City out to make their own history in Anfield cauldron
Pep Guardiola knows his side will face a European force to be reckoned with against a reborn Liverpool
No supporters in England embrace the pageantry and choreography of the Champions League like Liverpool’s. No supporters in Europe have been more dismissive of it than Manchester City’s. As Liverpool spent a few wilderness years craving the Champions League anthem, City were being punished for jeering it – the legacy of the justifiable perception that Financial Fair Play rules are applied with more vigour at the Etihad than elsewhere.
Bubbling under the surface ahead of the clubs’ quarter-final meeting on Wednesday is a clash of fan culture – unashamedly proud Europhiles versus Eurosceptics. Social-media scorning of a Liverpool ‘strategy’ to reach the final via the power of banner-hoisting and chanting has been plentiful.
The Manchester Evening News even suggested a planned welcome for the team coaches – now an Anfield tradition on the most celebrated European nights – might be illegal.
When reports emerged last week that City had not yet sold out the second leg, the response from Merseyside was incredulity.
There are echoes of the build-up to the European meeting between Liverpool and Chelsea in 2005. Then, as now, Liverpool were mocked for overstating the influence of crowd noise and citing former glories as a precedent for modern success. Chelsea, a stronger team who would win the title the weekend before the second leg – a possibility for City at the time of the draw – were accused of failing to grasp how Liverpool’s romantic, historical attachment to the European Cup would prove so inspiring. The visitors understood more at full-time.
“The Liverpool fans that night were amazing,” Chelsea captain John Terry would write in his autobiography.
“I have never heard anything like it before, and I don’t think I ever will again. I walked out into that cauldron and heard that singing and saw that passion. The hairs on my arms were standing up.”
Such admissions feed the mythology of Anfield on European nights. The list of great occasions is plentiful, from the 1977 Saint-Etienne comeback to the most recent against Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund en route to the 2016 Europa League final. Certainly, the Liverpool players who benefited offer compelling testimonies. “The Chelsea game in 2005 was the loudest I ever knew Anfield, and the fact we scored so early made sure the noise lasted for 90 minutes,” recalls Vladimir Smicer, one of the heroes of the unlikely victory of Rafael Benitez’s Champions League-winning side. “I’m not sure any fan sat down all the game. But City have some experience here in the Premier League when they lost, so they know a little of what it will be like. They may think it will be similar, but if Liverpool get a good start and play with patience, it can be special again.”
Cynics and City fans will counter that Liverpool memories are selective. There are enough examples of a vociferous atmosphere being nullified.
Go back to 1978, and Nottingham Forest emerged victorious in the first all-English European Cup meeting, successfully protecting a 2-0 first-leg lead at Anfield.
After harrowing experiences in 2005 and 2007, Chelsea’s players had no problem against a better Liverpool team in 2008 and 2009, the latter ending in a 3-1 first-leg Anfield win for the Londoners. Benfica and Real Madrid were unperturbed in a boisterous arena in 2006 and 2014, while the last time a club was greeted with Anfield fervour on a Champions League night – Basel in the ‘make-orbreak’ group decider in 2014 – they knocked out the hosts.
City, like Chelsea in 2005, may deride the nostalgia because they are in the process of creating their own history. The European reference points Liverpool use to stir passions are still to arrive at the Etihad, but surely will under Pep Guardiola – conceivably over the course of this tie.
Guardiola will be more respectful of Anfield’s vivaciousness, having publicly acknowledged its impact during that 4-3 league defeat. He also skippered the Barcelona team beaten in the 2001 Uefa Cup semi-final. The Kop may be the one piece of ammunition at Jurgen Klopp’s disposal the Spaniard will look upon with envy.
Guardiola is trying to create the same love for the competition in his new home and knows this tie can galvanise the previously ambivalent.
Shortly after taking over at City, he addressed his fans’ lack of enthusiasm for the Champions League, unhappy only 30,270 attended the 2016 fixture with Bayern Munich.
“The only thing we can do is play good so people at home say, ‘Wow, next time I will be there.’ We have to be so proud to play in this competition,” he said.
“Our fans have to know we need them in the Champions League. We need them to compete against the best teams in the world. With our supporters, we are stronger.”
City may take the opportunity in the next three days to diminish the influence of the Kop, but are right to note it is the talent within the Liverpool side that is a greater threat.
Should they progress and go on to lift the trophy for the first time, far from ridiculing the power of Anfield, the chronicles of their European history will claim taming it as fundamental to their success.
Liverpool clashes with English rivals in Europe’s top competition
Liverpool had won the European Cup for the previous two years. Brian Clough’s Forest won the first leg 2-0 and secured a goalless draw at Anfield. Forest would win the trophy for the next two years.
Chelsea v Liverpool
After a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge, the Anfield epic was decided by Luis Garcia’s famous ‘ghost goal’. Liverpool went on to lift the trophy in equally dramatic circumstances in Istanbul.
Chelsea v Liverpool
A repeat of two years later, but this time Chelsea held a 1-0 lead going to Anfield. Daniel Agger’s equaliser took the game to penalties, and Dirk Kuyt ensured more Mersey misery for Mourinho.
Arsenal v Liverpool
A 1-1 draw in the first leg set up a frantic climax at Anfield. Arsenal looked to be heading through on away goals until a Steven Gerrard penalty and Ryan Babel shifted the tie Liverpool’s way.
Liverpool v Chelsea
The first leg was at Anfield. An injury-time own goal from John Arne Riise proved crucial as Chelsea won 3-2 at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool v Chelsea
Liverpool were beaten 3-1, but led 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea rallied to secure a 4-4 draw on the night.