It's a game that has gone down in LFC folklore. The very first great European night at Anfield. A European Cup semi-final first leg against Inter Milan on Tuesday 4 May 1965. And Patrick O'Connor was there.
It's a game that has gone down in LFC folklore. The very first great European night at Anfield. A European Cup semi-final first leg against Inter Milan on Tuesday 4 May 1965. And Patrick O'Connor was there.
Patrick's personal account of that night over half-a-century ago made him the first winner of The Game Of My Life, our new competition in YNWA for LFC Official Members only. He won a pair of hospitality tickets for Liverpool FC v West Bromwich Albion on Saturday 22 October 2016.
The history books – and the grainy black-and-white footage – show that the Reds won 3-1 in front of 54,000 fans with Anfield's turnstiles closed 90 minutes before kick-off. Roger Hunt half-volleyed in the first. Inter equalised. Ian Callaghan squeezed in goal two from a well-worked free-kick. Ian St John made it three. The Milan newspaper Corriere Della Sera reported: “Inter were dazed. We lift off our hats to Liverpool.”
Patrick's winning entry was wonderfully evocative. He wrote: “Having won the FA Cup only three days earlier, this was our first European Cup semi-final, and against a legendary team. They were reigning European and World Club champions.
“The ground had been heaving since 6pm. I was 15 years old and standing on my school satchel in the paddock on the halfway line. My back was against the wall, with Shankly sitting just over my shoulder. How different from now! He radiated grit, passion and dedication. They don’t do ‘banter’ like that anymore. We would all have gone on the pitch there and then, and died for him.
“We won magnificently 3-1. ‘Santa Lucia’ rang out from the Kop, to rather different words but without obscenity. How different from now! I was in line with the arc of a Chris Lawler shot. Another beauty of a goal, but it was infamously and mysteriously disallowed.
“Yes, we lost equally mysteriously in the San Siro, 3-0. Somehow, though, true greatness emerged at Anfield that night… something about the blend of power, skill and passion, and the communion of players and fans: the soul of Liverpool FC.”
And here are the entries from our four runners-up:
Peter Makadi
“It was in Basel last season. After watching Liverpool FC on TV my entire life and seeing them live at some minor away games in Eastern Europe I got to go to a European final. It was – even on the afternoon before the match in the city-centre – a dream-come-true, seeing the fans and feeling like entering the best movie you have ever seen. I was singing with them – I know all chants, I listen to those instead of music in my earphones. At midnight after the final I became 25 years old. What a great place to celebrate with Scousers in the bars! The most important was: I took my dad there. He is a Liverpool fan as well, for us it's a family thing, and I've promised to take him to Anfield this season.”
Gary Allen
“The 1989 FA Cup final. I emigrated to Australia in 1986. During Hillsborough fundraising in Sydney I contacted Craig Johnston to help. Craig was on TV for the final but called my house at half-time from the studio. What a night for all Scousers at my place.”
David Gibbons
“Ohhh Campione! The one and only! We're Liverpool!” I had that song in my head the entire journey down to Anfield South (Wembley) for the Capital One Cup final against Manchester City. The fact I was on my way to watch my beloved Liverpool in a cup final was incredible, doing it with my dad made it even better. We got to the stadium and walked down Wembley Way, then visited a few pubs and sang songs to get us in the mood. Then we heard “Aldo! Aldo!” John Aldridge himself walked into the bar! He had a chat with me and my dad and reliably informed us that the game wouldn't go to penalties! In the stadium, to say I've sung YNWA at Wembley in a cup final with 45,000 Liverpool fans makes me feel privileged. Although the game didn't go our way, I was immensely proud of all the players. Thank you for giving me a day with my dad I'll never forget.”
Nicholas Tomlinson
“Liverpool FC 1 As Roma 2, in St Louis on the 2016 Summer Tour. This was my first time watching Liverpool play in person. My friends and I took a road-trip to see them and it was an amazing experience to see the team in real-life.”