When Liverpool meet Real Madrid in the Champions League final, it will be Steve McManaman's former teams clashing. He talks to DW about shared sympathies and his best hour in Paris.
McManaman wins two Champions League titles with Real Madrid – in 2000 and 2002
Steve McManaman will be torn on Saturday night. Liverpool, the club of his childhood for which he played 364 times, meets Real Madrid, the club with which he twice won the Champions League. So who does the 50-year-old former England international want to win in the premier class final in Paris (kick-off at 21:00 CEST)?
“I can neither win nor lose,” McManaman replies to DW. “I have friends in both camps. And after all these years, Real Madrid still have the same kit man and most of the physios. To see people like that is an incredible thing and you want them to do well. But I still work at Liverpool academy too, and I want Liverpool to be successful – that goes without saying.”
McManaman's finest hour
It's not just one meetings between the two clubs where he spent a combined 13 of his 15 years as a player, but also a return to Paris where he had his finest hour as a footballer.
McManaman's volley from the edge of the box was the crucial second goal in Real Madrid's 3-0 Champions League final win over Valencia CF in 2000, an all-Spanish affair at the Stade de France – the very stadium where his former clubs will now compete.
“It's surreal,” says McManaman before pausing for a moment. “I was at the press conference in Madrid on Tuesday, and someone reminded me that the 2000 final was exactly 22 years ago. My kids are with me in Paris this weekend, maybe I'll show them the spot from which from which I scored the volley.”
The 2022 final is a repeat of the 2018 Champions League final and the 1981 European Cup final. Four years ago, Real Madrid won 3-1 against Liverpool – after a rude foul by a Real defender Sergio Ramos to Mohamed Salah, after which the Liverpool star was unable to continue after a bitter blunder from Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius and a dream overhead kick from Madrid's Gareth Bale.
“Of course, Liverpool and Real Madrid also had 1981 made history when Alan Kennedy scored the winning goal,” McManaman recalled of Liverpool's 1981 European Cup victory at the Prinzenparkstadion, the other major football arena in Paris. “It's a duel with a lot of history.”
Klopp's fourth Champions League final
Saturday's final will be Jurgen Klopp's fourth Champions League final: his third with Liverpool following the final with Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich in London in 2013. Only in 2019 (against Tottenham Hotspur) did Klopp return with the trophy. McManaman currently rates Liverpool FC better than ever before.
McManaman: 'Klopp did an exceptional job”
“Liverpool are a team you can't possibly beat if their players are in good spirits – and they always seem to be,” said the ex-international. “Even in the finals that go into extra time, they always seem to find a way. And they haven't had it easy this Champions League year, being placed in a group with AC Milan, Atletico Madrid and Porto drawn. They mastered that with flying colours, and then they beat Inter Milan.”
McManaman believes that Klopp and the other “Reds” managers did a “fantastic job”: “Everything they touch seems to be turning to gold at the moment.”
Madrid's magical moments
Real Madrid, who have been written off at times this season, have also reached the 20th final of European football's premier league and provided some memorable moments along the way.
Benzema's hat-trick in just 18 minutes against PSG was one of the most memorable moments of this year's competition
“Karim Benzema's quick hat-trick against PSG [Paris St. Germain – ed.] was exceptional, Luka Modric's incredible assist against Chelsea – for me, those were the defining moments of the competition this season,” says McManaman run.”They beat the Italian champions in their group, then the English and French champions, and also knocked out the defending champions. They have an incredible winning streak and [in Carlo Ancelotti] an incredible coach.”
So, Real advantage? “Some teams have an affinity for certain trophies and Madrid definitely have one for the Champions League”, McManaman concludes, “But so does Liverpool.”
Adapted from English by Calle Kops