Sven Goran Eriksson became a Liverpool fan when he entered the coaching career and he dreamed of one day leading “The Kop”. Now, after 42 years of traveling in many different clubs and national teams, as well as being diagnosed with terminal cancer, the legendary Swedish coach has his wish fulfilled when he leads a team of Liverpool legends to face opponents. top Ajax legends.
Coach Sven Goran Eriksson (center) leads Liverpool legends
The Liverpool legends under Eriksson are names that long-time Liverpool fans and English football fans cannot forget: Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres return to play together after more than a decade, next to them are two former teammates. Dutchmen Dirk Kuyt & Ryan Babel, centre-backs Samy Hyypia – Daniel Agger – Martik Skrtel, left-back Fabio Aurelio and 2011 League Cup championship hero Maxi Rodriguez. In goal is Jerzy Dudek – the hero of the 2005 C1 Cup final .
Babel is also a former Ajax player, so he plays the second half for his home team, while Jari Litmanen is the opposite. Many heroes of the 1995 Champions League victory appeared in the legendary Ajax squad, including Edgar Davids, Ronald de Boer, Nwankwo Kanu. Rafael Van de Vaart also played, and the Ajax legends were led by Sjaak Swart, who is 85 years old this year. He is the most played player in Ajax history and won 3 C1 Cup titles in the 1970s.
After just 2 minutes, the Ajax legends took the lead thanks to Derk Boerrigter’s comfortable header. Liverpool legends then continuously missed, from Gerrard and Maxi Rodriguez to Babel and Torres (header hitting the post). In the 43rd minute, the Ajax legends scored a second goal from Kiki Musampa after taking advantage of a poor clearance by the other team.
Musampa almost increased the score to 3-0 at the beginning of the second half but hit the crossbar with the ball, and not long after the legendary Liverpool side scored thanks to former left-back Gregory Vignal. Babel bounced the ball against the post, Torres had a chance to be saved by the goalkeeper and Kuyt even threw a hook shot in the air, before the score was equalized at 2-2 thanks to Djibril Cisse after Kuyt’s pass.
Former teammates: Gerrard, El Zhar and Torres celebrate the 4-2 score
The comeback was completed in the 80th minute after Nabil El Zhar broke through and shot hard. The moment the audience had been waiting for finally arrived. In the 84th minute, Torres crossed the ball from close range and although it hit the post again, this time the ball went over the goal line. He was then replaced by Litmanen to the applause of the fans.
After the 4-2 victory, coach Eriksson emotionally said: “I cried when the song You’ll Never Walk Alone played. This will be an unforgettable memory, today we all won.” .
Coach Eriksson and Torres hugged each other after Torres left the field
Match score: Liverpool Legends 4-2 Ajax Legends
Scored:
– Huyền thoại Liverpool: Vignal 54′, Cisse 75′, El Zhar 80′, Torres 84′
– Huyền thoại Ajax: Derk Boerrigter 2′ Kiki Musampa 43′
Liverpool legend’s playing list:
– Thủ môn: Jerzy Dudek, Chris Kirkland, Sander Westerveld.
– For: Daniel Agger, Fabio Aurelio, Sami Hyypia, Bear Tore Kvarme, Martin Škrtel, Gregory Vignal. – For: Steven Gerrard, Mark Gonzalez, Maxi Rodriguez, Momo Sissoko, Jay Spearing.
– Goalkeepers: Ryan Babel, Djibril Cisse, Nabil El Zhar, Dirk Kuyt, Jari Litmanen, Fernando Torres.
Ajax legend’s competition list:
– Thủ môn: Dennis Gentenaar.
– Hậu vệ: Danny Blind, Olaf Lindenbergh, Ricardo van Rhijn, Sonny Silooy, Urby Emanuelson.
– Below: Aron Winter, Derk Boerrigter, Eyong Enoh, Jan van Halst, Kiki Musampa, Kenneth Perez, Michael Krohn-Dehli, Nordin Wooter, Rafael van der Vaart, Richard Witschge, Ronald de Boer.
– Scouts: Clyde Wijnhard, Nwankwo Kanu, Ryan Babel, Siem de Jong, Simon Tahamata, Jari Litmanen.
