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| GUEST COLUMN : DAVID FAIRCLOUGH |
FAIRCLOUGH: TIME TO AVENGE INJUSTICE OF '65
David Fairclough
19 February 2008
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An FA Cup defeat at Anfield to Championship side Barnsley was hardly the best preparation at the start of a week which many felt might start to reshape the Reds season.
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The Champions League visit of Inter Milan tonight obviously now takes on even greater importance.
Since the Reds defied the odds to qualify for the knock out stage of the Champions League with that wonder win in Marseille they have looked a pale shadow of themselves.
Saturday should have seen the Reds progress to the 6th round of the Cup without any problems, after shaky performances already against Luton and Havant and Waterlooville we all thought they'd heard the wake up call but unfortunately it wasn't the case. The embarrassing knock out blow from Barnsley will be remembered for as long as the FA Cup is still played for.
The argument against rotation rumbles on, and in its defence I wouldn't say there is anything wrong with rotating your squad per se but the replacements must be comparable to those your are trying to rest.
Thankfully the Reds have little time to stew over that one and few games will come bigger than to host one of the greatest clubs in Europe. Memories still linger from the last time the Italians came to Liverpool in the mid-sixties when Anfield rocked on the night. On that occasion, three days after one of our greatest ever FA Cup memories winning at Wembley for the first time, confidence was sky high and the result was hardly in doubt. This time Rafa might have to work his magic to gain a similar outcome.
The draw for the knockout stage which paired us with Inter seems a long time ago now and though some at the time might have thought it was the toughest opponent we could have faced, back at the San Siro they were probably thinking the same.
Our form has certainly been inconsistent and hardly convincing since then, while the Italians have continued to build on their great early season start, but they will still travel to Anfield aware of the danger the Reds are sometimes able to conjure up for Champions League.
Three years ago they (Inter) were grateful to us in denying their sworn city rivals AC European success in Istanbul. This time around that appreciation will be forgotten as we stand in their way of what they want most - a modern European success as they battle to make up lost ground on their city neighbours.
While most of Italy's top sides were blighted by the corruption charges of a couple of years ago Inter were unaffected and took that opportunity to build an impressive squad of world famous players. Now as they head all their big name rivals at the top of Serie A unbeaten they have a belief this is their year to capitalize on that position of strength and all their key men arrive at Anfield on top form.
The previous great Inter sides were battle hardened and capable of forming a rock like defence with an ability to strike with a devilish cutting edge, this modern version appear to have been put together with those similar traditional Inter values.
In 1965 Inter Milan, in their famous blue and black striped shirts, were probably alongside Real Madrid as one of the most famous club sides in the world but under Bill Shankly's leadership Liverpool produced a 3-1 win few could ever have thought possible. Forty years on Inter might not be dominating Europe like they once were but the mystique still exists and the Reds know they will have to scale the heights to claim a repeat.
After that amazing Wembley win we had real hopes of winning the European Cup for the first time only for that dream to be shattered following the match fixing controversy which saw us miss out on the final after losing the 2nd leg in the San Siro 3-0.
It might take a '65 style Anfield atmosphere to inspire the Reds as they go in search of a lead we'll need to take with us when we travel to Milan for the return.
Back in the sixties we might'nt have seen many television images of Inter but their fame was endorsed through the many magazines and books which helped build their super human reputations. They could also claim to have a legendary coach in Helenio Herrara while possessing a team of top Italian and Spanish players. Few were greater at that time than Sandro Mazzola who fulfilled his billing by crashing in their all important away goal into the Kop net.
As an eight year old I was already a Liverpool fan and becoming a regular supporter at home games so it was with some disappointment I missed the Anfield tie against Inter. And though I would only see the action of that great night on television I can still say I more or less sampled the atmosphere. We only lived half a mile from Anfield and while we could always hear the Anfield roar at home games, the noise from the Kop that night was something extraordinary.
The early Roger Hunt goal set the tone for the night and the support just increased throughout the game, as we stood in our street listening and imagining what was going on down the road we could sense the game was going our way but it wasn't until 'Go back to Italy' filled the Anfield air we could gauge how comfortably the Reds had humbled the Italians.
For the many Liverpool die hards and ex players who suffered that football injustice of crashing out of a European Cup semi final it's been a long patient wait to have the chance to gain some recompense for our unfortunate knock out. Those players charged with the responsibility of getting the right result tonight will hopefully feel that extra bit inspiration in the spirit of '65.
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