FROM THE ARCHIVE:Liverpool complete cup treble in May 2001 Liverpool 4 Alaves 4 AN EPIC. Pure and simple, an epic. European football was given one of its most dramatic finals in living memory here last night and at the end of it, all 117 minutes of it, Liverpool had finally re-acquainted themselves with the sensation of continental glory.
How sweet that was for the tens of thousands of reds in Dortmund, all the more so given that their team made them sweat all the way to the moment deep into extra-time when the unfortunate Delfi Geli headed Gary McAllister’s free-kick into his own net.
That in turn hurt the magnificently defiant players and supporters of little Alaves all the more. They were down to nine men then. Their resolution had been inspirational. Two behind in 16 minutes, in their first ever season in Europe, the Basques fought back with skill and real courage. Three times.
The impression Alaves made was such that in emotional scenes at the end Gerard Houllier led his players over to where the Alaves fans were to applaud them. Liverpool had just completed a unique treble but they appreciated their opponents. It was that sort of occasion.
After Markus Babbel and Steven Gerrard had given Liverpool a lead small boys in Bootle cannot have dreamed of, Alaves, through the effort of Cosmin Contra and Javi Moreno in particular, clawed their way back to respectability and then contention.
Substitute Ivan Alonso it was who initiated the drama with Alaves’ first in the 27th minute. But few saw where things were going from there.
Alaves, true to their defensive reputation, had added some height to their back line with an extra defender. It seemed like a good idea. Until the fourth minute.
That was when McAllister’s first freekick of the game made its mark. Fast, accurate and dangerous, the ball skimmed over the three Alaves centre-halves to Babbel, enabling the German to score his fourth goal of the season on home soil with a downward header from barely six yards. 1-0. The epic had begun.
The next instalment was 13 minutes and what seemed like several attacks away. Dietmar Hamann, already having a night to remember, worked the ball to Michael Owen on Liverpools left. Owen is not often credited for the insightfulness of his vision or the precision of his passing.
But at that moment he picked out Gerrard haring through the Alaves defence. Gerrard took the ball on a couple of strides before powering it underneath the left arm of the unprotected goalkeeper Martin Herrera. At 2-0, it felt like the end of the match.
But it was only the beginning of a Basque resurgence that was uplifting to behold. Oscar Tellez, the fat-as-a-landlord central defender, had made Sander Westerveld move swiftly to save a freekick but Alaves’ turning point came with introduction of Alonso for Dan Eggen in the 23rd minute. If that was an admission by manager Mane that he had got it wrong at the start then it was a brave one.
Mane must have been punching the air when, four minutes after he came on, Alonso rose above Babbel at the far post to direct a careful header past Westerveld. The cross had come in from the right where Contra now began to live up to his billing as the best right back in Spain. It was 2-1 to Liverpool.
Alaves were back in it. Five minutes later only a last-ditch challenge on Moreno by Babbel prevented an equaliser and Westerveld then denied the same man with a point-blank block after Moreno had left Stephane Henchoz writhing in embarrassment on the turf. Westerveld was also hit fortuitously by a shot from Ivan Tomic.
And then Alaves threw all that away. Hamann threaded another pass through them, Owen seized on it, rounded Herrera and was brought down before he could shoot. Herrera should have been sent off but was only shown yellow. Nevertheless, he paid as McAllister stroked in the penalty. 3-1. Forty minutes, 36 seconds had gone.
Half-time brought a welcome breather. Sort of.
Then it all started again. The 48th minute and Contra, really doing himself justice now, twisted and turned Jamie Carragher and floated in a ball to the far post. There Moreno outjumped Gerrard to place another header past Westerveld. 3-2.
Our bemusement was matched only by our amusement.
Three more minutes, a free-kick on the edge of the Liverpool area. Worryingly for Liverpool, Moreno stood over it. Then he ran up and kicked it – under the leaping wall. Westerveld stood motionless as the ball raced past him. It was 3-3 and it was magnificent.
But not over. In the 63rd minute on came Robbie Fowler for Emile Heskey. Ten minutes later Fowler collected a short pass from McAllister and stumbled into the Alaves box. The ball was on Fowler’s right and, as he went past one, then two opponents, he looked half-balanced. Then, around the penalty-spot, came his chance. He had wasted them in Cardiff, but not now. With his right Fowler passed the ball into the bottom corner. 4-3. Surely Liverpool now.
No. Alaves, superb Alaves, rallied again. Two minutes left and a corner from Pablo. Westerveld came to punch. Jordi Cruyff got there first. With a flick of his blond locks he set up a golden finale. It was 4-4.
Extra-time and first the substitute Magno, then the captain Antonio Karmona, were dismissed. Karmona had fouled Vladimir Smicer and from the freekick by McAllister, Geli deflected the ball painfully into his own net.
It was 5-4 to Liverpool. The Treble was won. The epic was over.
LIVERPOOL:Westerveld, Babbel, Henchoz (Smicer 56), Hyypia, Carragher, Gerrard, Murphy, Hamann, McAllister, Owen (Berger 79), Heskey (Fowler 64). Subs Not Used:Arphexad, Barmby, Vignal. Wright. Booked:McAllister, Babbel. Goals: Babbel 4, Gerrard 16, McAllister 41 pen, Fowler 73, Geli Roura 117 og.
CD ALAVES:Herrera, Geti Roura, Contra, Eggen (Evan Alonso 23), Karmona, Tellez, Oesio, Astudillo (Magno 45), Tomic, Javi Moreno (Gomez Ortiz Pablo 64). Cruyff. Subs Not Used:Kike, Ibon Begona, Raul Ganan. Azkoitia. Sent Off: Magno (99), Karmona (116). Booked:Astudillo, Herrera, Contra, Karmona, Magno, Tellez. Goals: Ivan Alonso 27, Javi Moreno 48, 51, Cruyff 89.
Attendance:65,000.
Referee:G Velssiere (France).
