Road to Rome starts here
Tonight's trip to Standard Liege emphasises how drastically football has changed in the past few decades. Thirty years ago Bob Paisley's Liverpool - the previous season's English and European champions - met the champions of Belgium in the European Cup Final at Wembley, the pinnacle of the season between Europe's two top sides. Tonight, the Reds - England's fourth best team last season - meet the Belgian title winners with mere qualification for the competition proper the prize on offer, with a ball yet to be kicked in domestic football. Reaching the group stages would be a gargantuan feat for the club Ronny Rosenthal departed to sign for the Reds.
Despite the changes to a competition that is now dominated by the top clubs from a select few countries, there's little doubt the Reds' best moments in recent years have came in Europe. As well as the miracle of Istanbul, we've also been lucky enough to savour victories at the Nou Camp, San Siro and Stade Velodrome as well as those memorable Anfield occasions against Juventus, Roma, Chelsea and Arsenal. While the Premiership is undoubtedly the priority this season, nobody with even the remotest sense of history can fail to dream of Rafa, Stevie, Carra and Torres treading in the footsteps of Sir Bob, Clem, Emlyn and Kevin Keegan by winning Ol Big Ears for a sixth time in Rome in May. The added incentive of wrestling the trophy from its current place of residence only serves to fuel those dreams even further!
Of course, all those years ago at Wembley, a certain Kenny Dalglish put the Belgians to the sword and wrote his name into Anfield immortality in the process. What price Robbie Keane, the King's latest successor in the number 7 shirt, getting off the mark tonight against the current Belgian title holders?
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The road to Rome suddenly feels even longer
If the unthinkable happens and we end up in the UEFA Cup, I could always title the next piece "The Road to Istanbul starts here." Now that's got a certain ring to it! On second thoughts.................