Stephane Henchoz will always have a place in Liverpool folklore as part of Gerard Houllier’s treble-winning team of 2000-01, but he acknowledges he was luck in two of the Reds’ three finals that season not to have cost the team.
Under the management of Gerard Houllier, Liverpool won the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup under that season, while also achieving their main aim of finishing in the top three of the Premier League to secure a place in the following season’s Champions League.
But it was certainly not plain-sailing on the way to those three trophies – and Henchoz was at the centre of big moments in each of the first two finals.
The first came in the League Cup decider against Birmingham, when Robbie Fowler’s brilliant volley looked to have earned the Reds a narrow 1-0 win over their second-tier opponents until Henchoz gave away a penalty which was subsequently converted to send the game to extra-time and ultimately a shootout.
Speaking on The Broken Metatarsal podcast, in which we remember the highlights of that season, Henchoz said: “It’s always difficult when you are the one who made a mistake. I made a rash tackle, I should have stayed on my feet, but it’s always easy to say afterwards.
“We had to go to penalties and you pray before that you’re going to win when you’re the one who made the mistake and could make your team lose the trophy. Fortunately for me, we managed to win.
“It was very important because Liverpool hadn’t won a trophy before this for a few seasons. So even if it was only the League Cup, it was a relief we could win something.
“But it was only the end of February when we won this trophy. It was a good achievement, we had won something, everybody was happy, but the target still was finishing in the
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