 RONNIE WHELAN affords himself a wry smile when he thinks about the antics of Liverpool's players in the tunnel immediately before the 1984 European Cup final. He still doesn't know whether it was a stroke of genius or a sign that the rigours of an arduous season were finally catching up on the squad. But Whelan is sure, though, that their impromptu singalong laid the foundations for one of the club's greatest triumphs. After manager Joe Fagan had given his final words of wisdom in the privacy of the dressing room, one-by-one the men clad in Red filed out into the corridor which led to the pitch to see Roma's players nervously jig-jogging around in anticipation. Of course, the Italians had home advantage. UEFA had decided that the 1984 final would be played in Rome's Olympic Stadium and with 50,000-plus partisan supporters bellowing them on, the reigning Serie A champions were expected to prevail. Whelan knew the odds were stacked against Liverpool and he appreciated that if they were going to achieve what seemed the impossible, he and his teammates would have to conquer their nerves quickly. So when the former Republic of Ireland international heard two cheeky characters at the back of the Liverpool queue start warbling one of Chris Rea's hits of the time, Whelan instantly knew it was going to be a good night. "We were just waiting to get on with things and of course we were all a bit nervous," said Whelan, taking up the story. "We were the underdogs and Roma were one of the best sides in Europe, but we weren't afraid. "As we were waiting for the referee to come out, I just remember hearing Craig Johnston and Dave Hodgson start signing 'I Don't Know What It Is But I Love It' and then we all started to join in. Ilooked at some of the Roma players to gauge their reaction and judging by their faces, they thought that we were all a bit simple! It was great, though, because it relaxed us and put everyone in the right frame of mind." Much was made about the decision that allowed Roma to play on their home ground, so it is significant when Whelan reveals that wasn't the most treacherous task Liverpool faced during their successful European campaign. While there is no doubting that the Olympic Stadium was a hostile cauldron that balmy May night, it didn't come close to matching the intimidation the Reds faced when they travelled to Romania for the second leg of their semi-final. Dinamo Bucharest had tried in vain to rough Liverpool up at Anfield and one of their players even went home with a broken jaw after coming off second best in a clash with Graeme Souness. | 
