Tuesday 16th May 2006
ANFIELD ONLINE LFC NEWS

FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY

Yes Five years ago today - and Gerard Houllier's favourite moment in charge of the reds. We have reprinted this article from that special night on 16th May 2001 in Dortmund.

Liverpool (3) 5 Alaves (1) 4

Houllier's crowning moment

Liverpool win on Golden goal

By Henry Winter

BORING? LIVERPOOL? Brimming with skill and spirit, Gerard Houllier's marvellous side deservedly won this roller-coaster of a UEFA Cup final not only to secure a remarkable cup treble, but also to silence those who had questioned their style. Inspired by Gary McAllister, given steel by Sami Hyypia and driven on by Dietmar Hamann, Liverpool are back where they belong - winning European finals.

This was the final that had everything: eight goals in a period of normal time that was anything but normal, two dismissals for a gallant Alaves side and, to crown a truly extraordinary evening, a golden goal conceded by Delfi Geli to give Liverpool their first European trophy since 1984.

It was a bad mistake by Geli, who rose to meet a McAllister free kick which was really the preserve of Alaves' goalkeeper, Martin Herrera. Geli's head made the slightest of contacts and the ball lifted over Herrera and in at the far post. An own goal - but a golden one for Liverpool.

Every party needs a touch of Geli and Liverpool certainly celebrated long and hard. The Nordtribune of the Westfalenstadion became the Kop for the night. Songs of praise spilled forward for McAllister, Houllier, Robbie Fowler and all the others who had contributed so immensely to last night's restoration of Liverpool as a European force.

As they sang, those fans who had waited so long for such a night waved their banners, including one that read "Wanted - Extra Trophy Space. Contact Gerard at Anfield." How prescient. "On Gerard's Command - Unleash Hell" exhorted another banner and how true this proved. Liverpool had torn into Alaves, playing with gusto and guile, pace and a desire to impose the passing patterns that have always spiced Liverpool's famous history.

Aggrieved by the perception of them as "boring", stirred by the desire to begin matching the deeds of past Liverpool sides and, as ever, cleverly set up by Houllier, Liverpool dominated the first half just as a gutsy Alaves side were to control the first minutes of the second.

First came the story of the hurricane. Within two minutes, Liverpool were ahead through Markus Babbel, leaping past Oscar Tellez to head in McAllister's right-wing free kick. Then came a gem of a passing move. Hamann, having a terrific match, stole possession and released Michael Owen, who in turn found Steven Gerrard with a pass shimmering with vision.

On sped Gerrard down the inside-right channel, exuding menace. Then down came that right boot, crashing into the ball which raged past Herrera; 16 minutes gone and Liverpool were 2-0 up. Unbelievable. But Alaves had not arrived in this final by luck.

Ivan Alonso was sent on and promptly scored, rising above Babbel to head home a cross from Cosmin Contra, the Romanian right-back who gave Liverpool's left-sided players a torrid night. After playing so poorly for 25 minutes, Alaves showed the form that carried them past Inter Milan and Kaiserslautern. Javi Moreno was denied a fine close-range opportunity only by the quick thinking of Babbel. Westerveld then dealt with shots from Tellez, Moreno and Ivan Tomic.

The drama of a fantastic half had not finished. When Hamann slid the ball forward to Owen, the England flier was off and running, sprinting towards goal. He rounded Herrera, who then sent Owen crashing to the ground. A penalty was inevitable but Liverpool's fans were also screaming for Herrera's expulsion. But with Antonio Karmona covering and Owen heading slightly away from goal, Herrera received only a caution. McAllister wrought fuller punishment with a low, hard penalty: it was 3-1 and the force was firmly with Liverpool.

Or so we thought. Jose Manuel Esnal's half-time talk worked wonders and Alaves were level within five minutes. First Contra tormented Jamie Carragher before crossing left-footed for Moreno, beating Gerrard, to head past Westerveld. Moreno then added a second, directing a low free kick which flew below the jumping Emile Heskey and past Westerveld: 3-3.

Houllier finally let Fowler loose after 64 minutes and within seven minutes Liverpool's vice-captain had shown his predatory streak. His goal was magnificent, a dribble across the area after receiving McAllister's pass before the ball was drilled, right-footed, past Herrera.

But this passion play had more acts. Alaves had clearly targeted Westerveld's weakness in dealing with crosses and, seconds from time, another delivery from the flank, this time a right-wing corner, was missed by the Liverpool 'keeper and there was Jordi Cruyff to equalise. As a former Manchester United player, Cruyff particularly relished putting one over on Liverpool.

No matter. Liverpool, aided by rash challenges which saw Magno and Karmona depart, kept their nerve, kept building moves and reaped deserved reward four minutes from time. Now for that Champions League qualifying place at Charlton on Saturday.

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