Opinion | How a Tel Aviv training camp turned into a drunken brawl and almost cost Liverpool the 1984 European Cup
- Jurgen Klopp has his players in a thoroughly professional Spanish training camp ahead of Champions League final in Madrid
- Liverpool’s preparations weren’t always as smooth
Liverpool’s preparation for big games has not always been so serene. There is no possibility that Virgil van Dijk, Mo Salah and Co will get up to the sort of antics their predecessors in red shirts were involved in 35 years ago just a week before the continent’s showpiece game.
Back in 1984 Joe Fagan was in charge of the team. They had won the League Cup as well as the league title and were about to finish the season by playing Roma in the European Cup final. In Rome. At the Stadio Olimpico, the Italian side’s home ground.
Even with Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness in the team, few people thought Liverpool could win in the Eternal City. After a chaotic warm-weather training trip to Tel Aviv, the ranks of doubters grew.
“We hit the bottle as soon as we got to Israel,” said Craig Johnston. “I’d like to say we were model professionals. It was about as professional a trip as there could ever be with a bunch of testosterone-filled men with big thirsts and the freedom to have fun.”
