LONDON, 10 December 2004 — Former European champions Real Madrid and Liverpool scored vastly contrasting victories to reach the knockout round of the Champions League on Wednesday.
Real, European champions nine times, ended any doubts about their progression to the last 16 when they coasted to a 3-0 win over AS Roma in a deserted Olympic Stadium on the last of group matches to finish behind Bayer Leverkusen in Group B.
Liverpool, European champions four times, went behind to a Rivaldo free kick after 27 minutes but came back to beat Olympiakos Piraeus 3-1 in a sensational match at Anfield where a typically passionate home crowd ran the full gamut of emotions.
Despairing at the break, their spirits rose throughout the second half as goals from substitutes Florent Sinama Pongolle (47), Neil Mellor (80) and a thunderous 25-meter strike from skipper Steven Gerrard (86) turned a night that threatened to end in despair into one of joy, evoking memories of Liverpool’s glory days of the 1970s and 80s.
The mathematical possibilities involving qualification from Group A meant that the result in the match between Deportivo Coruna and AS Monaco was crucial to events at Anfield.
In the end Monaco’s easy 5-0 victory at Coruna meant the French side (12 points) went through with Liverpool (10 pts) who pipped Olympiakos (10 pts) due to a better head-to-head record against the Greek side, who drop into the UEFA Cup.
Deportivo, semifinalists last season, became the first team to go through six Champions League qualifying matches without scoring a single goal in any of them.
In Rome’s empty stadium — closed on UEFA orders following crowd trouble earlier in the competition — goals from Ronaldo after nine minutes, a 61st minute Luis Figo penalty when Ronaldo was tripped and Figo’s second after 82 minutes gave Real the win they needed to advance from Group B.
Real coach Mariano Garcia Remon said afterward: “It was behind closed doors and could have been tricky, but I think we handled it in the right way.”
“Roma were missing players like (Francesco) Totti, (Antonio) Cassano and (Vincenzo) Montella, but despite that I thought they played well.”
David Beckham was less prosaic about the environment. “It was horrible playing without a crowd,” he said.
Real went through with Leverkusen who beat Dynamo Kiev 3-0 to send the Ukrainians, group leaders at the start of play, crashing down to third place and into the UEFA Cup.
Juventus and Bayern Munich were already sure of their places in the last 16 after securing first and second positions in Group C and both failed to win.
Ajax Amsterdam drew 2-2 with Bayern, Maccabi Tel Aviv drew 1-1 with Juventus which meant Ajax claimed the UEFA Cup berth.
Olympique Lyon finished top of Group D after thrashing bottom-placed Sparta Prague 5-0 while Fenerbahce beat a Manchester United shadow team 3-0 to inflict a first defeat on Alex Ferguson’s side who finished second.
Fenerbahce will be in the UEFA Cup after finishing third and ended their campaign in some style with Tuncay Sanli scoring a hat trick.
Manchester United and Liverpool join English rivals Chelsea and Arsenal in the last 16, the first time four clubs from the Premier League have advanced to the knockout stage.
Italy and Germany have three teams in the next phase with AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus advancing as Serie A’s representatives while Bayern, Werder Bremen and Leverkusen will fly the Bundesliga flag.
Olympique Lyon and Monaco from Ligue 1 in France, Real and Barcelona from the Primera Liga in Spain, PSV Eindhoven from the Netherlands and European champions Porto will also be in the draw for the last 16 to be made in Nyon, Switzerland on Dec. 17.
The competition resumes with the first legs of the first knockout round on Feb. 22 and 23 with the return legs on March 8 and 9.
Hamm Retires as Greatest Women’s Player
In New York, Mia Hamm, who is to women’s soccer what Pele was to the men’s game, retired from competition on Wednesday, having inspired a generation of young girls while leading the United States to Olympic and World Cup titles.
A friendly against Mexico in Carson City, California, provided the final stage for Hamm as she bowed out in front of a cheering crowd.
She retired as the most prolific scorer - male or female - in the history international soccer.
The 5-0 US victory marked the end of a golden era in American soccer with captain Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett also hanging up their cleats. The trio played together in three Olympics and three World Cups. Capped 276 times, Hamm began her international career as a 15-year-old and finishes it 17 years later still the world’s best known women’s soccer player and one of America’s most recognizable and marketable athletes.
A combination of skill and beauty, Hamm was twice selected FIFA women’s World Player of the Year and once named to People magazine’s list of 50 Most Beautiful people.
However, Hamm was much more than the pretty face of women’s soccer.
