Tuesday 26 May 2015 08:17, UK
Ten years on from Liverpool's Champions League win over AC Milan in Istanbul, we look at what happened to the players involved on that famous night...
JERZY DUDEK
Liverpool’s goalkeeping hero soon found himself relegated to second choice upon the arrival of Pepe Reina and finally departed in 2007 to take up a similar role deputising for Iker Casillas at Real Madrid, staying for four seasons. Dudek came out of retirement for Poland in 2013, being honoured in a game against Liechtenstein having played only 10 league games in the eight years since Istanbul.
STEVE FINNAN
After five seasons at Anfield, Finnan signed a two-year deal with La Liga side Espanyol in 2008 but his appearances were limited by injury and he joined Portsmouth midway through his deal. He featured 25 times for Pompey in a single season on the south coast, retiring after their 2010 FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea. He’s now involved with London-based construction firm Finnan Developments.
DJIMI TRAORE
Traore made more than 100 appearances for Liverpool in a four-year stay that ended in 2006. There were Premier League spells with Charlton and Portsmouth, Ligue 1 appearances for Stade Rennais, Monaco and Marseille, and even a brief stay in the Championship with Birmingham. The Malian saw out his career in Major League Soccer with Seattle Sounders before retiring last year.
SAMI HYYPIA
After an emotional Anfield farewell in 2009, Hyypia headed to Bayer Leverkusen where he finished his playing career before becoming assistant manager and then manager. He was sacked by the Bundesliga club in April 2014 before embarking on a new challenge with Brighton in June, but that was to last just six months as he struggled for success on the south coast.
JAMIE CARRAGHER
Carragher stayed at Liverpool for a further eight seasons, adding a second FA Cup win in 2006 and a third League Cup triumph in 2012 to his lengthy list of honours. In the process, the defender took his tally of appearances for the club to 737 before retiring in 2013. He has since become a highly-respected pundit with Sky Sports.
JOHN ARNE RIISE
Riise spent seven years at Liverpool before leaving Anfield for Serie A side Roma in 2008. The Norwegian had three years in Italy before returning to England with Fulham. He was released by the Cottagers at the end of the 2013/14 season and is currently playing for APOEL in Cyprus, scoring in their 4-2 cup final victory over AEL Limassol in May.
STEVEN GERRARD
Gerrard was the only player from that night in Istanbul still at Anfield in the 2014/15, but the captain has now played his last game for the Reds. After a glittering career with the club, Gerrard went out on a rather disappointing note. His final game at Anfield was ruined by Crystal Palace and his last game ended in a humiliating 6-1 loss away to Stoke.
LUIS GARCIA
He departed for Atletico Madrid in 2007 and spent two seasons back in his homeland before spells at Racing Santander, Panathinaikos and Mexican sides Puebla Club Universidad Nacional in 2010. He announced his retirement in January 2014 only to make a brief comeback for newly-formed Indian Super League franchise Atletico de Kolkata.
XABI ALONSO
The central midfielder played a pivotal role for Real Madrid for five seasons after his Liverpool exit in 2009, culminating in the club's 10th Champions League victory last summer. He can now be found patrolling Bayern Munich’s midfield under Pep Guardiola.
HARRY KEWELL
The Australian departed Liverpool for Galatasaray in 2008. He was in Turkey for three seasons before returning home to play for Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart - either side of a short spell with Qatari's Al-Gharafa - where he retired in March 2014.
MILAN BAROS
The Czech striker left for Aston Villa immediately after their Istanbul win and later played for Lyon, Portsmouth and Galatasaray before twice rejoining Banik Ostrava, the club he originally left for Anfield, either side of a stint with Turkish side Antalyaspor.
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DIETMAR HAMANN
Hamann joined Manchester City after Liverpool’s FA Cup win in 2006, before finishing his playing career in 2011 at Milton Keynes Dons where he was player-coach. The German joined Leicester as first-team coach before a short ill-fated spell as manager of newly-relegated Conference Premier side Stockport. He now works as a media pundit.
VLADIMIR SMICER
The Champions League final proved to be his final game for Liverpool, and his career could never match up to those heights. He spent two seasons with French side Bordeaux then returned to his first professional club Slavia Prague before retiring in May 2010.
DJIBRIL CISSE
Cisse enjoyed a colourful career after leaving Liverpool in 2006. The flamboyant French striker had stints at Marseille, Sunderland, Panathinaikos, Lazio, Al-Gharafa and Kuban Krasnodar before returning to his homeland with Bastia. He recently claimed he is weighing up offers from the MLS, India and clubs in Poland.
Manager: RAFAEL BENITEZ
The Spaniard left Anfield in 2010 after six years in charge. A few days after his departure, Benitez agreed to take over at Inter Milan, succeeding Jose Mourinho. His tenure was short-lived, however, and he was sacked after just six months in charge.
After two years out of the game, Benitez resurfaced as Chelsea interim manager in December 2012, and despite being deeply unpopular at Stamford Bridge because of his Liverpool connections, he led them to Europa League glory. He joined Napoli in the summer of 2013, winning the Coppa Italia in his first season, and guiding them to within one goal of this season's Europa League final. His future at the club is uncertain, however, and he has been linked with a move to Real Madrid in recent weeks.
