TO VIEW THE PICTURES AND AUTOGRAPHS WITHOUT GOING THROUGH THE REPORT BELOW.

It was the 8th of May 2002. The day I was waiting for all my life, i.e watching Liverpool play at Anfield. I was there with Esme, for the match Liverpool v/s Blackburn. The score was 4 - 3 for Liverpool. But I'll get back to the match in a bit. First I am gonna write how it all started. So, be patient..

It all began a couple of weeks before the match, when Esme rang Anfield to enquire about the availability of tickets for the match. Unfortunately, all the tickets were sold out [not surprising, right..!]. So, we decided to try our luck by ringing Blackburn's Ticket Office, and BINGO...!!! We got 2 tickets. Yeah, we were gonna be sitting with the Blackburn supporters, but who cares ? Not us, apparently. All we wanted was to see Liverpool play at Anfield.

Initially, the match was supposed to be played on Sunday, 5th May 2002, but then it got postponed to Wednesday the 8th. We were pretty excited, to say the least. We left London at 1:00 P.M, and we were in Liverpool by 4:00 P.M. I just could not believe I was in Liverpool. I was in the Temple of Football. We first went to drop our stuff at the Youth Hostel we were gonna stay at, and then took the bus to Anfield. The drive was about 10 minutes long, and trust me guys, it seemed hours to me. I first did the thing I always wanted to do, take a photo of "Bill Shankly Statue". We were there 2 hours before the match was gonna start, so, we decided to check out the place. We first visited the official store of Liverpool F.C. I got a few items [Photos included on this page], and then we went to enquire about the best place we can be, when the players were gonna come out after the match, so that we could get their autographs. Once this was done, we went to the Players/Directors entrance. The plan was to wait and see the players coming to Anfield in their coach.

While waiting, we had the privilege to see a former great England player, Chris Waddle. I was on another planet. Here I was, standing just a few metres away from the great England Right-Winger Chris Waddle. I didnt know what to do at first, but then, common sense prevailed. Pushed by Esme, I went to him to get his autograph. I think my reaction was catastrophic, because Esme kept laughing at how I behaved. Apparently, I was poking Chris Waddle with my pen, not uttering a word, till he noticed me, and gave me his autograph.

Then, my eyes fell on the great liverpool player of the 60's, Ron Yeats. I had always heard about how tall and huge he was, but at last I could see him in front of me. No wonder he was considered as The Rock of our defence. The guy is massive. Unfortunately, he seemed quite in a hurry, and did not stop to sign autographs. Then came John Aldridge. One of Liverpool's greatest strikers. Some of the crowd wanted to stop him to get his autograph, but just like Ron Yeats, he seemed to be in a hurry as well. He just stopped to wave at the crowd and signalled to us that he was being expected somewhere, so he could not stop.

After a few minutes, we were told that the Blackburn Bus Coach was going to enter Anfield. It eventually did. Graeme Souness, a former Liverpool star player as well as former Manager, and now the Manager of Blackburn Rovers, got the applause he deserved. And of course, the crowd could not resist booing a few players like Andy Cole and Mark Hughes. Once the Blackburn players disappeared into the tunnel , and their coach guided back to the parking place, the path was clear to welcome the Liverpool Bus Coach.

Finally it arrived. The crowd went wild. I was just standing a few metres away from the bus, and I could see most of the Liverpool players. First to come out was, of course, Gerard Houllier, followed by Phil Thompson and Sammy Lee. They were then followed by the liverpool players. I could see all of them, well nearly most of them, because there was that woman cop on her horse who, in the last minute decided to give Esme and I a rough ride as she quietly positioned her horse just in front of the bus, partially covering the bus. But it was great to have a glance at the likes of Jerzy Dudek, Michael Owen, Emile Heskey, John Arne Riise, Danny Murphy [whom Esme calls a Thug because of his shaven head], etc... The players quickly vanished into the tunnel, without signing any autographs.

Esme and I, then decided to grab a "Fish n Chips", and move on to our seats [reminding you again, that our seats were amongst the Blackburn crowd]. The atmosphere there was incredible. People were buzzing around us, as the stadium quickly filled up. I briefly saw Marcus Babbel who was doing a round on the pitch. He was just there as a guest, still recovering from his illness. A few minutes later, the players from both sides came on the pitch, under the applause of the fans, to do their warm up before the match. And then, about half an hour later, they all went in again to get themselves ready for the match.

They came back on the field at about 7:50 P.M, and the match kicked off at exactly 8:00 P.M. I was sitting right behind Jerzy Dudek's Goal posts in the first half. Seconds before the kick off, I rang my cousin Vimal in South Africa to tell him about my excitement. I even let him listen to the roar of encouragements both teams were receiving. The Match was really great, and Esme and I were having a nice time. Esme was taking photos of the players [included below on this page]. Liverpool scored first but Blackburn were doing the catch up game every time The Kops were scoring. Gladly for me, they did not have enough time to equalise when Liverpool scored the 4th Goal. The match report is given below. Minutes before the end, Vimal rang me again, and I narrated the end of the game to him. I came to Anfield, and I saw MY TEAM win a great game. Oh, I must also tell you that everytime Liverpool scored, it was tough for me to celebrate, because I was sitting amongst the Blackburn supporters. I did not want to get beaten up, you see !!!! But for the last goal Liverpool scored, which came 5 minutes before the end, I just could not control myself. I went completely mad, screaming. That was it...We won. More things that I did after the match will follow after the match report you see here:-

The match ended, and it was freezing cold. But both Esme and I were ready to fight the chilly climate and wait for the players to come out so that we could get their autographs. We patiently waited, with some hundred other faithful supporters, and the first player to come out was Abel Xavier. And I got his autograph. John Arne Riise came out a few minutes later, but he went straight into his car. No luck. There was even that chinese girl who was screaming with disappointment, because she was just there to get Riise's autograph. She was nearly in tears. Then the person I was really waiting for arrived: Jerzy Dudek. First, I was paranoid that he would not be signing autographs, but to my great relief he came straight at us, and did his job. He's a great fellow. My favorite Liverpool player. One of the main reason I [with Esme] waited in the chilly weather was to get HIS autograph. I had it in the end. My visit to Anfield was hence a complete success. I was also able to get the autographs of Jamie Carragher, Gary McAllister, Vladimir Smicer and Nicolas Anelka. Shame I could not get the autographs of Steven Gerrard, Emile Heskey and Michael Owen, but probably that's for next time. I cant be too greedy, can I?

Click Here To Read The Report [above]

At Liverpool Station.

Bill Shankly Statue.

Liverpool Fans before The Match.

Jerzy Dudek -- Abel Xavier -- Gary McAllister.

Nicholas Anelka -- Jamie Carragher -- Vladimir Smicer.

Chris Waddle.

Taking my seat, and having my Fish n Chips:

[The British contribution to International Cuisine]

A View of the Kop Stand.

Warming up before the match.

The Liverpool Defense under Pressure.

Jerzy Dudek getting ready for a free kick against his side.

You can recognise Owen, Gerrard and Anelka.

Goal Kick for Jerzy.

Jerzy Dudek was actually looking at me.

My Liverpool Souvenirs :-

Ballu Balram -- Lighter -- Mousepad.

Ballu Balram is the name of my Liverpool Teddy Bear.

My Room Tag -- Water Bottle -- Liverpool Tickets.

Match Program-- Door Hanger -- Liverpool Scarf.