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KINGS OF EUROPE
The Guardian 07 May 2005 

"Surprise, Surprise, as Cilla Black used to say. Liverpool are in their sixth European Cup final while the wait goes on for a London club, any London club, to break the capital's duck. 

With a European pedigree like Liverpool's the stage is set for the biggest surprise of all in Istanbul later this month, even if Rafael Benitez's team have spent the domestic season floundering in Everton's shadow and losing at places such as Birmingham and Crystal Palace. It will not have gone unnoticed in Milan that in the last two Champions League rounds, Liverpool eliminated the English champions and the joint leaders of Serie A , and in those four matches they conceded one goal. That earns respect in Italy and it is doubtful whether Milan will be relieved at having to face the four-times winners rather than Chelsea.

For all their dominance of English football, Chelsea are still novices in the Champions League and the unhappy truth for Roman Abramovich is that his expensively assembled side have gone out in consecutive semi-finals to perceived underdogs. That will be a tough obstacle for Jos?? Mourinho to overcome, even if Abramovich ploughs in more money. The Chelsea coach's European record is excellent and he defended it vigorously on Tuesday night when asked if he still regarded himself as the 'special one', but he had an element of surprise on his side when leading unfancied Porto to their two trophies. It is an entirely different matter producing results in big games when you are the favourites and are expected to win as Benitez and his team might discover next season.
For now though, in honour of Liverpool's first European Cup final appearance for 20 years, here are 15 other implications of their unexpected success - one for every Champions League game this season.

1 Plaudits for the Premiership How can anyone sneer at English football if a team more than 30 points off the Premiership pace can progress to the top table of European football? The current equivalent in Italy would be Messina or Cagliari, in Spain it would be Real Zaragoza or Athletic Bilbao. If Uefa softened their stance on a maximum of four teams per country, a Liverpool victory inIstanbul could lead to five Premiership teams in the Champions League next season, and who could say that would be undeserved?

2 Fergie's reputation suffers It is six years since Manchester United were in a Champions League final and two years since they won the League. Sir Alex Ferguson will be furious. United have spent massively over that period, with the board believing they have the wisest, most experienced and most successful manager around, yet one foreign coach has just won the title and another has taken Liverpool to the European Cup final - both in their first season in England.

3 So does G??rard Houllier's The former Liverpool manager can take credit for having signed eight of the starting XI against Chelsea, but if he is as clever as we all think he is he will not be shouting it from the rooftops. Ben??tez has been the extra ingredient that has propelled Liverpool to the final. Before his arrival Liverpool were a collection of individuals - now they are a team, and one to be reckoned with. The importance of choosing the right coach, and the ability of one man to change the way a team performs, has not been so starkly demonstrated since David Moyes took over across the road (although, whatever the Premiership table may say, Everton are still a long way from a European Cup final).

4 Birmingham, kings of Europe They did the double over Liverpool and that makes Birmingham City the team that beat the team... and therefore up with the best in Europe. No one thought much of a 2-0 win at St Andrew's and a single-goal victory at Anfield at the time, but if Liverpool become European champions Steve Bruce can put himself forward for Sven-G??ran Eriksson's job.

5 Burnley's Cup pedigree The team that finished in the bottom half of the Championship can also take a bow. Burnley beat the European Cup finalists in the FA Cup in January, and even if it was against the reserves they can boast of being the only team in Europe capable of preventing Liverpoolreaching a final this season.

6 England's finest There were five English players on the pitch at the start of the Anfield semi-final, a typical and fairly damning proportion for an all-Premiership encounter. But, and here's the good news for English football, four of those five were credible candidates for player of the year. Even Joe Cole, the odd man out, has had an excellent season. At the heart of Chelsea's success this year have been Frank Lampard and John Terry, while Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have been equally monumental for Liverpool. While there are too many foreign players in the English game, at least homegrown quality is still around. When was the last time the leading four candidates for individual honours were all English?

7 Ben??tez is best - it's not official The Spaniard has to take the 'unofficial' title because no one can ever agree on what constitutes the greatest achievement - winning a title, avoiding relegation, spending wisely, or getting the most from players who cost peanuts. The list of contenders included Mourinho, Moyes, Iain Dowie, Mick McCarthy, Mike Newell and Peter Taylor - putting that lot into an order of merit would give anyone a headache. So thank goodness someone made a late run with a truly astonishing feat. Step forward Rafael Ben??tez. Reached the European Cup final with Igor Biscan, Djimi Traor?? and Harry Kewell. Wow.

8 It's grim down south Sorry Ars??ne, but this shift in the balance of power from north to south really is taking its time. A slight shift to the west, perhaps, both in London and along the East Lancashire Road. Talking of which, Ferguson might not be completely washed up after all. He did at least predict that Chelsea would come a cropper in the north.

9 Capital gains The good news for Wenger is that Abramovich's millions cannot buy everything, well not all at once, and Arsenal still have a chance to become the first London team to reach a European Cup final. Then again, so do Spurs or Crystal Palace.

10 Owen's rightful home... Michael Owen left Liverpool in search of Europe's top honours, but it could be worse. It could be Wayne Rooney contemplating Everton in a Champions League final. At least Liverpool might be in a position to buy Owen back. Real Madrid might even make a profit.

11 And then there were four Liverpool, with some Champions League wealth, should increase the competitiveness at the top of the Premiership, and at least one team will not be running scared of Chelsea next year.

12 How much? Chelsea showed that they can get it wrong, too. While Liverpool's Djibril Ciss?? looked over-priced, at least he could claim he was short of fitness. Didier Drogba, who missed a clear chance to steal victory at the end, and Mateja Kezman had no such excuses. Drogba and Kezman must have struck even a spendthrift like Abramovich as poor value. Don't forget Chelsea still have Hernan Crespo parked in Italy. Abramovich will have to keep an eye on Mourinho if he moves for a new striker this summer, or, more important, keep an eye on the price. Chelsea are not the only club he is currently keeping afloat.

13 On the cards Champions League referees are not always superior to the domestic version. All that happens is that with two bookings leading to a ban in Europe, against five at home, players are better behaved. An English referee would not have given Luis Garcia's goal, but he would have dismissed Petr Cech and awarded a penalty.

14 To err is human All the goalline technology in the world is no substitute for a good talking point. Those who would change the game would do so at their peril.

15 Let's hear it for the fans Liverpool supporters will find it hard to be as impressive in the Atat??rk Stadium, though they will not find it difficult to outsing Italian rivals. It will be a long time before anyone in an all-seat stadium in England betters last Tuesday's show of support, so noisy and emotional it is still a hot subject on internet football chatrooms all over Europe. Benitez had 20 friends over for the match and they could talk of nothing else afterwards.