Simao Sabrosa came close to becoming a Liverpool player before scoring against the Reds, and he believes the Eagles can shock the odds.
A former Liverpool target who ended the club’s Champions League defence with a goal at Anfield believes Benfica can repeat history 16 years later.
Simao Sabrosa is currently a director of the Lisbon club, but he scored a sensational goal at the Kop end in a 2-0 win for the Eagles in 2006, knocking holders Liverpool out of Europe’s premier competition in the last 16.
Simao, now 42, reflects fondly on that night at Anfield as the two teams prepare to meet again in the quarterfinal round of the same competition in Lisbon on Tuesday evening.
“I recall everything,” he told the Guardian. The atmosphere was fantastic, owing to the supporters. Liverpool were Champions League holders with the same team – they hadn’t altered much – and when we saw the starting XI, I saw Steven Gerrard was missing, which made us extremely delighted since Gerrard was Liverpool’s finest player and one of the best in Europe. We began the game with the sole intention of winning, and we played for the victory, whereas Liverpool did not play for the win and did not play well.”
“It was our first time receiving the ball, but we were prepared. I eliminated two players and scored. Following the goal, the squad began to catch its breath, as it is tough to play emotionally at Anfield. Liverpool fans were silent, but I yelled loudly as I raced to the bench to rejoice with my friends.
“It was incredible to hear the 4,000 Benfica supporters. We had a lot of fun celebrating the first goal, and then it was awesome when Miccoli scored the second goal. I’ll never forget that moment or Anfield because after the game, we rejoiced and then returned to the dressing room to celebrate with our fans and also with the Liverpool fans who remained.”
Simao’s goal against Liverpool would not have occurred had he not signed for Liverpool in the summer of 2005, a deal that came perilously close to being completed. The arrangement progressed to the point where an aircraft was reserved for the forward’s flight to England, but he never arrived.