 European nights at Anfield no longer need be previewed with clips of 'St Etienne' when Olympiakos, Juventus, Chelsea and AC Milan are so fresh in the memory. The Auxerre night has now slumped into the pecking order to be seen as it is. A comfortable victory against a poor French team which should never have been 2-0 up in the first place. It doesn't even deserve to be in the same book as an account of coming back from 3-0 down to an AC Milan team including Kaka, Shevchenko and Maldini, let alone the same chapter. It was understandable a night like Auxerre was cherished so much, since the famous European nights since 1985 were so scarce and, 2001 apart, led to very little. Gerard Houllier's side claimed the famous scalps of Barcelona and Roma on their way to the UEFA Cup, but only when the European Cup returned, and was kept, could Liver-pool truly announce 'we're back' and be taken seriously beyond The Albert. Owning the European Cup can have that effect. In the 12 months since Istanbul, Liverpool has become a club which can be more at ease with its status as one of the greatest names in world football. There must have been times when rivals muttered under their breath at those early G14 meetings, with some justification, that the Anfield contingent represented aclub that was famous once, but was now lucky to be granted a seat at their table. For the past year, however, officials from Milan, Madrid, Turin, Old Trafford and others could only look towards Anfield with envy, and return to their clubs with a request for their manager and players to display the same never-say-die qualities. Most football clubs are fortunate to experience one defining moment in their history. For Liverpool, it's an endless quest to secure one for each generation. For those too young to recall the arrival of Shankly and his impact, Istanbul will never be beaten. It will be celebrated in 20 years time with the same verve as those anniversary dinners in honour of the 1977 side. The books will continue to be published, the heroes of the night endlesslyacclaimed, and the tales of how Liverpool jumped from a pit of despair to sip champagne on cloud nine will never fail to enchant and enthral. And, lest we forget, butfor Istanbul Steven Gerrard would probably now be in a Chelsea shirt. Most significantly of all, if Liverpool's rapid improvement in the Premiership and victory in this year's FA Cup final is anything to go by, those post match predictions in Turkey - claiming Champions League victory would be the start of a golden era - will not be undermined. As Jamie Carragher said recently: "Don't talk to me about the so-called glory years at Anfield. Look at what we've just won. These are the glory years."
RELIVE the greatest comeback in European footballing history - one year on
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