LIVERPOOL V MILAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL REMATCH? OPPONENTS IN 2005, KEWELL AND CRESPO NOW RIVALS FOR ASIAN SHOWPIECE
- Yokohama Marinos welcome Al Ain for the first leg of the AFC Champions League final on Saturday
- The coaches met on the field on multiple occasions but the most famous was 19 years ago, when penalties decided it after six goals were shared
The AFC Champions League final sees the two men in the dugouts face off in a rematch of one of the most epic games in club football history.
Yokohama Marinos coach Harry Kewell will welcome his Al Ain counterpart Hernan Crespo to Japan on Saturday as they contest the first leg of Asia's biggest club match, but it is not their first continental showpiece in opposition.
The pair met in the European equivalent 19 years ago in Istanbul, when Liverpool and Milan played out the highest-scoring final of the Uefa Champions League era.
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Each featured in their side's attack on that fateful night in 2005, with Kewell in the red of Liverpool and Crespo in Milan's changed white strip.
While the former Argentina international may have left a much bigger mark on the game, the Australian, despite lasting only 23 minutes, enjoyed the last laugh.
Though the two men also met twice in the Premier League during Crespo's time at Chelsea - either side of his season-long loan at Milan - their most famous encounter was that final in Turkey.
The off-season of 2004 had been a summer of change at Liverpool with Gerard Houllier replaced as manager by Rafa Benitez, who was fresh off a second La Liga title in three years and a Uefa Cup triumph with Valencia. Goalscoring hero Michael Owen, meanwhile, had left for Real Madrid.
Their march to the Champions League final was particularly unexpected, emphasised by the fact they finished their Premier League campaign in fifth place - the last time they ended a season below city rivals Everton.
It was a completely different story at Milan. All 11 starters who won the final two years previously were still at the club, and 10 were again in the match-day squad.
The Rossoneri were heavy favourites in Istanbul, with Crespo in attack alongside Ballon d'Or-winning pair Andriy Shevchenko and Kaka. And there seemed no reason to doubt that forecast when legendary captain Paolo Maldini put the Italians ahead inside the first minute.
Things went from bad to worse for Liverpool when Kewell, who had been an injury concern before the match, was forced off after 23 minutes.
Crespo made matters worse for the Reds with two goals before half-time to give Carlo Ancelotti's side a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 lead. Seemingly ...
Benitez made a change at the break and, within nine minutes, Liverpool were back in it with a header from their captain, Steven Gerrard.
Seizing their moment, Liverpool got a second within two minutes as Kewell's replacement, Vladimir Smicer, saw his shot parried into the back of the net by Brazilian goalkeeper Dida.
And, incredibly, just five minutes later, it was all level as Xabi Alonso scored the rebound from his penalty, which had been saved.
The match went to extra time and, with just three minutes remaining, Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek produced one of the all-time great double saves to deny Shevchenko.
Despite the Ukrainian not enjoying his best night, and Crespo finding the back of the net twice, Ancelotti opted to take off the Argentina forward and leave his No 7 on the field.
It proved to be an error as it was Shevchenko's missed penalty that settled the penalty shoot-out in Liverpool's favour, seeing them crowned European champions for a fifth time.
The two sides would meet again at the same stage two years later in Athens with Kewell coming off the bench as Milan won 2-1. Crespo, though, was at the Rossoneri's arch-rivals Inter by then.
His current team, Al Ain, are the United Arab Emirates' most successful club and will be playing in the final for the fourth time, having won it in 2002 and reached the final in 2005 and 2016.
Kewell's Yokohama are attempting to become the fourth Japanese side to win the trophy after three-time winners Urawa Red Diamonds, Gamba Osaka and Kashima Antlers.
Kewell said the two-legged decider would be a whole new ball game.
"Finals are usually a one-off game and that's why I've always said two-legged semi-finals are always the toughest games," Kewell said.
"When you get to a final you should enjoy it. But this [home-and-away final] is something new for me as well.
"You're going to have to be able to control your emotions," he added. "You're not going to be out of it from the first game. You're always going to have a second chance.
"Whatever happens on May 11 is not going to determine everything."
Crespo has guided Al Ain to the final against the odds, eliminating Cristiano Ronaldo's Saudi side Al Nassr in the quarter-final on penalties. They then ended Al Hilal's record streak of 34 consecutive wins in the semi-final.
The second leg will take place in Al Ain on May 25.
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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.
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2024-05-09T12:14:55Z dg43tfdfdgfd
