‘I used to be Liverpool star who noticed Champions League parade on Sky – it was s***present’
Liverpool‘s 2005 Champions League final victory is a cherished memory for fans – but not so much for one of the players who was even a boyhood fan.
Stephen Warnock, who had been a squad player under Rafa Benitez that season, was expecting to be involved in the match, either on the bench or in the starting XI. He was thrilled when he saw his name on the list of the 18 players announced by Benitez.
However, what followed was, in his words, “an absolute disgrace”. Assistant manager Pako Ayestaran called him to say there had been a mistake and he wasn’t included after all. By then, Warnock had already told his family to book their flights to Turkey.
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Watching from the stands as his team-mates pulled off an incredible comeback from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan on penalties was a bittersweet experience for him, reports the Mirror.
“It was hard for me because I’m a Liverpool fan, I grew up on the Kop and everything. I thought ‘I f***ing hate this team, like what’s going on here’. I was fuming, I was so angry,” he recounted on the Undr The Cosh podcast.
“I didn’t hate the team, I hated Rafa. I sat there thinking ‘I’m so happy for the lads, but I’m also p***ed off with the way things have played out’. If you ever played in a final or you’ve not played in one, you don’t feel part of even if you’ve played your part to get it.”
Would you be as annoyed as Warnock? Let us know in the comments section.
(Image: Getty Images Sport)
Warnock’s disappointment deepened when a last-minute change meant he missed the trophy parade back in Merseyside, forcing him to watch the joyous celebrations from afar on TV.
He went on: “I remember that night just going to bed and they said ‘right, the plane leaves at this time in the morning to go for the parade in Liverpool’. And then they changed it and said ‘all the squad who were involved, the 18, and their wives or girlfriends’.
(Image: Getty Images)
“So they put all them together, bearing in mind they’d been on our flight coming over, the wives and girlfriends, and we flew back separately. Missed the parade, I watched it on Sky Sports.
“Our flight was late coming in. The lads literally landed at Liverpool Airport, got ferried to the buses and then just started the parade. I just remember thinking ‘what a s***show’.”
Unsurprisingly, Benitez doesn’t feature on Warnock’s Christmas card list. He lambasted his “horrendous” man management and labelled him a “coward” for not calling himself. Not only did Warnock miss out on the glory, but he also lost a £200,000 bonus given to the matchday squad.
