Historic Games: Liverpool Alaves ‘01

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After dominating British and often European football throughout the 1970’s and 80’s, the end of the 20th century was comparably barren for Liverpool Football Club, with the Anfield trophy room’s only addition since the start of the Premier League era (which you can read more about in our collection of personalised football books) being the 1995 League Cup. Merseyside was crying out for the new millennium to begin with a bang, and Gérard Houllier’s team wasted no time in obliging. The UEFA Cup final victory against Deportivo Alavés in Dortmund provided the cherry on top for a unique domestic and European cup treble.

The match, played at the Westfalonstadion on May 16th 2001, is remembered as one of the most dramatic UEFA Cup finals of all time, but, given the nature of Liverpool’s previous cup final outings that season, effectively followed suit. Indeed, only four days prior, the Reds, having been on the back foot for the majority of the match, had dramatically come from behind against Arsenal in the F.A. Cup, winning the first Millennium Stadium final thanks to two Michael Owen goals in the last ten minutes. Earlier in the season, they had to rely on a penalty shootout to defeat second-tier Birmingham in the League Cup final.

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Alavés themselves could rightly claim to rival Liverpool for sheer unpredictability. Finishing tenth in the 2000/01 La Liga, the Spaniards, who had never won a major trophy in their history, had toppled a much-fancied Inter Milan earlier in the tournament before securing their place in the final with an emphatic 9-2 aggregate win over Kaiserslautern. But, if Alavés had the most dangerous attack in the competition, then Liverpool certainly had the most formidable defence, conceding only a single goal in the process of knocking out Roma, Porto and Barcelona.

In what would turn out to be the most goal-laden UEFA Cup final in history, it’s no surprise that the score sheet didn’t stay blank for long. Just three minutes in Markus Babbel, born and raised in Munich, headed Liverpool in front. Despite Iván Alonso pulling one back for Alavés with a header of his own, the Reds cruised into half-time with a 3-1 advantage, courtesy of goals from 20-year-old hometown hero Steven Gerrard and 36-year-old Gary McAllister, signed only months previously from Coventry City.

McAllister would ultimately enjoy the greatest night of a career already well into its twilight years. After Alavés levelled the scoreline at 3-3 just minutes after the restart with a quick brace from Javi Moreno (the second a memorable freekick drilled straight underneath the airborne Liverpool wall), the still-flying Scotsman picked up his second assist of the night for substitute Robbie Fowler’s mazy run and finish; Liverpool’s fourth, and they would remain in the driving seat until two minutes from time, when Jordi Cruyff, once of Manchester United, headed home a last-gasp equaliser for the Basque side.

Into extra-time, then, and the prospect of a first ever European final to be decided by the golden goal rule. As time rolled by, Liverpool’s objective would become increasingly favourable; be it a result of tired legs, the gravity of the occasion or perhaps the knife-edged tension of the “next goal wins” format, Alavés’s numbers began to diminish, as Magno and then captain Karmona received their marching orders for overzealous challenges.

The latter gave Liverpool a free-kick on the edge of the opposition box. With 116 minutes on the clock, McAllister called on his aging legs one last time, and whipped in a terrific ball, which was nodded into his own net by Alavés’s Delfí Geli. A fortuitous goal, but golden nonetheless.

Liverpool would go on to defeat Champions League winners Bayern Munich in the UEFA Super Cup final, making 2001 one of the most successful years in the club’s history. You can relive all four triumphs (as well as countless others) in our exquisite personalised Liverpool book.

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frequently asked questions

Newspaper Books

What are newspaper books?

Each of our Newspaper Books are created with copies of authentic newspapers from specific dates or categories. Each book allows you to choose from various cover colours and designs, and to make it truly special by personalising it with a name and dedication, printed right in the book.

With Newspaper Date books you choose a specific date, for example a birthdate, and we'll create a book containing the front page for the specified date for every subsequent year since. For example, a date of July 13th, 1978, would contain the front page for July 13th for each year forward.

Our History books offer a glimpse into the past, bringing together headlines and articles relating to some of history's most fascinating or iconic events. Choose from Military History, British Royal History, and World Events; each book revisits key events, all through the eyes of the reporters who were there.

If Sports History is more your interest, you can revisit key matches, events, tournaments and races from decades past. Select your favourite team from Football, Hockey, Rugby, and more, and relive every glorious moment through the magic of print.

And, Pop Culture fans won't be left out - get an all access pass and revisit events in Music, Film, & TV. Relive the history of Classic Rock, Star Wars, Taylor Swift, and more, all through newspaper headlines.

Note that each of our Newspaper Books contain true copies of real newspaper content. We don't edit, change, or censor what was originally included in each paper. This means that each book will reflect the true history as it was printed, good or bad.

Personalising Newspaper Books
How does personalisation work?

As you create your Newspaper book, you'll be prompted to personalise it in a few different ways.

First, you'll be able to choose from a selection of cover colours, as well as a cover design. Simply click the options available, and you'll see the image update to match your selection, helping you to choose your favourite.

In addition to the look of your cover, you're also able to add the recipient's name, which will be printed right on the front cover. You can see how this looks in the example images on our website, it appears right next to the words "Presented To"

And finally, a special dedication is printed right inside the book. You can opt to use or add to our pre-written sentiment, or write your very own from scratch.



Does it have to be personalised?

At this time, there isn't any way to create one of our newspaper books without a First Name. It's a request we've shared with our product team, but at the moment don't know when this option might be available.

Please note that anything that is entered into the recipient's name box will print exactly as it's entered. This means that writing 'no personalisation' for example, will result in your book printing with that showing on the cover.

If you prefer not to use a first name, we suggest using a phrase related to your chosen book. For example for writing "A big fan", or using nickname or relationship, such as "My Partner", or simply "You" or "Me"

Gifting
Can I send a gift directly to the recipient

Yes indeed! Both our Newspaper Books and Our Original Newspapers make incredible gifts for the special people in your life.

While placing your order you'll have the option to add a special gift box, which your item will be carefully placed inside prior to packaging and shipping.


For our Newspaper Books, you can also include a special dedication which will be printed directly in the book you've created - free of charge.


During checkout, you'll be able to enter in the recipient's shipping address, separately from your billing one. And, we never include any pricing or invoices within the parcels themselves, so the recipient won't see those details at all.


Note that at this time we're unable to include any gift notes or separate gift messages within the orders.

Placing an Order

Add content here...What happens when I place an order?

Once your order has been placed, the details are immediately sent to our workshops for processing.

If you've ordered an Original Newspaper, our team of Archivists in our warehouse located in Western Scotland will carefully pick, examine, prepare, and package your order.


If you've ordered a Newspaper Book, details for your customised book will be sent directly to our Printhouse located in the United Kingdom, where an automated printing process will print, trim, bind, and cure you book before it is carefully packaging it for shipping.

Note that as our orders are processed very soon after they're received, we are not able to make any changes or amendments, or cancel any orders.

Returns, Cancellation, and Edit Policies

Due to the automated nature of our order processing, we're unable to make changes or amendments to an order once it's been completed, nor are we able to cancel orders once after they've been placed.

For information about our Returns Policy, please visit this link >> HERE