One of the first memories of supporting my favourite football club was on 25th May, 2005. And I'm not talking about the UEFA Champions League Final the previous night. Well, not completely. And so it unfolds...
Growing up in the 1990s, everyone's favourite club was Manchester United. Undoubtedly, mine too. The time when Beckham, Giggs, and Scholes were your idols and the most sought after players while you made your FIFA 98 dream team. Indoor? I wasn't spared. I grew up, I confess, as a United fan. However, I wasn't exactly a football fan back then. I played a good amount of football, both in my colony, and in school, and of course, in the virtual gaming world of FIFA 98. To be honest, at that time, the only teams I knew were Brazil (they were in the '98 final and they won the '02 WC AND THEY HAD RONALDO!) and United. However, all this was soon about to change. Once and for all.
The first major football news I recall was Beckham's much publicised and criticised move to the Galacticos: Real Madrid. (Here, I learnt about another club!) That was strike 1 to my (?)love for United. A couple of months or prolly years later, United and Madrid were paired against each other in the Champions League a couple of times. I watched those matches, in replay, though. Made li'l difference.
In 2004-05, when Gerrard "beautied" his way into the net at the Kop end against Olympiacos, I was blisfully unaware of what the year had in store for me. It was around this time that, in some FA Cup Classic show on ESPN Star, I happened to catch the 2001 FA Cup Final. Liverpool. Arsenal. That's the first I heard about Liverpool. And a young boy named Owen. Michael Owen. A prodigy that changed everything. A revelation that changed football for me. Arsenal were leading 1-0 to a Freddie Ljunberg strike, before Owen's Midas touch helped Liverpool find gol.. silverware. A Treble season. Epic. Of course I didn't know about any of it when it happened. Thank god for television.
Next up, the 2004-05 FA Cup Final. Arsenal. United. The game ended 0-0, if I remember correctly. And Scholes missed a penalty in the shoot-out. That was strike 2 to United. The only reason I remember watching this match was because it clashed with my dinnertime. And my friends stopped playing football that eve in order to go home early and support United. Tsk. United lost the match 5-4 on penalties. I couldn't support United anymore. I needed a vent. I recalled Owen. I forgot him soon.
European Cup beckoned. 2004-05 Champions League Final. Liverpool. Milan. Liverpool. 3-0, 45 minutes. And three goals in six minutes. Six minutes of mayhem. Six minutes of madness. Six minutes that the whole of Italy will beg to forget. Liverpool draw level. The Scouser from the Olympiacos game scored and earned the equaliser. Who was He? I didn't realise then, but it was Him. Reverence. This was strike 3 for United. And a new door of glory for the Liverpudlians. I never looked back. Twenty years later, another final, another Cup. The European Cup returned to Anfield. They won it to keep. "Once a European Champion, always a European Champion."
A lot of people often asked me whether 2005 made me a Liverpool fan, which it did. I lied. I was ashamed. I told them it was a repeat of the 2001 FA Cup victory that got me going. I was embarrassed that I was running for glory. In my deceit, I missed out on a very important point. That night did not just make me a Liverpool fan. It did not make me a Scouser. Above anything else, it made me a football fan. It made me understand why it is called The Beautiful Game. You tell me that night was not beautiful. Anybody.. tell me that's not beautiful. That night, Gerrard became my god, and Liverpool akin to a religion. And from then onwards, football became my life. Glory in the eyes of the believer.
I remember the next day, I went down in the morning to play table tennis. No one talked about the match (we were 13, I was 12; we didn't stay up till 0330 hours to watch a football game!). I asked a brother, 'Did you watch the game?' He replied saying, 'Yeah, I saw till half time. Milan won. They were 3-0 up.'
I smiled. The rest, is history. :)
You'll Never Walk Alone. Justice for the 96.
Growing up in the 1990s, everyone's favourite club was Manchester United. Undoubtedly, mine too. The time when Beckham, Giggs, and Scholes were your idols and the most sought after players while you made your FIFA 98 dream team. Indoor? I wasn't spared. I grew up, I confess, as a United fan. However, I wasn't exactly a football fan back then. I played a good amount of football, both in my colony, and in school, and of course, in the virtual gaming world of FIFA 98. To be honest, at that time, the only teams I knew were Brazil (they were in the '98 final and they won the '02 WC AND THEY HAD RONALDO!) and United. However, all this was soon about to change. Once and for all.
The first major football news I recall was Beckham's much publicised and criticised move to the Galacticos: Real Madrid. (Here, I learnt about another club!) That was strike 1 to my (?)love for United. A couple of months or prolly years later, United and Madrid were paired against each other in the Champions League a couple of times. I watched those matches, in replay, though. Made li'l difference.
In 2004-05, when Gerrard "beautied" his way into the net at the Kop end against Olympiacos, I was blisfully unaware of what the year had in store for me. It was around this time that, in some FA Cup Classic show on ESPN Star, I happened to catch the 2001 FA Cup Final. Liverpool. Arsenal. That's the first I heard about Liverpool. And a young boy named Owen. Michael Owen. A prodigy that changed everything. A revelation that changed football for me. Arsenal were leading 1-0 to a Freddie Ljunberg strike, before Owen's Midas touch helped Liverpool find gol.. silverware. A Treble season. Epic. Of course I didn't know about any of it when it happened. Thank god for television.
Next up, the 2004-05 FA Cup Final. Arsenal. United. The game ended 0-0, if I remember correctly. And Scholes missed a penalty in the shoot-out. That was strike 2 to United. The only reason I remember watching this match was because it clashed with my dinnertime. And my friends stopped playing football that eve in order to go home early and support United. Tsk. United lost the match 5-4 on penalties. I couldn't support United anymore. I needed a vent. I recalled Owen. I forgot him soon.
European Cup beckoned. 2004-05 Champions League Final. Liverpool. Milan. Liverpool. 3-0, 45 minutes. And three goals in six minutes. Six minutes of mayhem. Six minutes of madness. Six minutes that the whole of Italy will beg to forget. Liverpool draw level. The Scouser from the Olympiacos game scored and earned the equaliser. Who was He? I didn't realise then, but it was Him. Reverence. This was strike 3 for United. And a new door of glory for the Liverpudlians. I never looked back. Twenty years later, another final, another Cup. The European Cup returned to Anfield. They won it to keep. "Once a European Champion, always a European Champion."
A lot of people often asked me whether 2005 made me a Liverpool fan, which it did. I lied. I was ashamed. I told them it was a repeat of the 2001 FA Cup victory that got me going. I was embarrassed that I was running for glory. In my deceit, I missed out on a very important point. That night did not just make me a Liverpool fan. It did not make me a Scouser. Above anything else, it made me a football fan. It made me understand why it is called The Beautiful Game. You tell me that night was not beautiful. Anybody.. tell me that's not beautiful. That night, Gerrard became my god, and Liverpool akin to a religion. And from then onwards, football became my life. Glory in the eyes of the believer.
I remember the next day, I went down in the morning to play table tennis. No one talked about the match (we were 13, I was 12; we didn't stay up till 0330 hours to watch a football game!). I asked a brother, 'Did you watch the game?' He replied saying, 'Yeah, I saw till half time. Milan won. They were 3-0 up.'
I smiled. The rest, is history. :)
You'll Never Walk Alone. Justice for the 96.
