The Champions League duel with AC Milan brings back special memories for Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso. As a professional for Liverpool FC, he celebrated one of the greatest triumphs of his career in the 2005 premier class final against the former model club from Italy after perhaps the most memorable comeback in the history of the competition. That’s probably why the Spaniard grinned when asked about the final.
What happened that night was “brutally important for my career,” said Alonso, referring to the game in Istanbul: “We can still talk about it now after almost 20 years. That’s a very nice memory for me.”
Against Milan, Alonso and Liverpool were already 3-0 down at halftime in the final. In the second half, the Reds came back thanks to a goal from the former midfielder and ultimately won on penalties. For Alonso it was the first of two Champions League titles.
“Unfortunately, two years later we played against them again in the final and lost,” the 42-year-old added. In the 2007 final, Liverpool lost 2-1 to the Italians.
Although the glory days are a long time ago, Milan is “a great club in football history,” said Alonso before the clash on Tuesday (9 p.m. / DAZN) in Leverkusen. He “always followed” the club’s development. It was an “honor for us to play against them.”
