‘Unbelievable. Extraordinary. Impressive’ – this is the content of the congratulatory message from British Prime Minister Tony Blair to Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez. – I didn’t do anything big. During the break we only said to ourselves that in front of such fans we cannot lose 0: 5 – the Spaniard said frankly. Meanwhile, Liverpool got to their knees and won despite losing 3-0.
On the 17th anniversary of the wonderful final of the Champions League, Milan – Liverpool, we remind you of the text published on Sport.pl two years ago.
Yanas: You’ve come a long way and here it is after the match
Before that final, experts predicted a defensive match from both sides. A goalless draw was predicted and it was questioned who would defend the penalty kicks better – Dida or Dudek.
– Yes, I was ready for the penalty shootout. I received two penalty kicks from Milan players. It was a total of one hundred punishments – says Dudek. But before he becomes their hero, he completely stops thinking about them.
Milan were 3-0 up during the break, so people were telling me ‘That’s a long way for you, and here it is after the game’. And then it turned out to be one of the best matches in football history. It is amazing that one of the Italian fans died in the stands of a heart attack – recalls Bauwe Janas, the coach of the Polish national team at the time. – I was happy that the third pole in history had won the European Cup (after Zbigniew Bojek, who won with Juventus in 1985 and Josef Moinarczyk, the best player in Porto in 1987 – editor) and that I had such a goalkeeper. It never occurred to me a year later that Yorick had not played for the club and would not invite him to the World Cup – he adds.
But let’s go back to Istanbul. The goals of Paolo Maldini (51) and two of Crispus (minutes 39 and 44) were answered by Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smeiser and Xabi Alonso at the beginning of the second half. The strikes were in the 54, 56 and 60 minutes. To this day, there is talk of the six minutes that rocked Milan.
Crespo: Bye, bye cup
But Milan shook himself. And he was the closest to winning without the need to pay penalty kicks. The best chance in the 118th minute was missed by Shevchenko.
Headed from eight meters and in an instant rebounded, a powerful shot off the counter – theoretically Dodik had no right to defend it. Recently, Shevchenko was asked about this situation by Christian Vieri during an interview on Instagram. A few months ago, UEFA mentioned it. I can’t even look at it now. When I see this, I immediately turn around and throw my phone away. Whoa whoa! – said the Ukrainian.
– When we meet, he always tests her, how can I defend her. John Arne Rice jumped in my face and kissed me on the cheek, I stood and thought to myself: “Well, what? You have what you’ve been waiting for your whole life. This is the moment” – once said Dudek on Sport .pl.
It’s the hand of God, said the pole warmly. Like Diego Maradona, who scored a goal against England in the 1986 World Cup with his hand.
– After this defense of Dudek, I knew we could tell the Grail, goodbye. When you see something like this, you already know that tonight belongs to someone else,” Crespo bitterly summarized later. – You want me to say something? Sorry, but Liverpool night, let’s talk,” Clarence Seedorf added.
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Ancelotti: I will never understand that
Carlo Ancelotti continued to speak. – We were better. Repeat: We were better for 120 minutes. Milan played really well in the first half. Years later, Ancelotti once told me he would never understand how they lost him, says Dudek.
However, the coach understood a little. – I will never understand what happened – he confessed in Istanbul. But he also added: – What can be done if you send the best specialists to punishment and the best of the best fail, that is, Pirlo, Serginho and Shevchenko?
Serginho was the first to shoot. Surprised by the Dudek’s dance, he missed the goal. The Poles defended Pirlo and Shevchenko’s shots. – With Pirlo’s shot, I jumped from a meter and a half behind the line, because he was waiting, he wanted to frustrate me, but I did not give up. I knew that when I looked at the judge after a successful intervention to make sure he was fine, he might say he wasn’t. I managed to maintain an amazing self-confidence – says Dudek. – And Shevchenko? I remembered from the recordings that he liked to shoot in the middle and I left my hand – adds the hero of that crazy night.
“Dudek Dance” to take competitors’ comfort zone
“Dudek dance”, as the pole dance performances were called, was a hit in discos, among other things. In the part of Milan that supports Inter. The goalkeeper’s behavior was a nod to Liverpool’s past. Alumni Jimmy Carragher approached Dudek before the eleventh series and asked him if he remembered what Bruce Grobbelaar had done. The Zimbabwean goalkeeper was the champion of the 1984 European Cup final. Then the “Reds” defeated Rome after a penalty shootout. And in criminal cases in Rome, Grobbelaar behaved similarly to Dodik in Istanbul.
I definitely got the Milan players out of their comfort zone, out of their comfort zone, and I created my own comfort zone. However, the term “dodek dance” has bothered me for years, but I love it today – says the former goalkeeper.
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Liverpool did not dance after the match. Dudek spent the night with Krzynówek
The Dudek dance did not carry over from the field to the post-match event. This one was surprisingly good. The tired winners were in their rooms at 4:00 am, and by 10:00 am on their way back to Liverpool.
Dudek was back after a night in bed with Jacek Krzynówek. – We had a party at the hotel. Jacek Krzynov came with President Ted [Tadeuszem] Dibrovsky [szefował klubowi RKS Radomsko, był też menedżerem Krzynówka]. Mate Borek was with us, too. We sat at the table and drank a beer. At four, the event was over, and only us Poles remained. At 5.30 Jacek said he had to look for a hotel. I said come to me, I have two beds. You and Ted to one, and I to the other. We went to the room, Jacek and I brushed our teeth, left the bathroom, Jacek’s head was already in bed, in Adam’s. I say: lie down on it. Watschek: There is no such possibility. Well, the night after I won the Champions League I spent in bed with Jacek Krzynovic, revealed years later by Dudek.
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