Liverpool's depressing 2-1 defeat to AC Milan in the 2007 Champions League final was hard to take for players and fans alike, and Daniel Agger has revealed that he still feels the heartache of losing such an important game.
Rafa Benitez inexplicably picked Bolo Zenden and Jermain Pennant ahead of the (arguably) more deserving Craig Bellamy and Peter Crouch that night, and I think that even Benitez's most ardent fans would admit that he made the wrong team selection.
Agger played well during the game but he can't bear to even think about the defeat these days, and his regret was evident when he spoke to LFC TV recently:
"I don't think about it [The final against Milan] at all.
"It was a massive disappointment. It should have been such a great night but it turned out the exact opposite.
"For me now, it doesn't matter; second best is nothing; you have to be the best, or it doesn't count".
I love Agger's attitude here; it perfectly encapsulates the Liverpool philosophy of football: First is everything, second is nothing'.
The Dane was, however, keen to stress how grateful he was to Liverpool's travelling support:
"It was unbelievable to see so many fans there, but obviously we didn't give them what we wanted to give them".
Jaimie Kanwar
Rafa Benitez inexplicably picked Bolo Zenden and Jermain Pennant ahead of the (arguably) more deserving Craig Bellamy and Peter Crouch that night, and I think that even Benitez's most ardent fans would admit that he made the wrong team selection.
Agger played well during the game but he can't bear to even think about the defeat these days, and his regret was evident when he spoke to LFC TV recently:
"I don't think about it [The final against Milan] at all.
"It was a massive disappointment. It should have been such a great night but it turned out the exact opposite.
"For me now, it doesn't matter; second best is nothing; you have to be the best, or it doesn't count".
I love Agger's attitude here; it perfectly encapsulates the Liverpool philosophy of football: First is everything, second is nothing'.
The Dane was, however, keen to stress how grateful he was to Liverpool's travelling support:
"It was unbelievable to see so many fans there, but obviously we didn't give them what we wanted to give them".
Jaimie Kanwar
Can't see us in the Champions League finals any time soon with the DROSS bought by Dalglish.
ReplyDeletewell yee of little faith mate i think we will be in the champions league next year with how we have been playing we just need a natural goal scorer and we will be up there challeging for the prem next year. if we get 1 in this january we will be in the top 4...
ReplyDeletePennant was arguably our best player on the pitch that day. He had the easy beating of his man all game. It just so happened that our lone striker was working sooo hard to ensure that he never set foot in the box from open play though
ReplyDeletePennant was arguably our best player on the pitch that day. He had the easy beating of his man all game. It just so happened that our lone striker was working sooo hard to ensure that he never set foot in the box from open play though
ReplyDeleteI have to laugh at people starting to blame Dalglish.Who exactly do you want in charge??Oh and will this person/Messiah get every single decision right.Kenny is there roughly a year.When he came in we were looking at relegation and now we are going for champions league.People seem to forget that Liverpool have not been title contenders for years,it takes time to get back yo the top,especially when we are up against Money city,Oil rich Chelsea and spurs,united,Arsenal have had stability with manager and owners for years now.Kenny obviously wanted to sign the likes of Young and Jones but they opted for united because that all but guarantees medals.We haven't won anything in a long time.
ReplyDeleteIt takes time to build a great team.No manager can go through 2 transfer windows and expect to have a great team.Some players work,some don't.Im not saying that Dalglish is 100% the man to win back the title but he deserves a few years at least before people start jumping on his back.After Hodgson we could have brought in Mourinho,Ferguson and Guardiola.We still wouldn't be winning the league this season.No one can argue we are improving all the time and i for one have faith that Kenny with Steve Clark and Kevin Keen are are going to have a lot more right decisions than wrong ones.
YNWA
We signed Torres late by 6 months
ReplyDeleteAgreed, the first half of that match Pennant played well and caused them problems
ReplyDeleteRafa wasnt given the money off H and G to buy a proven world class scorer and when your talking about Champions league finals this is what you need against a fantastic Milan team who hammered man utd home and away.Rafa had to make do with Kuyt as a lone striker who could also pressure Milans defence when they had possession,Crouch im afraid with his hands inside his long sleeved shirt looking as though hes been waiting for the bus for 2 hours in the freezing cold wont do.Rafa picked Zenden for his technical ability,his calmness and his ability to use the ball in a productive manner,Bellamy im afraid could not be trusted with his mouth as the foreign refs dont stand any descent.
ReplyDeleteSo the players on the pitch had nothing to with with the Athens defeat, just the manager.
ReplyDeleteYet, when Liverpool won in Istanbul it's the players who deserve the credit, not the manager.
You can't have it both ways!
You win as a team, you lose as a team. End of story!
"First is everything, second is nothing" ... well, a little perspective wouldn't go astray. If not winning titles makes a whole season of football pointless then most Liverpool fans and players of the past 20 years should be wanting to slit their wrists. Losses are never truly OK, but you do have to, on a simple practical level, accept reality. Teams lose football games. That doesn't really render those games "nothing" otherwise about 90% of footballers might as well write off the majority of their careers, like they did nothing with their lives. Football is both winning and losing and as much as losing hurts, it's never "nothing". Being on the pitch, those 90 minutes, that's what football is all about. If you consistently write that off because you don't like the final score then life will be a pretty sad and depressing event, occasionally livened up by brief flashes of happiness.
ReplyDeleteYou've made this point before Jaimie but I don't know how you can criticise the selection of Pennant when he was our best player that night! Madness!
ReplyDeleteLargely agree with you except for the part about not having been title contenders for years. 2008 was not that long ago. If finishing 2nd with 86 points is not competing I have no idea what to say.
ReplyDeleteWell said mate! i wish everyone was as optimistic as you.
ReplyDelete2008 is now 4 years ago and since then we went on a downward spiral.My point was that if a player gets the option between Man United and Liverpool,most will choose United because they are guaranteed to be at least challenging for the title. Unfortunately we can't guarantee that.When people talk about Kennys signings they seem to think that just because the money is there he has the choice of every player he wants.
ReplyDelete