CHAPTER 1 THE MIRACLE OF ISTANBUL The 2005 Champions League Final in Istanbul Turkey was less than 60 seconds in and Liverpool Football Club FC already found itself behind The nightmarish start would only get worse By halftime opponent AC Milan had added two more goals All looked lost for Liverpool trailing 3 0 with 45 minutes to play The Italians were embarrassing the club from the northwest of England But Liverpool was not willing to give up that night Captain Steven Gerrard started the comeback Gerrard grew up near Liverpool as a supporter of the Reds He joined the club's youth academy when he was nine years old and signed a professional AC Milan immediately took the lead against Liverpool in the 2005 Champions League Final
Liverpool kept itself in the game when midfielder Xabi Alonso made his second attempt past the goalkeeper contract at 17. Now he was leading his boyhood club as it fought to recover in its biggest match in years Liverpool's opening came in the 54th minute Gerrard rose to meet a cross and headed the ball into the back of the net Two minutes later it was Vladimir Smicer's turn The Czech bombed a long range shot that scooted past Milan's goalkeeper Suddenly it was 3 2
Now Liverpool had all the momentum Soon Gerrard was steaming toward the goal like a locomotive when he was clipped from behind The referee signaled a penalty kick Milan keeper Dida saved Xabi Alonso's first attempt from the penalty spot But midfielder Alonso followed his shot and punched home the rebound to tie the game 3 3 We thought it was all over read the Liverpool Echo newspaper report on the game It wasn't Milan was stunned In front of 40,000 fans from England Liverpool had tied a match that had seemed all but over minutes before In the span of six minutes their night had gone from a nightmare to a dream Few clubs have had more success in the Champions League than Liverpool The Reds had won the competition four times prior to 1992 when the tournament was known as simply the European Cup AC Milan is Champions League royalty too The Rossoneri Italian for the red and blacks were six time champions Only Real Madrid had won more Milan was home to some of the most famous players in the world
