Vladimir Smicer has an impressive career to look back on. Just check out this golden streak:

EC silver for the Czech Republic, league champion in the Czech Republic and France, and in addition a couple of league cup trophies in the latter country. In Liverpool he also collected silverware. League Cup, FA Cup, UEFA Cup (Europa League) and Champions League. In addition, he is also historic, he was the first player to score in three EC finals in a row!

Vladi came to Liverpool from Lens in the summer of 1999 and there were to be both ups and downs during the 6 years on Merseyside. He was primarily brought in as a replacement for Steve McManaman, who had gone to Real Madrid. The debut came in the league opener against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough Stadium and his first of a total of 19 goals (31 assists) came in the away game against Watford in January, the same season.

Unfortunately, his stay in Liverpool was marked by a little too many injuries and there were 184 games in red for the likeable Czech. But he became very central in many of the games, such as when he scored the memorable last-minute goal against Chelsea in 2002 and of course his goal in Istanbul which really fired Liverpool up and gave hope of turning the game around completely. We all know how that went. Smicer's last kick of the ball, for Liverpool, was the penalty he scored during the penalty shootout. Milan's next penalty was saved by Dudek, and the miracle in Istanbul was a reality.

Vladimir Smicer has an impressive career to look back on. Just check out this golden streak:

EC silver for the Czech Republic, league champion in the Czech Republic and France, and in addition a couple of league cup trophies in the latter country. In Liverpool he also collected silverware. League Cup, FA Cup, UEFA Cup (Europa League) and Champions League. In addition, he is also historic, he was the first player to score in three EC finals in a row!

Vladi came to Liverpool from Lens in the summer of 1999 and there were to be both ups and downs during the 6 years on Merseyside. He was primarily brought in as a replacement for Steve McManaman, who had gone to Real Madrid. The debut came in the league opener against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough Stadium and his first of a total of 19 goals (31 assists) came in the away game against Watford in January, the same season.

Unfortunately, his stay in Liverpool was marked by a little too many injuries and there were 184 games in red for the likeable Czech. But he became very central in many of the games, such as when he scored the memorable last-minute goal against Chelsea in 2002 and of course his goal in Istanbul which really fired Liverpool up and gave hope of turning the game around completely. We all know how that went. Smicer's last kick of the ball, for Liverpool, was the penalty he scored during the penalty shootout. Milan's next penalty was saved by Dudek, and the miracle in Istanbul was a reality.

We are very pleased that Patrik Berger has accepted our invitation, and thus will be part of the Liverpool Festival 2025. The 51-year-old is in the exclusive group of Liverpool players who have scored a hat trick at Anfield (against Chelsea in the 97/98 season)

Berger therefore started his career as a junior in Sparta Prague in 1989, but in 1991 he went to rivals Slavia Prague and signed a professional contract. In the 1995/96 season he went to Borussia Dortmund, who won the Bundesliga in the same season. After playing superbly for the Czech Republic in the 1996 European Football Championship, which ended with a silver medal, he was brought to Liverpool FC for £3.25 million, where he stayed for 7 years and made 196 appearances.

Patricscored 35 goals in red and became both UEFA cup champion, took home the FA cup and spiced it up with the Charity Shield before moving on to Portsmouth and later Aston Villa. Along the way, there were also 44 matches in the Czech national team uniform, where he was able to register 18 goals! In 2008, he returned to his childhood club Sparta, Prague, where a knee injury put him out of action, but then the circle was closed. Patrik is an LFC legend"!

Sammy Lee was part of what we must be able to call Liverpool's heyday. Together with legends such as Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush, Alan Hansen and Jan Mølby and (many) more, he showed where the level must be if you want to become a legend. During the eight years he wore red, he brought home league titles and other silverware on a scale that few can dream of. He has four league championships, several British Cup titles and two European Cup trophies with Liverpool on his CV. He won 14 international matches for England and has also made his mark on the scoring list there.

He has had an impressive career as a coach and manager. In 1993, he became part of the coaching apparatus around Liverpool FC, under Graeme Souness and later under both Evans and Houllier. In 2001, he became assistant manager under Sven-Göran Eriksson. Later (2008) he would return to Liverpool as assistant manager under the legendary Rafa Benitez. In addition, he also spent two years at Southampton as manager under Ronald Koeman

Together with Sam Allardyce, he managed Bolton Wanderers from 2005, the club where Lee ended his career in 1991. Together, these two would manage both the England national team, Crystal Palace, West Bromwich and Everton (!)