Nine long years on from their 2-1 defeat to AC Milan in Athens in 2007 Liverpool are back in a European final.
Wednesday night's Europa League showpiece against Sevilla in Switzerland offers the chance for Jurgen Klopp to secure the first silverware of his tenure, seven months on from his appointment last October.
But as well as providing a first trophy for the German and just Liverpool's second since their FA Cup win over West Ham in 2006, victory over the defending champions in Basel would see the Merseyside club return to Europe's top table next season.
By offering a Champions League spot to the winners Uefa have managed to revitalise its second-tier club competition, and Liverpool’s path to the final has seen them beat heavyweights Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund.
Yet former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann believes winning the Europa League would carry a far greater significance than just bringing Champions League football back to Anfield.
Moving forward
Hamann, who won the Uefa Cup in 1996 with Bayern Munich and in 2001 with Liverpool, said: “It is huge, huge. I think in terms of money we talk about 20-odd million for getting into the Champions League, but in terms of moving forward there is a lot more value to the game than just purely the money.
“I think that as a team they would grow no end by winning the trophy. It gives you a lot more confidence as a player and as a team, you gain a lot more trust in each other and a lot more trust in the manager.
“And there is the added incentive of going straight into the Champions League, the added income and the players you can attract after that. It is very hard to put a value on that game – but it is certainly a lot more than just the money coming in from the Champions League.”
A major talking point ahead of the final has been the venue being used and the small amount of tickets which will be available to both Liverpool and Sevilla supporters.
St Jakob-Park, home of FC Basel, has a capacity of just 38,000 – with each side receiving a meagre 9,000 tickets. Given the huge numbers of Liverpool supporters likely to travel to Switzerland, the outrageously small allocation has led to fears there may be similar scenes which marred the Athens final in 2007.
However Hamann believes holding such fixtures in some of Europe’s lesser-heralded grounds is a positive thing, he said: “Obviously you don’t know before the start of the tournament what is going to happen.
“I sit on the fence with this one because I think it is great for the people of Switzerland to be able to see a European final. But then at the same time it could have been a Liverpool against Manchester United final in a 30,000 seater stadium which is obviously nowhere near enough.
“Liverpool could probably take 100 or 200,000 to any stadium when they play in a final. It doesn’t matter where you play it because there is always going to be a lot of people who can’t watch the game, unfortunately.
“I understand why people question if it should be played in a 30,000 seater stadium, but at the same time you want to go around Europe and give everyone the chance to see the final.”
Dietmar Hamann will be taking part in a special outdoor broadcast of RTÉ 2FM’s Game On at Cork City Hall on Monday May 30th. To be in with a chance to win tickets visit Three.ie/plus and tune into 2FM’s Game On and 2FM shows.*
