If Sunday’s Carabao Cup final is anything like the 2005 League Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool then we’re in for a real treat.
The 2005 final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was a thrilling clash in front of a 78,000-strong crowd which began with John Arne Riise scoring for Liverpool inside the opening minute.
However, an own goal from Steven Gerrard with 10 minutes left on the clock forced extra-time.
Chelsea went on to lift the trophy thanks to goals from Didier Drogba and Mateja Kezman.
Gerrard’s own goal proved to be the game’s turning point.
And the timing could hardly have been worse for the legendary midfielder, who was being strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge at the time.
Peter Drury's commentary for Gerrard's own goal v Chelsea
Peter Drury, one of the greatest commentators around, covered the game for ITV that day and produced a line that will sound a little strange to some.
“There is so much irony in that goal.” Drury said. “Stevie Gerrard, many believe, has just scored his first of many goals for Chelsea - and he’s scored it as a Liverpool player in a cup final.”
Watch the clip here:
It was a dark moment for Gerrard, who told the Daily Telegraph in 2012, per Goal: “It was a nightmare. I felt suicidal.
“It was bad, one of the worst days I have had, especially against Chelsea. I was linked with them for a while before that cup final.
"Then to go and score an own goal – there were Liverpool fans who probably thought I meant it at the time – and to get the defeat was a nightmare too, for me and the team."
How close was Steven Gerrard to joining Chelsea in 2005?
Three months later, Gerrard inspired Liverpool to glory in arguably the greatest Champions League final of all time against AC Milan in Istanbul.
Weeks after that, Gerrard formally told Liverpool that he wanted to leave the club after turning down a new £100,000-a-week contract.
"This has been the hardest decision I have ever had to make,” Gerrard said at the time, per BBC Sport.
"I fully intended to sign a new contract after the Champions League final, but the events of the past five to six weeks have changed all that.
"I have too much respect for the club and people at it to get involved in a slagging match."
Liverpool rejected an initial £32 million bid from Chelsea for their captain and star player, but it felt inevitable that Gerrard would be working under Jose Mourinho at the start of the 2005-06 campaign after he announced his desire to leave Anfield.
Needless to say, many Liverpool fans were furious with Gerrard at the time. Some even burned his shirts.
But those who destroyed their Gerrard shirts were left red-faced 24 hours later when the midfielder performed a shock U-turn.
"He realises how much the club means to him,” Liverpool’s chief executive Rick Parry said of Gerrard, who went on to sign a new four-year contract with the Merseyside outfit.
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN - DECEMBER 17: Steven Gerrard of Liverpool faces the media during a press conference at the Royal Park Hotel on December 17, 2005 in Yokohama, Japan. Liverpool will play Brazil's Sao Paulo in the final of the FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup 2005 on December 18. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Why did Steven Gerrard reject Chelsea?
“The most important thing is the final decision was the right one,” Gerrard said in an interview with The Guardian in 2018. “Nine out of 10 people might argue I would have made more money, won more trophies, blah, blah. But them people are not me. They’re not in my city and they don’t have that connection with my club. That’s why I’m the one in 10.”
LIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 14: (L-R) Steve Finnan, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and his son Jamie during the Liverpool Football Club FA Cup Trophy Parade on May 14, 2006 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
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