Mohammed Salah of Liverpool smiles as he warms up prior to the big match. Photo / Photosport
Ahead of Liverpool's clash with Athletico Madrid on Thursday (NZT), Michael Burgess samples the atmosphere on a famous European night at Anfield
My long awaited trip to Anfield didn't start that well.
Returning to the iconic ground, more than two decades after I'd first attended a European match there, the 2:33pm train from Manchester Piccadilly road to Liverpool Lime Street was cancelled, due to a "shortage of train staff".
It meant the next one was packed, though it also demonstrated Liverpool's global fan appeal, as supporters from China, Korea, India, Norway and Sweden waited on the platform.
Beside me was a young German, wearing a F.C St Pauli shirt.
He explained that the Hamburg club enjoys fanatical support, with crowds of 25,000 despite being in the second division.
His trip to Anfield was a "birthday thing", and he had forked out more than £250 (NZ$515) for match tickets.
"I want to sing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' and I want to see a goal," he said. "That will make my trip."
There were plenty more travelling fans at my hotel, a modest two star place on London Road, five minutes from the station.
A Japanese guy was wondering about the lack of hot water, but a Londoner was rapt ("Thirty five quid for a room on match day…that's well good innit?").
Downstairs a denim-clad Polish chap was getting anxious, as there was no sign of any staff to check him in and kickoff was only hours away.
Earlier the hotel manager had been very friendly, passing on a voucher for a drink at a pub (The Flat Iron) near the ground.
"I'll stand you for a pint," she said. "All the players go there sometimes", adding that they had spent the previous Sunday afternoon there having a quiet drink and meeting some fans.
"No one bothers them too much," she said, "But we have security on the door anyway."
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Though it's not far from the centre, Anfield isn't that easy to get to, especially for midweek evening games, as commuters are heading home and the roads are clogged.
Plenty of taxis went by, before I grabbed an Uber. The driver was Nigerian, and had just moved up from London, with plans to start a catering company in the North West.
I arrived almost an hour and a half before kickoff, and the surrounding streets were buzzing.
Queues spilled out of various takeaway joints - Sing Fong Chinese was particularly popular - while another named the Everpool diner was hedging it's bets.
Songs reverberated from pubs like 'The Albert', 'The Sandon', and 'The Park'.
The official Liverpool FC store was packed, but more interesting souvenirs were found outside, at the roadside stalls. There were scarves depicting every player, and a vast array of t-shirts that paid tribute to past and present heroes.
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I'd first visited Anfield in November 1996, during my O.E. It was a League Cup fourth round tie, and goals from Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler (two) and Patrik Berger saw Liverpool prevail 4-2 over an Arsenal side that included Ian Wright, David Platt and Tony Adams.
It was amazing to see heroes in the flesh, but the most memorable aspect was the crowd.
The songs, the chants, the passion but also the football knowledge, as they keenly applauded a clever pass, a skilful manoeuvre or a vital tackle.
If that was special, attending a European night was something else, as the whole city seems to come alive. It was a UEFA Cup Winners Cup quarter final against Norway's Brann Bergen in March 1997 and it was sold out.
I'd got a ticket through the post, paid for by cheque, though my work colleagues in Brighton thought I was mad to take two days off to go.
Little did they know. The noise was at fever pitch for most of the night, and reached a crescendo with Stan Collymore's goal in the second half sealing a 3-0 win.
I'd enjoyed some great occasions in New Zealand (the 'Had-lee, Had-lee' chant on the Eden Park terraces, the Kiwis at Carlaw Park in the 1980s, the Warriors' inaugural match) but nothing like this.
But would it still be the same feeling, more than two decades later?
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Now, like then, there was no fancy pre-match gimmicks or promotions, as the focus remained squarely on the sport.
The Waterboys' 1985 hit 'The Whole of the Moon' was piped through the speakers as the players came out to warm up, with Egyptian striker Mo Salah the last to emerge.
£75 million defender Virgil Van Dyk tried to hit the cross bar with several chipped shots, while substitutes Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain exchanged long-range passes.
Ahead of his 100th European game, coach Jurgen Klopp stood in his sneakers near halfway, deep in thought.
Former players, now television pundits, Jamie Carragher and McManaman were pitch side, presenting their analysis for a global television audience.
Meanwhile the ground announcer plugged tickets for the LFC Lotto draw, with 50 per cent of the proceeds going to charity, and also warned those sitting in the Kop to watch out for stray balls during the warm up.
That stand, which dates back to 1906, is probably the most famous in world football, producing a special power and energy, especially on European nights and there was a chance to admire the sea of banners, as the players disappeared back down the tunnel.
'Shankly made us famous, Paisley made us sing, Rafa gave us Istanbul and Kenny is our King' ; `In my life, I've loved them all (with pictures of various Liverpool managers); 'Anything is possible for those who believe' and 'We're not English, we're Scousers'.
Pride of place though goes to the giant Liverpool flag, lovingly unfurled before every game. The original measured nine by nine metres, but it has since been enlarged and is now a mammoth 40 by 25 metres.
It seems to dance across the stand, as the first strains of "You'll Never Walk Alone" anticipate the players' arrival.
Written for the musical Carousel, it was adopted by Liverpool fans after Gerry and the Pacemakers released it in 1963. One of the most iconic football anthems, it sends chills up the spine when more than 50,000 people are united in song.
"When you walk through a storm, Hold your head up high, And don't be afraid of the dark, At the end of the storm, There's a golden sky, And the sweet silver song of a lark. Walk on through the wind, Walk on through the rain, Though your dreams be tossed and blown, Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart, And you'll never walk alone, You'll never walk alone."
Once the game gets underway, it's a fractured start.
Liverpool can't get any rhythm against Napoli's well constructed game plan.
Italian teams live for nights like these, as they constrict the space, harry incessantly and dive for free kicks.
They take a surprise lead through Elise Mertens, though the game is stopped for three minutes with a double VAR check.
The travelling Napoli fans, tucked away in the bottom corner of the Anfield Road stand are in raptures.
There had earlier been fears of violence, with some Napoli ultras spotted wandering through the city centre brandishing golf clubs, and others had been held, penned in, outside the train station upon arrival, surrounded by police.
That pent-up frustration was unleashed after the goal, as they taunted the Liverpool fans on either side of them.
But the most noticeable aspect was the response of the home support, particularly the Kop; rather than being deflated by the deficit, they immediately launched into a fearsome "LIV-ER-POOL, LIV-ER-POOL, LIV-ER-POOL" chant.
Klopp patrolled the touchline, urging more pace and energy from his team, while the crowd grew increasingly frustrated with the officiating, as the visitors fell from the lightest touch.
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Halftime entertainment is sparse, but it's not really needed.
A few songs are piped through the speakers, while fans catch their breath after riding their emotions for 45 minutes.
Within the impressive 100-page match programme (£5), there's a 'Born and Red' dedication page, with photos of fans aged from a few weeks to 80 years old, while a Christmas ad has a smiling Klopp pronouncing 'Tis the season to believe.'
The intensity ratchets up in the second half.
On the hour Salah has a great chance, hitting it straight at the keeper, which brings the crowd into full voice.
Liverpool start to find their groove, and the breakthrough, when it comes, is a Dejan Lovren header that powers into the net with 25 minutes to play.
The anthems begin to reverberate around the ground again, from the 'Fields of Anfield Road' to 'When the Reds go marching in'.
Attacking to the end, Liverpool push but can't find a winner.
The players circulate to applaud the fans, with James Milner and captain Jordan Henderson the last to leave.
The fans around me are disappointed, but in the midst of a magnificent season, not too disconsolate.
"Well done lads, next time, next time," said one. "We'll do it next time."
Indeed. I just hope the wait is not as long.
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