German Liverpool fans group in city for first time

Graham Agg, club secretary and the only Liverpool resident of German Reds, said the first meeting was "superb" after Liver- pool's home win over Wigan. He said: "It was fantastic and we had guest speakers from the shareliverpoolfc cam- paign and Spirit of Shankly. We also heard from sports writers and Herr Udo Platzer, who played in the German Bundesliga and is a big LFC supporter.

"He spoke about his love affair with Liverpool when they were dominating Europe in the 1970s and 80s."

The event was such a success that LFC is hoping to make a short film on the supporters club and a number of the fans were interviewed on local radio.

Fan Thomas Krizsio, 38, from Hamburg, said: "This is my fourth visit to the city so I was very excited about the match, it's fantastic they won.

"When I was 11-years-old I watched Bayern Munich play Liverpool and they drew in the first leg then lost 1-O in the second.

"At first I was upset because the German team had lost but I appreciated how well Liverpool played and enjoyed the chanting and strong support form the fans.

"I have been an LFC fan ever since and love being part of the German Reds."

The supporters club was formed in 2001 following the UEFA Cup Final in Dortmund, where Liverpool played Spanish club Alaves.

The club now has 160 members from all over Germany and including a small number of Swiss and Austrian fans and was formally recognised and given 'official' LFC Supporters club status in 2003.

Mr Agg added: "We were astonished at the response with over a third of members making the effort to come across.

"Quite a lot of the supporters already come over for games two or three times a year, many of them are fanatics."

"For a few it was their first time at Anfield, but the supporters know so much about the club, the players and the history, it's incredible."

Next year the meeting will be held in Germany before returning to Liverpool in 2010.