Former Leeds United left-back Ian Harte has looked back on the part he played in one of the ‘best nights’ in the club’s history.
Harte turned out more than 250 times for Leeds during the 1990s and 2000s and was a key part of the David O’Leary side that marauded their way to the semi-finals of the Champions League in the 2000/01 season.
After progressing through two group stages that included the likes of Barcelona, AC Milan, Lazio and Real Madrid, the Whites found themselves up against Deportivo La Coruna in the quarter-finals, with Harte recalling the dominant Elland Road first-leg.
Harte opened the scoring with a trademark free-kick in the first half, with Alan Smith and Rio Ferdinand sealing a 3-0 win that the Republic of Ireland international still looks back at fondly, almost 23 years on.
“What naturally stands out from that game is the free-kick I scored,” Harte told FourFourTwo. “I hit the ball as hard as I could and it flew in off the crossbar. Not only that, we won 3-0 and it was probably one of the best nights in Leeds United's history.
“Whenever I took free-kicks, I imagined lines on a motorway and tried to strike the ball within those. I always used to visualise where I wanted to place my free-kicks, which I’d combine with my technique. Though we went on to lose the second leg in Spain 2-0, thankfully that didn’t matter because we’d done enough to progress to the semi-finals against Valencia.
“Leeds supporters still love reminiscing about that season to this day, and I get goosebumps when I think about beating Deportivo. It was an amazing achievement to go so far.”
Leeds would face high-flying Valencia in the semi-final, restricting the 2000 Champions League runners-up to a goalless draw in the first leg at Elland Road before suffering a 3-0 defeat at the Mestalla in the second leg.
The Champions League run would prove to be the high point for O’Leary’s side, as their overspending soon caught up with them leading to financial struggles and relegation from the Premier League in 2004.
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