Lee takes pride in Liverpool

By Paul Saffer

With Liverpool FC's return to the European Champion Clubs' Cup final, thoughts have been drifting from the encounter with AC Milan in Istanbul to the triumphs of the past.

Local hero
One man intimately associated with those victories is locally-born midfield player Sammy Lee. He made his Liverpool debut as a teenager in 1978 and three years later was part of the side that triumphed in the European Cup final, defeating Real Madrid CF 1-0 in Paris. In 1984 they did it again against AS Roma, with Lee still part of the team, and 12 months on he played in a third European Cup final on an ill-starred night in the Heysel stadium.

Always confident
Two decades on Liverpool are back in with a chance of a fifth victory in the competition, and Lee, now part of Sven-Göran Eriksson's England coaching staff, revealed that he always had an inkling they could pull off what, for many, was a surprise this season. "It may be blind optimism, but I fancied them to go all the way," Lee told uefa.com. "And I fancy them to win it. I wish them all the best."

Club connection
In his eight years in the Liverpool first team, Lee helped them win three English Championships and three League Cups as well as those two European Cups. In 1993 he returned to the coaching staff, staying for more than a decade as he also stepped up into the national team set-up which now provides his full-time role.

European form
Unsurprisingly, he is delighted at Liverpool's UEFA Champions League progress. "It will be good for Liverpool because they have done much better in Europe than domestically," he said. "But to be honest I have fancied them all the way through - before they played Olympiacos [CFP], before they played [Bayer 04] Leverkusen before they played Juventus [FC] and before Chelsea [FC], because they seem to have something different in the European games."

National pride
As an England coach, he also takes national pride from the run, spearheaded by local duo Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard. "What's pleasing is that we've got an English side in the final," he said. "The Carraghers and Gerrards of this world are outstanding. They have been outstanding for this football club over a period of years, not just this year."

Carragher class
Versatile defender Carragher has particularly impressed Lee. He said: "All the best teams are built on a good solid defence. And Carragher has been excellent, not just this season, but in recent seasons. People didn't realise the value of him until he wasn't there. When he broke his leg, people started sitting up and taking notice of what we had."

Chelsea praise
He is even able to extend commiserations to the team Liverpool edged out in the semi-finals. "It's difficult for me in my role, but everybody knows my allegiance to Liverpool," Lee said. "Chelsea have always made me feel very welcome, they've got a great club and a great team spirit down there, and even in defeat José [Mourinho] got them all together. They have done excellently in winning the league."

Spirit and guile
In ousting Chelsea, Liverpool showed the spirit and guile that was a trademark of the Lee era. Both of the European Cup final wins Lee was part of were tight affairs, and if the current side can take his inspiration, his optimism could well be justified.