Few will ever forget where they were on May 25, 2005. For Jamie Carragher, it was the day he lifted the European Cup and walked away from the Ataturk Stadium with Paolo Maldini’s shirt.
Liverpool’s Champions League campaign in 2004/05 was remarkable, and their reward was to face an AC Milan side littered with world-class players in every position.
No one could have prepared for what happened in Istanbul and for it to be a match that would be etched in football folklore forever.
It was a victory against all odds for Liverpool, and the stories that have emerged over the years never fail to capture the attention, and the same now goes for Carragher’s souvenir.
As a member of Sky’s Overlap team, Carragher returned to Istanbul alongside Gary Neville and Roy Keane. During a visit to the Ataturk Stadium, he revealed how he got his hands on Maldini’s shirt.
Stood in the redeveloped dressing room where Liverpool were housed for the match, Carragher explained: “What happened was, they (Milan) left.
ISTANBUL, TURKEY - WEDNESDAY, MAY 25th, 2005: Liverpool's Vladimir Smicer and AC Milan's Paulo Maldini during the UEFA Champions League Final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
“There was a lot of young lads on the trip who played the early rounds, so at the end of the game, they’re all on the pitch and taking pictures.
“So, you do all the celebrating and by the time you come back in they [had left], [Milan] left all their medals, so all our young players got their medals, got their shirts.
“Someone came in and said, ‘Maldini’ and I thought, ‘I’ll have that!'”
After moving onto the pitch, Carragher FaceTimes Steven Gerrard and, after the Reds’ ex-captain tells Neville where to go, he jokes that Carragher must’ve sold Maldini’s shirt.
“I’m not at that stage yet, we might get there!” he said, before retorting: “There’s no chance you need to sell anything being over there at the moment, is there?”
Brilliantly on the nose that, Carra!
Why isn’t Carra in the trophy lift photos?
ISTANBUL, TURKEY - WEDNESDAY, MAY 25th, 2005: Liverpool's Steven Gerrard lifts the European Cup after beating AC Milan on penalties during the UEFA Champions League Final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
On another subject entirely, Carragher also explained why he is not in any of the photos of the trophy lift, saying: “Because of the cramp.
“I always remember the fella from UEFA who was giving us the European Cup went to give it to me, and I went, ‘No, Stevie is the captain’.
“I then just got pushed out the back.
“I always remember the lad who used to play for us, Josemi, he’s got this Spanish flag around him and everything I sign now this f***ing Josemi is at the front of the picture, I’m nowhere to be seen.
“I’m not bothered, we won the cup. Bit of advice to anyone if you win a big trophy, make sure you’re in the picture!”