Source: Telegraph
Top 20 sporting moments of the decade: Liverpool's 'Miracle of Istanbul'
What: Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan (Liverpool win 4-2 on penalties). Champions League final.When: May 25, 2005.Where: Attaturk Stadium, Istanbul. Watch: YouTube[LNB]It was the six minutes that shook the world. It was the six minutes that so stunned AC Milan that Carlo Ancelotti's devastated players threw away their losers' medals at the end much to the delight of the souvenir-hunters among Liverpool's apprentices. [LNB]It was the six minutes that turned sporting logic on its head, that sent the in-game betting world into meltdown, that stopped Evertonians celebrating in the streets back home, that had certain Chelsea players cursing their television screens in frustration. [LNB]Orchestrated by the determination of Steven Gerrard, the tactical cunning of Rafa Benítez and the support of fans who demanded that each player perform with pride in the shirt, these six minutes showed that you should never give up. Even now, four years on, a familiar exhortation will go around Liverpool players or supporters when they walk through a storm. 'Remember Istanbul.'' [LNB]Ancelotti's side were leading 3-0 at half-time and it could have been more. Kaka, Hernan Crespo and Andrei Shevchenko were untouchable. It was Milanese men against Mersey boys. At the break, Benítez gave a rousing speech and made the important tactical change of sending on Didi Hamann to sit in midfield, crying havoc and letting loose the dog of war that was Gerrard. [LNB]The goals flowed for Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso. Milan's spirit was broken and they folded completely in the penalty shoot-out. The six minutes that shook Milan's world made Liverpool once again the centre of the football universe. [LNB]What they said: [LNB]Steven Gerrard: 'I remember walking off the pitch basically thinking what's going on? We haven't got started. If there was one positive in my mind that's what I was thinking, 'There's going to be a stage in this game where we come alive and we play', but we hadn't in the first half.'[LNB]Jerzy Dudek: 'I was just waiting for Shevchenko to score. I was concentrating on what I was going to do and I was starting to get really really nervous. I thought Shevchenko was 100 per cent to score. Shevchenko came, I did my movements and he stopped. I stopped too and thought 'You don't cheat me. You won't do it'[LNB]Paolo Maldini: 'That was one of the best finals I ever played in. We played really well, much better than Liverpool, and we really deserved to win much more than them. But that's football.'[LNB]Did you know: [LNB]Fifteen Minutes That Shook The World, a comedy exploring what might have inspired Liverpool's comeback in Istanbul premiered in the city last month. Explaining what inspired him to write the film, Dave Kirby said: ''Like every Liverpool (and every football) fan, I always wondered what exactly happened in that dressing room at half time. [LNB]''I always imagined that Rafa Benítez gave some kind of Churchill/Luther King-type speech or that maybe the players were inspired by a passionate, emotional rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. [LNB]"But when the reports came back, all described a dressing room of complete calm and composure and I was gutted. My illusions were shattered." [LNB]From the Telegraph archive:[LNB]Gerrard leads Liverpool comeback [LNB]By Henry Winter in Istanbul [LNB]An extraordinary Champions League final was won on penalties last night, inspired by an extraordinary footballer, Steven Gerrard. With Liverpool facing the deepest of embarrassments at half-time, being completely out-passed and outclassed by Milan, Gerrard decided to attempt what everyone else believed was a mission impossible. [LNB]Making light of those goals from Paolo Maldini and a brace from Hernan Crespo, Gerrard tore into the Italians from the first whistle of the second half, scoring, creating the space for Vladimir Smicer to add a second and then winning the penalty for Xabi Alonso to eventually drive Liverpool level. [LNB]It was Gerrard's determination, his refusal to countenance defeat even when it rose like a giant shadow, that kept his team alive, propelling them into the additional half-hour. An extraordinary, switch-back evening had begun badly for Liverpool, seeing them three behind at the break, when their fans were chanting: "We're gonna win 4-3."[LNB]Such defiance was soon coursing through their players, who fought back to 3-3 to set up the most compelling of finales. [LNB]Benitez spared gamble blushes [LNB]By Alan Smith [LNB]'Sometimes, as a manager, you need a little help; for your team to come to the rescue to cover up an embarrassing mistake. And Rafael Benitez got more than he could ever have hoped for last night in a Champions League final that will live long in the memory. [LNB]As far as gambles go, it was like the Las Vegas punter who put all his chips on red and the ball landed on black. Unlike roulette, however, Benitez's decision to play Harry Kewell from the start in Istanbul didn't, on the face of it, appear a 50-50 chance. More like 90-10 with someone on whom it is very hard to rely upon these days. It was so unlike the Spanish coach, normally so cautious, to go for broke with a man who hadn't completed 90 minutes since before Christmas. [LNB]Even more surprising given Benitez had admitted going into this game that Kewell was only 80 per cent fit. So what was behind it? [LNB][LNB]Great moment, but is it the greatest? Have your say below and vote in our poll (above right). Tomorrow: Mark Reason on Tiger Woods winning the 2008 US Masters on one leg
