There are many ways a player can cement their legacy at a football club.
The pantheon of Liverpool greatness is filled with contributions of all different shapes and sizes from those who provided vital goals, crucial assists or clearances as well as more abstract contributions towards the Reds’ constant quests for trophies and glory.
For most however these moments occur at various points during the course of their Anfield career and by the time it comes to say goodbye, perception in the eyes of the club’s supporters is by and large set. There is nearly always an exception to every rule however and there can have been few Liverpool players who left it as late to have a moment of ultimate redemption than Vladimir Smicer.
His six years a red shirt were far from being an abject failure - his contributions during the rollercoaster 2000/01 season which saw the Reds achieve an unprecedented Treble of cup triumphs saw to that - but the Czech midfielder is the first to admit his Liverpool career did not live up to his own expectations let alone anyone else’s due to the litany of injuries which prevented him from displaying his best form on a regular basis. His final weeks on the club’s books had looked set to leave him with a bitter taste in the mouth after being prevented by boss Rafa Benitez from saying even a brief farewell to the Anfield crowd but a twist of fate on one of the club’s most celebrated nights ensured his name will be forever associated with arguably the most miraculous triumph of the Reds’ decorated history which lifted those involved into immortality.
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It was perhaps written in the stars that Smicer would go on to write himself into LFC folklore given the significant role Anfield played in transforming the early part of his career. For it was on that famous patch of turf in L4 that the Czech scored the first goal of his international career, which helped propel the player himself on the journey which would eventually lead him back to Anfield. The European Championships held in England in 1996 was the first time Liverpool’s home ground had hosted matches during a major international competition, being designated to be the venue for one of the quarter-finals as well as sharing with Old Trafford hosting duties for Group C which featured Germany, Italy, Russia and the Czech Republic.
It was a historic moment also for the Czech Republic, a relatively new country which had only come into being three and a half years earlier following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in the wake of the 1989 Velvet Revolution and the fall of communism which saw on 1 January 1993 the creation of two new independent states - the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Czechoslovakia had a proud footballing heritage having been World Cup finalists in 1962 where they lost to Pele’s Brazil in Chile as well reaching the quarter-finals as recently as 1990 where they were beaten by West Germany, and the new Czech Republic team continued that tradition by shocking some of their more fancied opponents and going all the way to the final at Wembley.
Their Euro 96 campaign had not got off to the most auspicious of starts when they were beaten 2-0 in their opening game by Germany in Manchester but a 2-1 win over one of the tournament favourites Italy in their second game at Anfield soon made people sit up and take notice and meant a point in their final group fixture, again at Anfield, could be enough to see them qualify from what many pre-tournament observers had labelled the ‘Group of Death’. Having not featured at all against the Germans, Smicer was brought on a second-half substitute for future Liverpool team-mate Patrik Berger in the victory over the Italians and found himself thrust into the action again from the bench twenty minutes from the end against the Russians with the game and his team’s qualification hopes in the balance with the game locked at 2-2.
Vladimir Beschastnykh’s 85th minute goal looked set to take the Russians into the quarter-final but Smicer - not for the last time - produced a dramatic stoppage time strike at the Anfield Road end, latching on to captain Lubos Kubik’s ball forward and carefully placing his shot from the edge of the penalty area into the far corner of the net to send the Czechs into the last eight which meant Italy - who were only able to manage a goalless draw with Germany in the final game - were facing an early plane home and the traditional welcome of rotten tomatoes from their unimpressed followers.
It was a huge moment for the 23-year-old who was at the time still plying his trade back home with Slavia Prague, who he had helped reach the 1996 UEFA Cup semi-final after rising to prominence after following his move as a youth player from hometown club Kovostroj Decin and, looking back years later, he told the ECHO it felt like it may have been a sign as to how his future would play out.
“For us it was a massive tournament because it was the first time we were representing the Czech Republic so it was fantastic”, he said. “There was a lot of expectation even though we were clear outsiders with Germany, Italy and Russia in our group which was very difficult but when we qualified there was a fantastic reaction and atmosphere back home. My memories are only the top, especially because I scored my first goal against Russia which put us into the quarter-final and it was at Anfield which is always good. When I am travelling around the world with Liverpool these days to see the fans, I always ask them if they know where I scored my first goal for the Czech national team and they don’t know, they are always say Prague or different cities back home and they are always surprised when I tell them it was at Anfield, it’s almost as if it was a sign for what would happen in my future!”
His last-gasp Anfield heroics won Smicer a spot in the starting line-up for the quarter-final victory over Portugal at Villa Park and semi-final penalty shoot-out triumph over France at Old Trafford and, while he was restricted to a substitute appearance in the Wembley final where Oliver Bierhoff’s brace and extra time golden goal winner after Patrik Berger’s opener from the penalty spot meant the Czechs had to settle for runners-up medals, his exploits during the tournament ensured he was now firmly on the radar of clubs around Europe. Smicer’s international room-mate Berger was soon snapped up by Roy Evans who paid £3.25m to bring the 23-year-old to Anfield from Borussia Dortmund while Karol Poborsky whose scooped winner in the quarter-final was voted one of the goals of the tournament won him a £3.5m transfer to Manchester United.
Smicer’s more modest contributions saw him end up at French club Lens where he enjoyed more success, inspiring the club to their first-ever league title in 1997/98 and qualification for the Champions League. By the end of the following campaign, his ability to create and score goals from an attacking midfield position had alerted the attention of Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier - now in sole charge after his ill-fated joint manager partnership with Roy Evans - and the Frenchman wasted no time in picking the brains of the Czech star he already he had on his books over what his compatriot might bring to Anfield as he looked to replace homegrown winger Steve McManaman who was leaving for Real Madrid on a Bosman free transfer in the summer of 1999.
"Signing for Liverpool was a dream and I am not just saying that, they were my idols”, Smicer recalled. “When Patrik signed for Liverpool, he had only been one year in Dortmund but I knew about it because we were rooming together. He told me Liverpool were interested in him and asked me what I thought so I told him go straight away because it’s Liverpool! When he signed, I followed his progress of course and he had a great start, playing well and scoring goals right from the beginning. Then a few years later once he called me and said, ‘Hey Liverpool is interested, Gerard Houllier has been talking with me about you about your character and all these things’. I couldn’t really believe it at first but when the club contacted me after two good seasons at Lens, I didn't hesitate, despite offers from Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco. It was magic.”
The Czech was one of half a dozen new signings that summer with Houllier being backed by the Anfield board following the signing of a £22m deal with Granada which gave the media group a 9.9 per cent shareholding in Liverpool as he looked to modernise the set-up at Anfield and Melwood at the close of a decade which had begun with the club’s record 18th league championship win but had been followed since only by one FA Cup and one League Cup as Manchester United took over as country’s dominant force, Smicer arrived alongside central defenders Sami Hyypia and Stephane Henchoz, midfielder Dietmar Hamann, forwards Titi Camara and Erik Meijer and goalkeeper Sander Westerveld to usher in a new era at Anfield.
Yet having waited three years to return to the scene of his memorable first international goal, Smicer would suffer an injury-hit start to his Reds career which would unfortunately set the tone for much of what was to follow for him despite his desire to make the most of his opportunity to play for the club he loved.
“I couldn’t wait to meet my new team mates because it was Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, big world stars, so I was really looking forward to it but I remember on holiday I twisted badly my ankle and I had a bad injury which is of course what you don’t want when you sign for a new club, you’re wanting to make a good start. We had a pre-season tournament in Belfast and I came on against Feyenoord and scored a goal but twisted the ankle again, my first six months really I had to play with my ankle not being right. Of course it was my problem, it was not the fans, they expect you as a new signing to show what you can do for the team but I couldn’t do it, I was not performing as I wanted and didn’t play to my level. I knew the Premier League was different and a higher level to what I was used to in France, and that every other team always wants to play their best against Liverpool because it’s like a cup final to them. That’s the way it is so I just had to cope with these things at the start especially with the ankle and I was struggling. I wasn’t happy with my performances and I talked to the boss Houllier and he said ‘Vladi, you are not the first player to be struggling with the pace and the physical side of the game in England, some players from the game are okay but some players need some time’. The first year was difficult because they presented me as the successor to Steve McManaman, the fans' favourite. The comparison was inevitable, and not in my favour. But Houllier gave me time was so important. Although the pressure in England is incomparable, Lens like Liverpool lives for football. The people are passionate, and would give their last penny to watch a game. For a player that's the dream.”
Only one goal in a maiden Anfield season which saw him only able to make 25 appearances (just 17 from the start) told its own story for Smicer but the core of the new arrivals who arrived with him did settle quickly and effectively, with the centre-back partnership of Hyypia and Henchoz along with goalkeeper Westerveld and midfield lynchpin Hamann forming a resolute spine which would form the basis of the side Houllier would soon lead to unforgettable cup glories. Their first campaign together, after inevitably taking time to gel together in the early months, had breathed new hope into a club in desperate of need of it after years of decline coupled with Manchester United’s painful rise to supremacy and looked set to result in the pre-season objective of qualification for the Champions League for the first time since it’s rebranding being achieved only for a shocking run of no wins and no goals in the final five matches of the Premier League season leading Houllier’s men to be pipped at the post by Leeds United.
It may ultimately though have proved to be a blessing in disguise as having to settle for the UEFA Cup proved a useful developing ground for Houllier's developing side to build up their European experience and formed a key component in one of the longest and most memorable seasons ever seen at Anfield. Having finally fully shaken off the ankle problem which had hampered his first year in Merseyside, Smicer came close to making twice as many appearances as the previous campaign featuring in 49 of the Reds’ 63 matches in all competitions (31 of them from the start) as Houllier’s men played every possible game available to them, winning both domestic cup competitions as well as the UEFA Cup while also securing third place in the Premier League which finally guaranteed a return to Europe’s top table.
The first of Smicer’s seven goals throughout the campaign did not come until early November when he produced an smart turn and finish in a topsy-turvy 4-3 defeat at Champions League rivals Leeds which typified the Reds’ inconsistent Premier League form but the Czech’s increasing influence on the side was beginning to become evident, with an important cameo from the bench at Old Trafford in mid-December inducing the late red card from Luke Chadwick which helped seal Liverpool’s first win away to Manchester United in a decade and the following month scoring the first two goals as the Reds fought back from two goals down to eventually comfortably defeat Crystal Palace in the League Cup semi-final and close in on the club’s first trophy of any sort in six years which he felt was pivotal to everything which followed.
“We were very motivated to show the people what we could do because Gerard Houllier, having got the first year behind us said at the start of the season ‘Lads, we need to win something’. So we were focused in every competition, we wanted to go through in every competition but the key moment I think was when we won the League Cup. We were not really performing well in the league and falling behind a bit so the cup competitions had become even more important for us and when we won the first one against Birmingham in Cardiff, it helped give us confidence we could finish strong in the league and get third place and the Champions League, plus we still had two more cups to go for, the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup. So it was hard because even though we won all these games in these competitions and lifted the trophies we couldn’t really celebrate because there was always another important game in a few days time! It was a little bit strange to be honest because they were big important trophies for us but at the end of the day we said okay, we will celebrate when the season is finished and after the last game at Charlton we did! It was exciting to know that every game mattered and was important in playing a big role in what we were trying to achieve overall. We couldn’t lose because if you did you’re out of the competition but that’s what players like you know, it’s better to play these games than mid table team playing for nothing and that’s why I think the lads this season should be really excited for the end of the season because they still have the chance to win all the trophies which is unbelievable really.”
Having started both the League Cup triumph over Birmingham and the FA Cup final against Arsenal in Cardiff won by Michael Owen’s dramatic late brace, Smicer found himself on the bench when Liverpool faced off against CD Alaves in Dortmund with the UEFA Cup up for grabs but made a telling contribution after being thrown into the fray when the Spanish minnows fought back from 3-1 down, winning the free kick from which Gary McAllister’s delivery forced Delfi Geli to head the 117th minute golden goal winner which brought the Reds’ an astonishing 5-4 victory and the club's first European trophy in 16 years.
“The UEFA Cup final was only four days after the win against Arsenal and I felt a little bit something in my leg”, he recalled. “I was not really really ready to play but it didn't matter, we had a big squad and so I talked to Houllier and he said ‘Hey Vladi you will be sub but you will definitely come on later’ which was no problem with me. The funny thing was in the build-up to the finals he had been asking the players if they had a choice which of the two finals they would prefer to start. The English players all said they would prefer the FA Cup and the European players went for the UEFA Cup but Houllier made the opposite!”
Liverpool’s stunning achievement which saw them crowned UEFA’s Team of the Year for 2001 raised hopes of a serious league title tilt with the club’s wait for a 19th championship now stretching into a second decade but the club was rocked barely two months into the new campaign when manager Gérard Houllier was taken ill during a league match at Anfield against Leeds United with a life-threatening heart problem which required months of recovery and recuperation. Assistant manager Phil Thompson took temporary charge and, relying on senior players like Smicer to help him through, steered Liverpool to a position which meant when the Frenchman was ready to return the Reds were still in contention for both the Premier League and Champions League, the Czech scoring memorable volleys against Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea to leave Houllier’s men as he fatefully put it ‘ten games from greatness’.
Ironically it was Smicer who featured in the moment many associate with that dream not being fulfilled, with Houllier going against the grain of his usual cautious approach in Europe by bringing on his Czech attacking midfielder in place of defensive fulcrum Didi Hamann at a crucial juncture with the Reds leading on aggregate in a Champions League quarter-final second leg away to Bayer Leverkusen that would ultimately slip away from them. Liverpool would achieve their highest Premier League finish to date - second - along with a record modern-era points tally of 80 with Smicer scoring his fifth goal of the campaign in the final day 5-0 rout of relegated Ipswich Town at Anfield but, despite a strong start to the following campaign which saw Houllier’s men top of the league at the start of November, the Frenchman’s reign would never recover the momentum it had been enjoying before he took ill.
“After Gerard had his heart operation, things seemed different”, Smicer said. “I don’t want to say less confident, but he was different and the pressure was still there. Having won everything else, the pressure on the team to win the league was massive. We weren’t lacking too much that year we came second to a fantastic Arsenal side with Thierry Henry, Freddie Ljungberg, Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira and a superb back four. We had 80 points and in other seasons that’s enough to win the title. We had a great team with Michael Owen and Emile Heskey up front. We weren’t far away in the Champions League that season either. We got eliminated by Leverkusen in the quarter-finals and we should have done much better. If we had got through we would have faced Manchester United and we had beaten them twice already that season. We could have reached the final that year.”
2003 proved a year of frustration for Smicer and Liverpool as, despite another League Cup triumph this time over Manchester United in Cardiff, the Reds’ title hopes faded so badly in the second half of the campaign they missed out on Champions League qualification with the Czech suffering a serious Achilles injury which blighted what remained of his career at Anfield. Houllier left the club in May 2004 after a fourth place finish had at least secured re-entry in Europe’s premier cup competition and Smicer would play the final year of his LFC contract under the tutelage of Rafa Benitez, who had arrived from Spain having led Valencia to briefly break the La Liga dominance of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
“I liked the way Rafa coached the team” Smicer admitted. “His training sessions were longer and more tactical. Rafa could be a bit strange with his decisions. We’d win 3-0 at home and then for the next game he’d change two players. He always did that. He liked to change the team a lot but I liked the way he led the training sessions. We went to America for pre-season in 2004 and for a while I’d felt a problem with my knee. I went to see a specialist and he told me I needed an operation and would be out for six months. I was in the last year of my contract with a new manager who has just come in who didn’t know me too well. I got back playing in the February and a few weeks later Rafa told me I wouldn’t get a new contract. I was nearly 32 and I’d had three knee ops. He said: ‘Vladi, I prefer to sign someone who is 22 who I can work with for four or five years.’ That was fair enough. I asked if I was training well whether he’d still give me the chance to play and he said: ‘Vladi, if you’re fit and I believe you’d help the team, you’ll play.’”
The Czech had made only two starts under Benitez as the Spaniard’s remarkable debut campaign drew to a close with Liverpool having defied all expectations to reach the Champions League final against AC Milan in Istanbul and Smicer was hoping to be able to pay a final farewell to the Anfield crowd in the final Premier League match at home to Aston Villa. The fixture had nothing riding on it with the Reds, having been unable to overhaul Merseyside neighbours for fourth spot, knowing they would have to win the European Cup to play in it the following season but to the Czech’s consternation he was left out of the match day squad.
“I wanted to play against Villa so badly”, he admitted. “Rafa said that Steven Gerrard and Luis Garcia would be rested. I thought: 'Great, there will be a place for me.' The game was for nothing. We couldn't move up or down. When he put up the list I wasn't in the 16-man squad. I couldn't believe it. I thought: 'Oh my God, it's over.' I was angry that I couldn't play at least the last 10 minutes at Anfield to say goodbye to the fans. I was so unhappy but I didn't say anything that day. I later went to see Rafa and told him how disappointed I was and how I didn't deserve for things to finish like this for me at Anfield. I said to myself: 'The 16 from the Villa game, plus Stevie and Luis – that's the 18-man squad for Istanbul.' I thought it was over. Then on the Friday before the final Rafa put the list up for Istanbul and I was on it! I was very happy. I still believed I'd probably spend the whole game sat on the bench. I just hoped we'd win.”
Liverpool supporters were gradually getting used to Benitez’s penchant for making curious decisions and more followed on that heady night in the Turkish capital that helped Smicer have the most unexpected but welcome finale to his Liverpool career. The Spaniard’s shock call to leave Didi Hamann - whose defensive midfield abilities had been fundamental to the against-the-odds quarter-final and semi-final victories over Juventus and Chelsea respectively - in favour of Harry Kewell backfired when the Australian, who had missed much of the campaign himself through injury, broke down in the first twenty minutes. With AC Milan already a goal in front, most of those watching expected Benitez to rectify his mistake and get Hamann on to deal with Brazilian attacker Kaka who was running amok, but instead it was Smicer he turned to, much to the Czech’s surprise.
“I was warming up with Djibril Cisse and Didi Hamann and I was very surprised that Rafa picked me to go on. The same man 10 days before didn't even name me in the squad in a nothing game! Now in one of the most important games in the club's history he chooses me as first sub. The day before the final it was my birthday. I turned 32. In the final training session I'd been the joker. I felt good and was determined to enjoy it. When I went on I felt free in my head. I really wanted to play so badly.”
Half an hour later he may have wished he was still sitting on the bench with two more Milan goals from Hernan Crespo having given the Italians a seemingly unassailable 3-0 half time lead but nine minutes later Steven Gerrard’s header from John Arne Riise’s left-wing cross reduced the deficit before two minutes later Smicer’s magic moment arrived.
“When the ball came to me I just knew I had to try to hit it, I knew nobody was on the right, up front it was not possible to pass it because everyone was marked in front of me and why would it pass it back? I saw there might be a chance to shoot and I shouted at Didi to pass me the ball. I knew I just needed a good touch and hit it and as soon as I did, I knew it had come off the sweet spot! My only worry was Milan (Baros) might get in the way of it but he did well to swerve out of the way even if he still jokes to me now my shot took a touch off him before going in the net! Maybe Dida saw it a bit late and wasn't expecting it to come so fast but I didn’t care, Stevie's goal gave us belief but when I scored we all knew it was game on. I was celebrating alone because everyone was running to the halfway line. Luis Garcia was putting the ball back in the middle and we were like: 'Let's go and get another.’ I scored a few goals from outside the box but none as important as that one against Milan.”
No further goals were forthcoming which meant the final would be decided via a penalty shoot-out and Smicer was nominated as the fourth of Liverpool’s five initial takers. Misses from Serginho and Andrea Pirlo had put the Reds 2-0 up early but Tomasson and Kaka converted meaning that after Dida saved John Arne Riise’s attempt from the Reds’ third kick, the Czech was now faced, ahead of the last of the five kicks each, with the responsibility of preserving his team's lead with his last kick of a football for the club .
“I felt lonely stepping up. It was even bigger pressure for me because I knew it would be my last kick for Liverpool. I thought if I screw this up, there won't be a next game for me at Liverpool, there won't even be a next kick. I thought if I miss and we lose, I won't be able to ever go back to Liverpool! People would have said that's the guy who missed a penalty in Istanbul. I was nervous but I chose my side and I was so glad that Dida went the other way!”
As history will forever record, Jerzy Dudek saved the next kick from Andrei Shevchenko to seal a 3-2 shoot-out triumph and spark manic celebrations on the pitch, in the stands, on Merseyside and all around the world as Liverpool’s miraculous victory secured the club’s fifth European Cup triumph and ensured the trophy would be kept at Anfield after one of the most astonishing sporting fightbacks ever seen.
“Back at the hotel, we had a big party. I ended up going outside to a music place with Milan (Baros) and Igor (Biscan). I didn't drink too much because I wanted to enjoy the moment. I celebrated with the largest cigar you have ever seen. I went with the fans to dance in the streets. It was incredible to be with the fans. I just wanted to share with them what I felt, it was the greatest night of our lives. I didn’t go to bed at all. There is no need for sleep after a night like this.”
It was the kind of perfect conclusion to his Anfield career that Smicer could only have imagined in his wildest dreams and he admitted the thought crossed his mind that perhaps his important contributions to Liverpool’s jaw-dropping triumph may have changed Rafa Benitez’s view of him but he was soon set straight.
“I hadn’t signed a contract with anyone else and after the parade around Liverpool in front of a million people or however many they were, we came back to Melwood and I was saying goodbye to all the players as the next day I was taking a plane to Prague and I went to see Rafa. I was thinking, ‘Who knows, maybe now I scored this goal in Istanbul to help us win the Champions League things might be different’ and I said to him ‘Rafa, I’m leaving..’ and he just said, ‘Vladi, thank you for the final and goodbye’!”
Smicer returned to France with Bordeaux but injuries again hampered his ability to consistently show his best form, sadly ruling him out of getting the Anfield farewell he was denied when he was unavailable for both clashes when the Reds were paired with Les Girondins in the 2006/07 Champions League although the enduring mutual affection was very evident when the Czech was mobbed as he went to join Liverpool supporters at a bar in France. He returned to Slavia Prague in the summer of 2007 and helped them to a first league title in twelve years before finally drawing the curtain on his playing career in May 2010. A spell as sports manager of the Czech national team followed and Smicer stood in the 2014 European elections as a candidate for minnow party Vice 2014 on a platform of fighting childhood obesity. A Liverpool club ambassador these days and regular participant in Legends matches, Smicer’s pride at having worn the Red shirt and contributed to one of the most memorable periods in the club's history is clear to see.
“The highest point was obviously winning five winners' medals in 2001. That was a great season for us. My biggest regret is my injuries. I had a difficult start and it seemed every time I was finding some form I was injured. I know not everyone liked me as a player, but I had a lot of supporters and good friends here and I just wish I hadn't suffered so many injuries because then I could have shown more consistency. I feel my best games came when I played in a more central position where I could get involved more. I was never a winger. I’m very proud that I played for really one of the biggest clubs in the world. And the six years…I know I could have done better, because very often I had injuries, which stopped me from showing my best in a consistent way…but in the end, as I said, I am proud. I won a lot of trophies. The only disappointment was that we didn’t win the league.”
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