Football. ua and Mastercard, the official sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, tell the stories of the most vivid and truly priceless moments of the most prestigious football tournament in Europe.
The final of the 2005 Champions League, in which Liverpool and Milan fought for the cherished trophy, was the duel, the stories of which will be passed on from generation to generation. Liverpool's Lambswitch has been discussed around the world for a long time after the final whistle and even now many fans, with the memory of the battles of that evening, goosebumps. For Ukrainian fans, the final was not an ordinary. Interest heated significantly that one of the main characters in Milan in 2005 was our compatriot Andrey Shevchenko, who came on the field from the first minutes and finished the match to the end. And this match the current head coach of the Ukrainian team will not forget for the rest of his life. Although these memories are not the most pleasant for him.
Let's resume in memory how Liverpool and Milan got to the final game, and the names of all those who were involved in the success of these teams. "Reds" were heavily included in that season and all because for a long time the team could not stabilize the situation because of the departure of the epochal Michael Owen to Real Madrid. Discussions of this event distracted the staff and the coaching staff from their work and did not allow them to concentrate on the entire 100%. After the sale of Michael, the leadership of Liverpool hurried to calm the fans and made two high-profile incoming transfers.
So, the Merseyside acquired from Real Sociedad and Barcelona Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia respectively for a total of almost 17 million pounds. A very impressive amount for that time. Such wastage was necessary, because in the new season the Mersisans had to play on four fronts, and the strengthening would significantly improve the situation. In the Premier League, the teams went with varying success - the victories were replaced by defeats, but overall the team looked very good even without Michael Owen. Serious concerns about the success of the coming season arose precisely because of the departure of the Englishman, but Raphael Benitez knew perfectly how to cope without his main goalscorer.
In the UEFA Champions League, the team also had problems. So, Liverpool came from far from the most difficult group (Monaco, Olympiakos, Deportivo) only because of the best performance in the matches with the Greek team, which scored the same 10 points for 6 fights. After "creeping" into the playoffs Liverpool issued a winning streak in the Premier League, but managed to fly out of the FA Cup from a modest Burnley in the first match for himself. But in the UEFA Champions League after the group stage everything was like a note! At the stage 1/8 finals with ease was passed Bayer (6: 2), and then not easily overcome the barrier in the form of Juventus (2: 1). In the semifinals, the draw brought the "reds" from Chelsea, before which the Benitez team had a debt. The matter is that in the end of winter Liverpool in a dramatic match lost to Chelsea in the League Cup final, when he missed two goals in extra time. Then the "blue" under the leadership of Mourinho deprived them of the trophy, and now they could deprive the dreams. As a result, the Merseyside players went through Chelsea due to one of the most controversial and controversial goals in the history of the UEFA Champions League. Jose Mourinho still accuses the judges of having stopped the strongest Chelsea team in history. And yet, not one repeat could not determine whether the ball crossed the goal line after Luis Garcia. That's the way the Benitez team overcame the final in Istanbul, where they had to fight with Milan.
The Italians, in turn, were not too active in the transfer market and held only a few transactions in the summer. Of the significant transfers we note the signing of the defender Yap Stam and the rental of forward Hernan Crespo. The 2005 season began for Milan as well as possible. In the first match after the summer break, the Rossoneri did not leave a stone on the stone from Lazio in the match for the Italian Super Cup and won the first trophy in the season. That duel ended with the victory of the team of Carlo Ancelotti with a score of 3: 0, and all the goals were recorded by the Ukrainian Andrey Shevchenko!.
In the domestic championship, Milan had to defend the champion title, and the main rival of the "red-black" was Juventus, who was eager to regain the championship by all means. In general, Milan went quite smoothly in Serie A and, at the same time, was successful in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. "Rossoneri" without much difficulty took first place in his quartet, which was also attended by Barcelona. Shakhtar and Celtic were originally considered underdogs. Then Shevchenko brought his team a home victory in the match with Barcelona, ??after which it became clear - the first place from Milan will not go anywhere. However, soon the "red-black" was expected to fail in Italy: at the quarterfinals the team flew out of the Cup from Udinese.
This fiasco did not turn into a tragedy, because Milan had a championship in which he was confident enough, and the Champions League. Already at the stage 1/8 of the Italians there was a serious test - games with Manchester United of Sir Alex Ferguson. Matches came tense, but in both games, Milan in the second half doped the opponent and eventually won with a minimum score (1: 0, 1: 0). At the quarter finals, the lot gave the team Carlo Ancelotti one of the most undesirable opponents - Milan Inter Milan. The battalion with Nerazzurri Milan was also enough in Italian competitions, but here the eternal rivals had to fight in Europe.
As a result, Derby della Madonnina was held twice and both times the victory was celebrated by the "red-black" part of the city (2: 0 and 3: 0). True, the second match was never finished - in the second half the game was interrupted due to riots in the stands with a score of 1: 0, and then the UEFA disciplinary committee awarded Inter a technical defeat. Note that in both matches, our goals were noted by our Andrey Shevchenko. In the semi-final of the Rossoneri, a sensational PSV from Eindhoven with Mark van Bommel, Philip Cock and Pak Chi Son was waiting for the return match and it nearly turned for the Italians a tragedy. After a home win with a score of 2: 0, where Milan, frankly, was lucky enough to finish the game with such a score, the Italians went to the Netherlands and there deserved to be relegated, but Ambrosini's goal in the 90th minute of the meeting did not allow to transfer the game into overtime. Thus Milan stepped into the final, albeit with a screech.
And now, this day has come. May 25, 2005. Turkey. Istanbul.
Let's remember the starting lineups:.
Liverpool: Dudek - Finnan, Carragher, Hyupia, Traore - Luis Garcia, Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Riise - Baros, Kewell Substitutes: Carson, Josemi, Hamann, Nunez, Bischan, Cisse, Shmitzer Milan: Dida - Cafu, Stam, Nesta, Maldini - Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf - Kaka - Shevchenko, Crespo Spare: Abbiati, Kaladze, Costacurta, Costa, Dorazo, Serginho, Tomasson 52nd second, and the account is already open. Pirlo hung in the penalty area, Maldini struck in one touch. By the way, thanks to this goal, Paolo became the most age-old football player who scored in the final of the UEFA Champions League (36 years and 11 months). "Reds" for a long time could not come to their senses and were discouraged by the pressure of an opponent. On the 29th minute, Andrey Shevchenko scores a goal, but the lineman raises the flag, signaling a fair offside, and the referee cancels the cancellation. After 10 minutes the ball hits the elbow of Alessandro Neste in the penalty area of ??Milan, but the referee did not succumb to the stormy appeals of Liverpool players and did not assign a penalty. In the second attack, the Rossoneri scored the second goal. Shevchenko took advantage of the brilliant transfer from Kaka, approached the gate and gave a slightly awkward pass to the far post on Hernan Crespo, who first sent the ball into the net!.
After another five minutes, Gerrard lost the ball in midfield, Kaka took it and gave an amazing long transmission to Crespo. Argentinean coolly threw Dudek and the score was devastating! It was exactly the case where even the most dedicated Liverpool fans lost hope of success. All right, their pets would show a great game, but they just did not have luck or they were slandered by an arbiter. But no, Milan looked at times stronger than Liverpool in the first half and absolutely won the game with a crushing score. And what happened in the second half of the meeting, still can not explain even the participants themselves. The spectators did not leave the feeling that the teams exchanged T-shirts!.
Benitez did not drop his hands and at half-time made a substitution, after which the team moved to play in three defenders. This immediately brought fruit. One goal Merseyside scored in the 54th minute, when Steven Gerrard head sent the ball into the net and immediately returned to his half of the field: the account was every second. After this goal in Istanbul, there was nothing to be heard except the famous anthem of the English team You'll Never Walk Alone. Two minutes later, Hamann gave the transfer to Vladimir Shmitsera (both came to replace), and he from 18-20 meters cannon sent the ball into the far left corner of the gates of Dida! The madness continued, all the fans were already in shock at the time, and fans of Milan nervously biting their lips.
As a result, after another four minutes the score became equal! Milan Baroche heel rolled the ball to Gerrard on the shock position, and the current allenator Milan Gennaro Gattuso did not come up with anything better than pulling his counterpart for a T-shirt in his own penalty area. The referee did not think a second - a penalty. Khabi Alonso played a shot, but from the first time Didu did not succeed. But it turned out to score on finishing! At the 60th minute the score was 3: 3! If someone had suggested such a breakdown during the break, all the fans would have laughed at such a prognosis. But it happened. Few could explain such drastic changes, but it really happened! After the restoration of parity Liverpool expected slowed down and did not try fate. Milan sample of the first half came back in extra time, but Mrs. Fortuna left the team from Italy and moved to another camp. How else can you explain the double save of Dudek in the 116th minute of the meeting, when Andrey Shevchenko aimed precisely from two meters? !!.
For the goalkeeper this match was one of the best and precisely the most memorable in his career, and for the Ukrainian he turned into a personal tragedy, the memories of which he did not leave very long. "No doubt, I was obliged to score in that episode. I watched the repeats several times, especially in the last minute. This moment I dreamed about. I, the ball and Dudek. Every time I beat and lost a duel. I tried, but it's useless. It was a nightmare, "- said Shevchenko a few years later.
However, Dudek's last word was still ahead. In a series of penalty kicks, the goalkeeper tried his best to demoralize Milan's penalty shootout with his antics, and he did it perfectly well. After the match, a new dance appeared in everyday life - Dudek Dance. Can you imagine what he did when he was called a dance in his honor?.
Do you know who did not score the decisive penalty? Alas, Shevchenko.
His goal would continue the series, but Dudek again won the duel with the striker and provided the team with the fifth trophy of the UEFA Champions League, which made it possible to keep the cup in the club forever. Two years later, the Rossoneri took revenge against Liverpool, defeating in the finals, but this is a completely different story, and the 2005 duel, referred to as the "Istanbul miracle", is rightfully considered one of the greatest in the history of football.