Benitez captures Anfield tradition

May 3 2007 Red Watch by Andy Proudfoot, Liverpool Daily Post

EVERY now and again something happens to remind you just how lucky you are to be a Liverpool fan.

Sure, the last 40 years have contained some bleak periods, perhaps none more so than our current long wait for our first Premiership title.

Yet overall, and even during this barren spell, you just have to wonder what you’ve done to deserve to witness so many great occasions which fill your heart with glee, and your eyes with tears.

Just a few years ago, I for one never thought that I’d see Liverpool in another European Cup Final, content with the five I’d witnessed as beyond the imagination of any British football fan past or present.

Yet here we are, preparing for our second in three years, the total climbing to an unbelievable seven, of which just one has been lost.

What is it about Liverpool, the club and supporters, that binds us to this tournament no matter what its name or format?

How can successive generations of players and fans alike instinctively realise that this trophy demands the presence of a strong Liverpool side, and that every effort must be summoned to ensure our continuing participation?

Of course much of the credit for our recent resurgence in this competition can be laid squarely on the shoulders of Rafa Benitez and, let it be said, to Gerard Houllier before him.

Just as Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley gradually realised that European football demanded a different mentality and tactical approach to the domestic game, so these continental coaches have brought an advanced understanding of the tactics of the European game, and in particular the psychology of the two-legged tie.

Benitez now stands alone in Europe as the supreme tactician and instiller of discipline amongst his charges – seldom can a group of players have been so well drilled in terms of what’s required of them, or clearer about their responsibilities to the club and its fans.

But what has endeared Benitez most to those of us who packed the ground on Tuesday night and helped create another legendary European night, is his clear understanding for, and empathy with, the history of the club.