1977 - European Champions

If winning the FA Cup for the first time in 1965 is regarded as the greatest day in the history of Liverpool Football Club, then there is no doubt that winning the European Cup for the first time in 1977 was the greatest night.
May 25 1977, like May 1 1965, is a date that will forever hold special significance for Liverpudlians. For it was on this balmy night in the Italian capital of Rome that Emlyn Hughes proudly held aloft the gleaming silver trophy that is the European Cup – the greatest prize in club football.
It was the culmination of 13 years endeavour and the start of an unprecedented period of dominance by an English club in Europe. A further four European Cups have followed but the first triumph will always remain the most precious.
Ronnie Moran (LFC coach 1969-99): We’d lost in the FA Cup final, the previous Saturday, and everyone was disappointed about that, not just the players. We knew we had the big game in Rome on the Wednesday, so it was a matter of pulling our heads up. We didn’t need to kick anybody up the backside, they just rallied around again, which is why we got the good result in Rome.
A mass exodus of Liverpudlians converged on the Italian capital to cheer on the Reds. It was the biggest ever migration of football fans from these shores and the sea of red and white chequered flags that greeted the players gave them an almighty lift ahead of the biggest game in the club's history at that time.
Terry McDermott (LFC player 1974-82): Rome will never fade from my memory. I’ll always remember it until the day I die, walking out into the stadium and seeing the red and white chequered flags, I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve never seen anything again since. It was just atmosphere and an incredible feeling to see those fans. There must have been at least 30,000 Scousers there and it was just phenomenal. We walked on to the pitch about an hour before and thought ‘Christ, how can we get beat for these lot’ and obviously we didn’t.
Tommy Smith (LFC player 1960-78): The ’77 European Cup Final one was the one when I did notice the crowd. We went out to have a look what was going on in the Rome stadium and three-quarters of it was Red. I couldn’t believe it and it did hit you, ‘we’ve got more supporters than the Germans’ and bearing in mind it’s not that far away you thought that they would be there.
Emlyn Hughes (LFC player & captain 1967-79): I remember walking out onto the pitch before the game and I thought to myself ‘Jesus Christ we’re back in Liverpool!’ There was that many punters from Liverpool there, we were greeted by a sea of red and white. The support of the fans gave us all a terrific lift and all the lads were saying to each other how there was no way we could lose the match now. It was like playing at home. I can imagine what the Borussia players must have thought when they walked out. They must have looked around and thought they had no chance against such support. It must have seemed like they were playing at Anfield.
Among the mass of flags that greeted the Liverpool players the most eye-catching was without doubt the one in tribute to the European heroics of popular full-back Joey Jones. With reference to the games against St Etienne, Zurich and now the final against Moenchengladbach it read – Joey ate the Frogs' Legs, Made the Swiss roll,Now he’s Munching-Gladbach. Measuring 24 foot by 8 foot and assembled by Kopites Phil Downey and Jimmy Cummings the banner had snowballed as the Reds had progressed in Europe that season.
Phil Cummings (LFC fan): Originally it was just the 'Frogs Legs' The 'Joey makes the Swiss roll' was a natural for the Zurich semi-final. But we puzzled for hours over what to do for the final. Then my mum came up with a solution – run them all together. That's how it came about.
Joey Jones (LFC player 1975-78): There was one or two banners at Wembley that had made me laugh, but when I walked out in Rome’s Olympic Stadium and saw that one it made me feel about ten feet tall. The sight of all them Liverpudlians in Rome lifted me more than anything else. I honestly didn’t expect there to be that many of them there. They outnumbered the Germans by about three or four to one. It was amazing what some of them had done to get to Rome.
Against a Borussia side that included established international players like Vogts, Bonhof, Heynckes and Simonsen the task facing Liverpool was an almighty one but with such fanatical support ringing in their ears they took to the field in confident mood and took the lead through Terry McDermott midway through the first half.
Tommy Smith: We got out there and it was untrue and I think on that night, we not so much became a European side, but we played like a European side. Terry McDermott’s first goal was outstanding. The little one-two, bang, bang, bang and he lifts it over the goalkeeper. Absolutely brilliant.


source : http://www.liverpoolfc.tv