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The Miracle of Istanbul: Liverpool FC from Paisley to Benitez
After 20 years off the major European soccer stage, Liverpool FC faced utter humiliation at half-time in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul. Three goals down to the brutally efficient and talented AC Milan, the inexperienced new Liverpool was staring down the barrel of a European Cup final defeat in front of a global TV audience of hundreds of millions. That is until six extraordinary minutes of second-half carnage, allied to Red courage and resolve, changed the very course of European soccer history. The Miracle of Istanbul offers an insight into the many foreign highs and domestic lows of the amazing 2004-05 Liverpool season, as well as mapping out key connections between the great Liverpool European legacy of the 1970s and '80s and the new Benitez era. It also looks at some of the key players of the recent successful European campaign, and at the music and football cultures in the city that have uniquely shaped what is still known locally as the Liverpool Way.
- GenresFootball
224 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2005
34 people want to read
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October 16, 2019Book Review
The Mircale of Istanbul
Liverpool FC From Paisley to Benitez
The Miracle in Istanbul by John Williams and Stephen Hopkins is the perfect book for any Liverpool fan or football/soccer fan who will never manage to get over the unfogettable final that took place on a chilly night just across the Bosphorus. With many flashbacks throughout the book the setting was constantly changing but the most frequent setting was Istanbul, where the 2005 Champions League final that is better known as ‘The Miracle of Istanbul’ took place. Since this book decribes almost every single event leading up to that very night in Istanbul there are not many characters but there is one man who comes to mind. The author(s) of this book continued to go on and on about an old man sitting right behind them in the glorious Atatürk Olympic Stadium where the Scousers came head to head with the Italian superstars AC Milan. The old man was described as Scouse and around the age of 80-90 years old he was teary eyed throughout the match (sad and happy tears) and extremely emotional and seemed as if he had been a fan ever since he was a young lad. This book was not a hard find for me since my family is full of huge Liverpool fans, this book is actually my father’s and I borrowed it from him due to my extreme fascination with this match. I do think this book is a little tricky to find though.
This book starts off expaining each and every detail of the match itself from being 3-0 down, singing the powerful anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ louder than any speaker could ever play it during half time, the 6 minutes that changed Liverpool’s history and finally the penalty shootout that made the final decision. The book then takes a trip down memory lane going through the Paisley, Evans and the Houllier era, proceeding to go into even more detailed description about Rafael Benitez the mastermind behind the comeback in Istanbul. Then going on about the ongoing dillema that was whether Liverpool should go for the Premier League or Champions League which obviously ended with the Champions League in favour. Staying on the topic of the Champions League John Williams and Stephen Hopkins leaped into the preperations of/and the 2004-2005 season of the Champions League. Then bringing attention to the unsung hero which would be the Thailand millionare Thaksin Shinawatra who struck a deal with the club providing then manager Rafael Benitez with loads of money so he could reshape the club in every way possible.The last two topics were the 12th man, the only reason any of this was possible and going into even more detail about the match itself.
I was extremely satisfied with how the book ended because for me that brief summary of the match in the beginning was just not enough and I wanted a more detailed description which was thankfully provided at the end. My favourite part/chapter was probably chapter 8 “Heart as Big as Liverpool: the Sounds of the Liverpool Crowd” I specifically enjoyed this chapter becuase I could feel the emotion in every sentence. Liverpool Football Club is made off of the famous fans and the impact they have on the players, manager, opponents and the overall atmosphere. My favourite quote from this book would have to be “It seemed as if the Milan fans in the South Tribune had been replaced by a painted mural.” This perfectly sums up what every Liverpool fan thrived off of that night to see the people who were once celebrating so much so to the point where it felt as if they were mocking you now weeping and being as silent as the Liverpool streets during international break, it was as if the roles had been completely reversed in the span of 6 glorious minutes.
I really enjoyed reading this book but of couse I do have background knowledge about Liverpool Football Club, for someone who has little to no knowledge about to club or sport I would highly recommend they do not read this because it will make absolutely no sense to them. I would definentely reccomend it to a fellow Liverpool supporter or a general football/soccer fan.
The Mircale of Istanbul
Liverpool FC From Paisley to Benitez
The Miracle in Istanbul by John Williams and Stephen Hopkins is the perfect book for any Liverpool fan or football/soccer fan who will never manage to get over the unfogettable final that took place on a chilly night just across the Bosphorus. With many flashbacks throughout the book the setting was constantly changing but the most frequent setting was Istanbul, where the 2005 Champions League final that is better known as ‘The Miracle of Istanbul’ took place. Since this book decribes almost every single event leading up to that very night in Istanbul there are not many characters but there is one man who comes to mind. The author(s) of this book continued to go on and on about an old man sitting right behind them in the glorious Atatürk Olympic Stadium where the Scousers came head to head with the Italian superstars AC Milan. The old man was described as Scouse and around the age of 80-90 years old he was teary eyed throughout the match (sad and happy tears) and extremely emotional and seemed as if he had been a fan ever since he was a young lad. This book was not a hard find for me since my family is full of huge Liverpool fans, this book is actually my father’s and I borrowed it from him due to my extreme fascination with this match. I do think this book is a little tricky to find though.
This book starts off expaining each and every detail of the match itself from being 3-0 down, singing the powerful anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ louder than any speaker could ever play it during half time, the 6 minutes that changed Liverpool’s history and finally the penalty shootout that made the final decision. The book then takes a trip down memory lane going through the Paisley, Evans and the Houllier era, proceeding to go into even more detailed description about Rafael Benitez the mastermind behind the comeback in Istanbul. Then going on about the ongoing dillema that was whether Liverpool should go for the Premier League or Champions League which obviously ended with the Champions League in favour. Staying on the topic of the Champions League John Williams and Stephen Hopkins leaped into the preperations of/and the 2004-2005 season of the Champions League. Then bringing attention to the unsung hero which would be the Thailand millionare Thaksin Shinawatra who struck a deal with the club providing then manager Rafael Benitez with loads of money so he could reshape the club in every way possible.The last two topics were the 12th man, the only reason any of this was possible and going into even more detail about the match itself.
I was extremely satisfied with how the book ended because for me that brief summary of the match in the beginning was just not enough and I wanted a more detailed description which was thankfully provided at the end. My favourite part/chapter was probably chapter 8 “Heart as Big as Liverpool: the Sounds of the Liverpool Crowd” I specifically enjoyed this chapter becuase I could feel the emotion in every sentence. Liverpool Football Club is made off of the famous fans and the impact they have on the players, manager, opponents and the overall atmosphere. My favourite quote from this book would have to be “It seemed as if the Milan fans in the South Tribune had been replaced by a painted mural.” This perfectly sums up what every Liverpool fan thrived off of that night to see the people who were once celebrating so much so to the point where it felt as if they were mocking you now weeping and being as silent as the Liverpool streets during international break, it was as if the roles had been completely reversed in the span of 6 glorious minutes.
I really enjoyed reading this book but of couse I do have background knowledge about Liverpool Football Club, for someone who has little to no knowledge about to club or sport I would highly recommend they do not read this because it will make absolutely no sense to them. I would definentely reccomend it to a fellow Liverpool supporter or a general football/soccer fan.
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