Following Liverpool FC's incredible success in the European Cup in the late 1970s, schoolboys' mums received surprise phone calls asking if their sons wanted a team photo with Bob Paisley.
During a golden period for Liverpool FC in Europe in the late 1970s, the team won their first ever European Cup (now UEFA Champion's League) in 1977, and followed it up with their second a year later. At the helm of the team was manager Bob Paisley, who took over from Bill Shankly in 1974 and managed to win Europe's biggest club competition three times (including 1981) during his managerial career with the Reds - a prize that had always eluded his remarkable predecessor.
The names of many legendary players were in the team for the European Cup victory in 1978. They included: Ray Clemence, Alan Hansen, Phil Thompson, Jimmy Case, Graeme Souness, Ray Kennedy and Kenny Dalglish.
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It was following the team's European success in 1978 that mums around the city began receiving surprise phone calls asking if their son would like their photo taken with Bob Paisley at Liverpool's Melwood training ground. One of those lucky schoolboys was Alen Thompson, now 56, who lives in Bootle with his wife Debbie.
Alen told the ECHO that a reporter from the Daily Mirror had seemingly picked his parents' name out of the phone book at random. Alen said: "[He] telephoned my mum and asked her if she had a son of a certain age, and if so, would he like to go to Mellwood Liverpool, Liverpool FC's training ground, and have his photo taken with Bob Paisley?
"My mother said yes, got all the details, and ended the call thinking it was someone joking. I went to school bragging I was going to have my photo taken with Bob Paisley, imagine!
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"One of my best mates at the time, John Kennedy, told me his mum received the same call. You've guessed by now, we all shared the same surname as the Liverpool team."
A photograph taken on the day shows Alen on the bottom row kneeling at Bob Paisley's right hand side. Directly behind Alen is his boyhood friend John (second tallest on the back row).
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Alen added: "The headline at the time read 'The Young Pretenders'. We were all sat or standing where all the Liverpool players stood on the team photo.
"I'm next to Bob where Phil Thompson would have been. My mate is behind me where Ray Kennedy would have been."
Alen and his childhood friend, John, have been best friends since their schooldays and still only live around the corner from each other. They recreated their positions in the original photo for the Liverpool Echo with Alen sitting and John standing.
As far as the other lads in the photo, Alen said he doesn't know where they went to school. But he does remember the day being "fantastic" and the boys being allowed to keep the kits after the photo was taken.
Alen also confessed his nerves are "shattered" in the run up to the upcoming Champion's League final against Real Madrid this Saturday. However, being a lifelong Red - along with the rest of his family, including the grandkids - he said he remains "hopeful" that Liverpool will lift the trophy once again.
