Many teams have come unstuck when travelling to face Galatasaray but Liverpool should have no problems with intense atmospheres…
WHEN Manchester United travelled to Turkey to play Galatasaray in 1993 they weren’t quite the all-conquering side they were about to be.
This was the first outing in the Champions League and only their second tie since they were beaten in the European Cup semi-final of 1969. They learned quickly that football games are not simply won on grass with 11 v 11.
Drawing the first leg 3-3 at Old Trafford they were technically behind in the tie due to those three away goals. A 1-0 win would sort it.
But it wasn’t just about football. In fact, hardly any of it was. Two hours after kick-off they were out of the competition having drawn 0-0. Eric Cantona was sent off and then struck by a police officer as he was escorted to the dressing room. Bryan Robson ended up covered in blood and, on the way back to the airport, the coach was bricked. The night before, a hotel bellboy made a throat-slitting gesture to Gary Pallister.
‘Welcome to Hell’ read one banner. Quite.
Liverpool fans took all that with a pinch of salt when they travelled there in 2002. One flag read ‘Welcome to Hell, my arse. If you think this is hell, try the Grafton on a Friday night.
I’ve often wondered if anyone in the home end ever googled ‘The Grafton’ based on the strength of it.
Much is made of the hostile atmosphere at the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex RAMS Park, but surely it’s improved since that barbaric night in 1993. You’d hope so anyway.
How much effect does atmosphere have?
Many, notably Mikel Arteta, have spoken of Anfield’s ability to practically alter the senses when it’s in full flow but numerous players have claimed it made them play better.
In 2007 Jose Mourinho said he barely noticed the crowd when his Chelsea side went out to penalties in the Champions League semi-final. I’m not having that. The Kop was moving that night. Actually moving under our feet. Older readers may want to recall the dancefloor in The Ritz, Manchester back in the day. It felt like that. Like a low-level bouncy castle. And as for the noise…
And there’ll be much said about the crowd tomorrow night. The Reds have already lost there once this season, though I felt that we just never got going after a pretty iffy penalty decision. I’m not sure how the hissing and booing contributed to that, though I’m guessing not much.
It is a factor though. Several players have reported on the atmosphere during our 2-0 defeat to Crvena Zvezda in November 2018 and said that it did get into their heads. Jürgen said that we ‘lost our mojo’ that night, but that might be because players weren’t exactly volunteering to take throw-ins, such was the intimidation of the crowd.
It shouldn’t matter but sometimes it does. Maybe it will help that the whole squad have been there before and will know what to expect. That United side said of 1993 that they just weren’t expecting it and that was half the problem. Gary Neville said he learned more in the first ten minutes than he’d done in his entire fledging career up to that point.
It should just come down to the football. If so, it still won’t be a walk in the park. They battered Juventus in the last round though the Italians had red cards in both legs, one of which seemed a bit harsh. A clean sheet for the Champions tomorrow would be a decent start.
