My Magic Moment: Šmicer's 2005 final finish
Monday, October 26, 2015
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"I scored some nicer goals, but this was definitely the most important," Vladimír Šmicer told UEFA.com as he recalled the strike that gave Liverpool hope in the 2005 final.
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Trailing 3-0 at the break, Liverpool concocted a modern footballing fairy tale when they scored three in the second half and went on to beat AC Milan on penalties in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final in Istanbul.
Vladimír Šmicer struck their second of the night as a damage-limitation exercise morphed into a comeback dream. "It was not my best goal," the former Czech Republic midfielder told UEFA.com. "I think I scored some nicer ones but this was definitely the most important goal of my career, that's for sure, because without it I wouldn't have won the Champions League."
The moment remains seared into Šmicer's memory. "I remember everything quite clearly," he said. "I had no choice, no passes, so I said to myself 'have a good first touch and shoot at goal'. And then I was just watching. I knew straight away that I hit it well, but then you've got players in front of you and there is a goalkeeper so ... I was just watching if it goes through or not. But it went through. Three-two. It was game on!"
Hear more from Šmicer and watch his exploits in the video above.
