To celebrate the 19-year anniversary of the Miracle of Istanbul, Sports Mole challenges you to name Liverpool’s full 18-man squad from the 2005 Champions League final.
Liverpool have enjoyed countless incredible nights in their storied and illustrious history en route to winning 19 English top-flight titles, six European Cups and a plethora of other honours which make them English football’s most successful club.
However, arguably the greatest night of them all occured on May 25, 2005, when Rafael Benitez‘s Reds travelled to Istanbul to take on the might of AC Milan.
It was a Milan side that boasted a who’s who of that generation’s legendary names, with the great Carlo Ancelotti leading a team including the likes of Cafu, Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Nesta, Jaap Stam, Kaka, Clarence Seedorf, Andrea Pirlo, Hernan Crespo and Andriy Shevchenko.
Liverpool boasted some great names of their own, but had nowhere near the all-round quality of their opponents and, having already upset the odds to make it to the final, were justifiably regarded as major underdogs in the game itself.
That tag bore out in brutal fashion in the first half as Milan took the lead through Paolo Maldini inside one minute and ruthlessly swept Liverpool aside over the next 45 minutes, with Hernan Crespo scoring twice as the Italian giants seemingly wrapped up the trophy before half time.
What followed has passed into football folklore – from the Liverpool fans singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ at half time to the remarkable comeback that followed, and from the miraculous double save to deny Shevchenko at the death to one goalkeeper’s ‘spaghetti legs’ in the shootout.
Here, to mark the 19-year anniversary of that unforgettable night, Sports Mole is challenging you to name Liverpool’s full matchday squad from the occasion.