The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsJerzy Dudek
Jerzy Dudek wrote himself into Liverpool history with one performance. The Liverpool legend owes his status to three saves he made in the Champions League final in 2005. Although the end of his first season as Liverpool’s number one goalkeeper ended with a nomination for UEFA’s Goalkeeper of The Year award, Dudek’s Anfield career had more downs that ups. It was lucky then for Dudek that the highs were so elevated, a dropped penny would have disintegrated on re-entry.
After a miraculous three nil comeback, Dudek made an incredible double save from Andriy Shevchenko to deny AC Milan a last-minute extra-time winner. Already a hero of the moment, Dudek made himself a permanent idol by saving two penalties in the shootout. The debate over whether his famous ‘spaghetti leg’ tactics had anything to do with the first fluffed AC Milan penalty has gone on, but it was his own hands that pushed away Andre Pirlo’s and Shevchenko’s spot-kicks.
Few would have been able to predict such a performance by a player so underrated by his manager, that he replaced him just a few weeks after that game in 2005. He would go on to play only 12 more times in a red shirt.
