Eleven years haven’t made the events of May 2005 any easier for Kaka.
The ex-AC Milan midfielder was part of a team who saw their 3-0 half-time lead whittled away to nothing in the space of a chaotic six minutes, with Liverpool holding on to win on penalties in an epic Champions League final.
Liverpool fans were stunned as their team performed one of the most famous comebacks of all time, while Milan could only lay dazed on the Istanbul turf as they left the trophy slip through their grasp.
Speaking on Brazilian radio the playmaker admits that even after all this time, he is still puzzled, and distressed at how his side lost a seemingly unassailable position.
“Honestly, years later I still can’t understand how we managed to lose that game. We had the best defenders in the world in that team.
“Our back four was Cafu, Jaap Stam, Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini but we still let in three goals in six minutes. Something amazing happened that can’t be explained.
“All you can really say is that in football these things can happen. Especially in the Champions League, we have seen truly incredible things happen.”
At least two years later he did manage to get his hands on the Champions league trophy, as Ac Milan beat Liverpool in a tight final played in Athens.
However you feel Kaka, and several of his other players, will never get over the fact that Vladimir Smicer scored in a European Cup final.
