Pure partying and all night celebrations following `the greatest comeback in football history` as described by the English papers....and I was there! The 2005 Champions League Final - Liverpool v AC Milan.
Almost a total calamity, our flight from Stanstead was due to take off at 7am, get to Istanbul at noon, then take us to relax in our hotel, before going to the game at 5pm.
What actually happened is we sat on the plane while receiving endless messages about delays - finally taking off 4 hours late and arriving in Istanbul at 4pm.Then our coach took us straight to the stadium, leaving our baggage on board as we spent 1 hour in the `fan zone`, taken up entirely queueing for food, while listening to some absolutely terrible live music...
Into the stadium for a rousing chorus of You`ll Never Walk alone, before the drama unfolded. Following a truly bizarre team selection, Liverpool were 1 nil down inside a minute, and 3 nil down by half time: depressing, but the fans whipped up a frenzy during the break, singing YNWA and drowning out the minority of Milan fans.
The second half would go down in footy folklore as the `miracle of Istanbul`, as we scored 3 goals in 6 minutes to send the game into extra time. After a miraculous double save by our goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek in the second half of extra time, Liverpool won the penalty shootout. The 50th European Cup final was ours, meaning our 5th continental title, and entitling us to keep the trophy forever.
Great atmosphere after the game - we somehow managed to grab a free upgrade to a 5 star hotel and spent several hours in the 24 hour bar eating and drinking with a dozen other fans on the same flight, watching a full replay of the match, before catching a few precious hours sleep.
The next day proved equally as enjoyable, as we had a tour of the city - Blue mosque, Hagi Sofia, Pa;lace and Spice Bazaar , thenas checked in at the airport next to the AC Milan team (loooosers!), then saw the Liverpool team in the departure lounge with the European Cup!
Really regret not taking a proper camerainto the game, but took some extremely poor quality snaps using my truly terrible mobile phone camera - have uploaded some here...plus some proper photos of teh city with camera I left on the coachj. Next, time to fly home, pack, and leave for 2 England football friendlies/sightseeing in Chicago and New York, my normal relaxing lifestyle. And now Liverpool have qualified for the World Club Championship in Tokyo in December, so that could be the opportunity to add another stop on my map...
Also adding a few photos with Nick on my return to the holy land of Liverpool, with our new European Cup now in its final resting place at Anfield - now with a proper camera in my possession to get a clear photo of the buggar!