15 years on, Liverpool greats Smicer and Berger still shake their heads at one of the craziest European finals ever
Reds’ treble-winning Czech stars reflect on historic night
Try telling Patrik Berger that the Uefa Cup is a lesser tournament and his response scotches that notion.
“You have players in the world who were unbelievable players and they never won any trophies. I think you play for trophies, and I was lucky enough to play for Liverpool and to win trophies. Since 2005, Liverpool didn’t win much. I won five trophies in one season! For me it’s about history and it’s great to be a part of the history of such a huge club.”
Berger and his former Reds wingman Vladimir Smicer are talking in Hong Kong, where they’ll take part in the annual HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens tournament this weekend.
The pain of the current Liverpool team’s capitulation in the Europa League final during the small hours of Thursday morning is still fresh, but the former stars can cheer themselves up by remembering that incredible night 15 years ago when, as a part of Gerard Houllier’s treble-winning side, they scooped Uefa’s minor competition.
It didn’t feel quite so minor that night in 2001, though: 48,050 fans, mostly Liverpool supporters, rocked the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund on one of the most frenzied nights in the competition’s storied history.
