THE JOY OF SIX
Liverpool’s 2-0 Champions League final win over Tottenham in June was the culmination of a European campaign that supporters will remember forever. Jurgen Klopp’s men came agonisingly close to going out at the group stage, and needed to produce an improbable comeback against Barcelona in the semi-finals before bagging the club’s sixth European Cup.
As the Reds begin their defence of the trophy, FourFourTwo spoke to some of those closest to the club about the turning points en route to glory in Madrid, to give a unique perspective on a magnificent achievement.
THE GROUP STAGE
ANDY HEATON
THE ANFIELD WRAP PODCAST AND FANZINE
I wasn’t distraught after Real Madrid beat us 3-1 in the previous year’s Champions League final in Kiev, because it didn’t feel like the end of something. It felt like part of a process, and the foundations for success were in place. The signing of Fabinho was announced a day after the final and it sent a huge positive message. Alisson Becker arrived later on in the summer and we knew that we’d go close.
FABINHO
BRAZIL AND LIVERPOOL MIDFIELDER
I have great memories of the third match at home to Red Star Belgrade. It was my second Liverpool start but the first with a full-strength team. We won 4-0, and that game was crucial to proving I could feature in the big matches. Everyone looked at me differently afterwards.
KENNY DALGLISH
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CLUB LEGEND
The group games were strange. They couldn’t win away. They lost to Napoli, Red Star and Paris Saint-Germain. It meant they needed to win the last group game against the Italians.
RICK PARRY
FORMER CHIEF EXECUTIVE
The Champions League is so important to the club. It just doesn’t feel right when they aren’t in it. I remember going to Nyon for the draws when we were in what was then the UEFA Cup [now the Europa League] and looking across with envy at the people who were there for the Champions League. I felt like a second-class citizen. You want to play against the big boys and, even better, get into the knockout stages. That’s how important it was to beat Napoli.
Napoli was
