IT’S a friendship unique in world football which has blossomed over four decades.

When Liverpool and Borussia Moenchengladbach met five times during the 1970s the stakes were high and it was the Reds who took the spoils.

In 1973 they edged out the Germans 3-2 on aggregate in the final of the UEFA Cup and then four years later the European Cup was secured for the first time as Gladbach were beaten 3-1 on a memorable night in Rome.

The rivals faced each other again in the semi-finals a year later when Bob Paisley’s side booked their passage to Wembley by overturning a 2-1 deficit with a 3-0 victory at Anfield.

Thirty two years have past since they last locked horns in a competitive fixture but the affinity between the clubs has never been stronger.

The bond which was forged between the two sets of fans on those glorious European nights has not only stood the test of time but strengthened.

And the depth of that mutual respect and admiration will be evident when Liverpool visit a sold-out Borussia Park for their final pre-season friendly tomorrow.

For Kopite Graham Agg, who leads an annual pilgrimage of Reds fans to Moenchengladbach, it will be a special occasion.

“This friendship goes back to those great games in the 70s and it really took off after some Borussia fans came to Liverpool in 1991 to present a cheque for 21,000 Deutsch Marks (about £7,000) to the Hillsborough fund,” he said.

“That meant a great deal and in 1992 a group of Borussia fans started coming over to Anfield every year to support us during the Bundesliga’s winter break.

“The only year they haven’t come over was in 2007 when during their break we only had two home games – against Chelsea and Everton.

“They decided they didn’t want to take 100 tickets off genuine Liverpool fans for such big games so stayed at home which was a nice gesture.