Tonight, Liverpool return to the site of one of the most famous comebacks in sports history; the Atatürk Olympic Stadium.
In 2005 Liverpool found themselves 3-0 down at half time to a well organised AC Milan side. A tactical substitution and six magical minutes resulted in a full time score of 3-3 with goals from Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Šmicer and Xabi Alonso. Liverpool went on to win the European Cup thanks to some heroic goalkeeping from then goalkeeper Jezy Dudek.
By coincidence, it has been 10 years since Liverpool have played in that stadium and eight years since they have played Besiktas in the group stages of the Champions League in the ’07-’08 season.
Liverpool lost 2-1 away from home but recorded the largest ever win in the Champions League history by beating Besiktas 8-0 at Anfield, a record that still stands today. It is that result that has so many Besiktas fans seeking revenge against the mighty reds.
It seems that, unlike Liverpool fans who see the 8-0 result as just another famous record that the club owns, Besiktas fans have had to undergo severe ridicule from other fans of Turkish elite clubs like Galatasaray and Fenabache. The unfortunate nickname or insulting slur, as some may see it, of “8-tas” has hung around the clubs neck like the preverbal hangman’s noose in the years following the famous night on the Merseyside.
Unluckily for Besiktas, the two clubs have not had the chance for a rematch since. That was until a 1-1 draw with FC Basel secured Liverpool’s third place finish in this years group stages of the Champions League, allowing the Reds to fall through the trap door of European football and straight into the draw for the last 32 of the Europa League.
One Besiktas fan I talked too, Koray Sengün, likened the drawing of Liverpool and Besiktas to that of “West Ham playing Millwall in the FA Cup.” Obviously a fan of the movie “Green Street” I don’t believe he was over hyping the match-up. It seems the inability to squash the demons of that night in Liverpool has allowed the resentment of the club to fester.
Abuse was rife between the two sets of fans on Twitter on the day before the first leg in Liverpool, with many Reds fans reacting in shock to what they must have imagined as just another Europe fixture in the club’s storied history.
The Besiktas fans, for the most part, cheered on their beloved team very well for 90 minutes, creating their own version of the infamous “Hell” that home Besiktas fans use to intimidate traveling fans at the old Inönü Stadium. After the penalty decision, things did appear to get a little heated between the home and away support as the disappointment of the result on the night began to sink in.
But the second leg provides a fresh chance to enact the revenge that the Black Eagles so desperately crave. Already the fans have been up to the usual tricks in the Turkish capital. Bull horns and chanting have taken place outside the Liverpool team hotel trying to disturb the players sleeping patterns. Imagines of banners designed to intimidate traveling fans have been posted and retweeted all over Twitter boasting the unsavory slogan “You’ll Walk Alone Here”.
The misguided Besiktas fans are pulling out all the stops in their efforts to gain any advantage off the field on the 3-time Uefa Cup champions but on the field, coach Slaven Bilic has made it clear that the Süper Lig, in which Besiktas currently sit second in behind bitter rivals Galatasaray, is the priority and not the Europa League. After losing to lowly Eskişehir 1-0 at the weekend, Bilic criticized his players for being tired after the long trip back from England.
On the contrary, Liverpool marched to an impressive 2-0 win against an inform Southampton, so while confidence is low for the Black and White, the Reds are flying high despite injuries depleting much of manager Brendan Rodgers’ squad.
Besiktas will have to work hard if they are to exert any retribution on Liverpool. Trailing 1-0 from the first leg and with Liverpool’s recent solid defending, the home team will need to pressure the Reds early and often to gain back any ground. One thing Besiktas do have in their favor is that they are yet to be beaten by an English team at home, winning two and drawing one. Added to that, Liverpool have only won once in five attempts in the country that stretches over two contents.
