THIS MATCH IS THE BIGGEST
GROWING up a Liverpool fan, I was taught to despise Manchester United. My first ever game at Anfield was a 1-0 defeat in 1985. It was shortly after my eighth birthday, I went with my dad and paid £1.80 to stand on the Kop. Frank Stapleton scored the only goal. When I got into the England squad and started to know David Beckham and Paul Scholes, my feelings towards United’s players turned more to a healthy respect. I learned from the way they behaved and worked in training and that drove me on all the more to try to beat them. Fortunately, I had some success against United and to most Liverpool fans my three winning goals at Old Trafford defined my career. To underline the importance of the fixture, my free-kick that won the game in 2000 is the only one of my goals immortalised in art! One of my team-mates, Gary McAllister, knew a well-known painter called Brian West who specialised in sporting scenes. Brian portrayed the United wall, the back of my No13 shirt and the ball flying past Fabian Barthez. It really was brilliant and I’m very proud my brother has it. But for me, any memorabilia is less important than the happiness and pride I get remembering the goal, and those moments sitting on the team coach afterwards, the anger and disappoinment of the United fans clear to see. Other rivals come along: Everton, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal. But Liverpool-United is still the most intense game for both clubs and their supporters.
Danny’s composite Liverpool-Man Utd XI from players he played with and against (1997-2004)...
Peter Schmeichel; Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Rio Ferdinand, Denis Irwin; David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs; Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney. Subs: Roy Keane, Nemanja Vidic, Sami Hyypia, Dietmar Hamann, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robbie Fowler
I couldn’t justify having fewer than eight Manchester United players. Their brilliance in that era was obvious even for a Liverpool fan and player like myself. The hardest decision was up front. Michael Owen always turned up in big games and scored in our 2003 League Cup Final win against United. He won the Ballon d’Or in 2001 plus he comes from Chester like me!