TV commentator Clive Tyldesley will oversee a milestone Champions League final on Saturday night as he recalls iconic moments featuring Liverpool from his broadcasting journey.
Tyldesley, now 68, is poised and ready to commentate on his 30th showpiece when Manchester City meet Italian giants Inter Milan hoping to complete a historic treble. Pep Guardiola and his star-studded squad have already got their hands on the Premier League and FA Cup this season.
But will they finally go all the way in Europe? Six-time winners Liverpool understand more than most what it feels like to lift the trophy, while they made it through to the Champions League final last season.
However, that one ended on a sour note as Real Madrid conquered, once again. Needless to say, though, the Reds have provided countless memories for players, supporters and broadcasters over the years, as Tyldesley looks back on moments featuring Liverpool, dating back to Bill Shankly in the late-1970s.
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In a dedicated interview with The Times published before the 2023 showpiece, the broadcaster picked out his 10 'unheard' final stories. Here's what he said about the ones including Liverpool;
1978 final - Liverpool 1-0 Club Brugge (London)
If I could jump into a time machine and spend more time with anybody I've met through football, it would be Bill Shankly. He was my co-commentator on Radio City for my first final at Wembley. As the Liverpool players enjoyed their lap of honour after beating Bruges with Kenny Dalglish's picture goal, Shanks delivered a monologue for the ages. "I dreamt of all this, to build Liverpool up and up to be a bastion of invincibility," he roared proudly. Liverpool had barely begun.
1981 final - Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid (Paris)
I was the same age as all those legendary Liverpool players who dominated Europe for a spell. They were my mates. On a fraught night in Paris, a bulldozer ploughed through some broadcast lines pre-match, so I called the game from two different commentary positions, climbing over Barry Davies in full flow on BBC television at one point. After the match, I ended up with the team in Lido Revue Bar on the Champs-Elysees, drinking fine champagne right out of the European Cup.
1984 final - Roma 1-1 Liverpool (Rome)
*Liverpool won 4-2 on penalties
Overcoming Roma in their own stadium was arguably Liverpool's most impressive European display. As the players waited in the tunnel to walk out into the frenzy of that football coliseum, two of their substitutes - David Hodgson and Michael Robinson - began to sing a Chris Rea song that was a dressing-room favourite of the day. To a man, the rest joyfully joined in. The Roma president later admitted his team had been spooked by the sound of the Liverpool battlefield chorus. I Don't Know What It Is But I Love It won the European Cup.
1985 final - Juventus 1-0 Liverpool (Brussels)
I went to Brussels to cover a football match in 1985. I spent part of that awful night actually counting the first dead bodies I'd ever seen in my life. I've never used the words "tragedy" or "disaster" to describe a goalkeeping error since.
2005 final - AC Milan 3-3 Liverpool (Istanbul)
*Liverpool won 3-2 on penalties
I spent the half-time interval at the 2005 final in Istanbul checking research on record European Cup final defeats. Liverpool were three down, going on 33. Game over. So, it was more in hope than expectation that I ventured that "Hello, hello, here we go" when Steven Gerrard's header began the comeback. I don't believe in fate, but sometimes football acts out stories that appear to have been written well in advance. Liverpool's route to Turkey had been a particularly scenic one, and those prescient words betrayed a feeling that this was all somehow meant to be. They played better against Milan two years later and lost. In 2005, Liverpool and I got gloriously lucky.
2022 final - Liverpool 0-1 Real Madrid (Paris)
The biggest single privilege of my job is sharing the social company of the true greats. A football interview has become a chore, a danger, a rehearsed act of diplomacy for the performers, so to hear them discuss their passion openly, freely and off the record is a treat. When Thierry Henry treated the CBS team to an eve-of-final dinner at Hotel Costes in Paris last year, I sat and listened to Henry, Schmeichel, Carragher, Richards and co in luxurious awe. Thierry warned us to be on guard around Saint-Denis on arrival at the game. Expert insight comes in many forms. If only UEFA had listened.
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