proud of Liverpool." All content © copyright WAAY. Though Liverpool had once dominated the English league and European competitions, such success was -- by that time -- a rather distant memory.In 2005, Liverpool's domestic performance in the Premier League was so poor that they hadn't even qualified for the next Champions League season. "Often in sport, when a team has capitulated so spectacularly, the fans can't help but turn on them. "We still think about it. There was no resentment. Milan may have choked in 2005 and the scars from that evening will never completely heal, but in 2007 they did everything possible to put it behind them. 'After the break, Liverpool looked like a completely different side; a header from their young captain Steven Gerrard made the score 3-1, and within two minutes it was 3-2, thanks to Vladimir Smicer.Back home in Italy, Agostinelli said that he'd stopped paying attention during halftime. We finally unrolled the banner that had been left rolled-up since Istanbul 2005, with tears in our eyes. For Greco, that was definitive: "At that moment I really understood that AC Milan would lose the cup -- a terrible evening. It's our turn to celebrate now. Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. We have to give the fans something to cheer about in the second half.' "Milan were purring; their Brazilian goalkeeper Dida chuckled when CNN asked him recently if he had much to do in the first half: "Honestly not much," he admitted. "In 2007, this time in Athens, Liverpool and Milan met again in the final of the Champions League. "It was proof that we could have also done the same thing two years before, but we must try to forget the game that we lost and focus on what we have won. During the Champions League group stage, the side managed to have a line-up of 11 foreign players on the pitch: the only European was Luís Figo, playing the second time. The 2006–07 season has had its ups and downs for Milan. "Milan were back on top of Europe, re-establishing themselves as one of the powerhouses of the continental game. As the teams left the field for the fifteen-minute interval, it was hard to tell which team was losing. Paolo Maldini gave Milan a first-minute lead and Hernan Crespo's double gave Milan a seemingly unassailable lead. It is a fantastic news for the whole city and the whole country." "Liverpool's first-year manager Rafael Benitez told the assembled press that he was hoping for an early goal, but Maldini volleying the ball into the back of the net after just 50 seconds was not quite the early strike that he had in mind.As Paolo Agostinelli remembers it, "We were playing fabulous football, the team was confident and everything was fine and then Maldini scored.
"As is always the case, the victors write the history. "Rarely has such a heartbreaking defeat been transformed into such satisfying revenge, but Athens will always be tinged with regret.
Atlanta in the United States is still maligned because of the Falcons' monumental capitulation in Super Bowl LI, when they somehow blew a 25-point lead late in the third quarter of the NFL's showpiece game.Whilst Milan is not a city you'd ever associate with sporting failure -- their football teams AC Milan and Internazionale are among the most successful in Europe -- there is one particular outlier: In the 2005 Champions League final, AC Milan raced into a 3-0 lead against Liverpool and somehow trudged off the field as losers.Earlier this month, former AC Milan goalkeeper Dida, who played in the final, told CNN, "It's truly difficult to imagine after that first half, which we performed practically to perfection, that we would lose three goals.
The Queen sent a message to the Liverpool squad, telling them "congratulations on your remarkable win last night. I couldn't stand anymore and my first thought was to get to the airport and go back home as soon as possible. "Inside the stadium, Milan's supporters were witnessing an epic collapse and an extreme shift of emotions. The Portuguese attacking midfielder returned home to boyhood club Benfica and played the final game of a distinguished career in May 2008, when he was given a standing ovation at the Estadio da Luz. Copyright © 2020 Allen Media Broadcasting, LLC All Rights Reserved. Maldini was compelling; "History counts and in recent years, Milan has always been at this level. They'd finished fifth. "What happened next has become the stuff of legend in Liverpool. Seven of Milan's starting 11 had won the Champions League just two years previously.Brazilians Cafu, Dida and Kaka were all World Cup winners, while the following summer, Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso and Alessandro Nesta would be world champions with Italy.Ukrainian striker Andriy Schevchenko was the 2004 Ballon d'Or winner, arguably the greatest individual recognition in the game and an honor that Kaka would later claim in 2007. Wasn't it absolutely amazing? Liverpool won the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final, hosted at the Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul, by beating AC Milan 3-2 on penalties after the match finished 3-3 after extra time.The match was remarkable for the fact that AC Milan had taken a 3-0 lead in the first half, only for Liverpool to mount an impressive comeback and level the score in the space of 6 second half minutes. The chances of a rematch occurring so soon would have been incredibly slim: same clubs, same managers and many of the same players. The free kick was teed up for Riise, but his strike was blocked and the game went to penalties.
Late goals in each half from Filippo Inzaghi -- who had been injured for the game in Istanbul -- gave Milan a 2-0 lead, and Liverpool's 90th-minute strike from Dirk Kuyt proved to be merely a consolation.