Sunday 27 August 2017 16:43, UK
Sky Sports' Patrick Davison catches up with Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of Liverpool's Super Sunday clash against Arsenal...
We all know it ended in their fifth European Cup and the most miraculous night in the club's illustrious history.
But Liverpool's incredible run to Istanbul achieved something else. It made a six-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold fall in love with the club.
The stunning Olympiakos comeback and the thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen were already in the history books when young Trent caught wind of the news that his first trip to Anfield would be for a Champions League quarter-final against a mighty Juventus side that contained Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pavel Nedved, Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluigi Buffon.
"I think I only found out a few days before - my mum tried to keep it a bit of a secret, but I found out," he says.
"On the day of the game I had to act surprised, as one of my brothers had already told me that I was going.
"But it will always be a special night for me. It was when I came here for the first time and when I knew I would be a Liverpool supporter for the rest of my life."
The first time Liverpool made him cry, but ultimately ended as a night of even greater joy, was just round the corner.
"I watched it at home with the family," he says of the night Milan were toppled and a 3-0 deficit overturned. "We had scarves, flags, everything, all hanging out the windows - that's what it was like around Liverpool that night.
"I think everything in the city went silent for a few hours, there were no cars on the road, all the action was in houses and pubs.
"I think it was the day after when the open-top bus came home and the city was out again to see them bring home the cup for the fifth time. It was an incredible couple of days, I don't think anyone will forget it."
The man who lifted Liverpool off the canvas in Turkey remains Alexander-Arnold's hero to this day, replacing his first idol on the bedroom wall.
"My first poster was Michael Owen, I used to just love how he scored goals.
"Gradually he got replaced by Steven Gerrard, he's every local lad's idol in every single way," he says, before recalling the time when, star-struck, he met his hero for the first time.
"He was in the players' lounge at Anfield and I had tickets. He just seemed like a giant and no one could touch him. I can't describe how he looked in my eyes at the time. I was speechless.
"I still don't just see him as Steven now. It's hard to think what he's done for the club when you sit down and chat to him.
"When you're growing up and seeing what he can do on the football pitch it doesn't seem like he can be normal, it seems like he has to be special off-the-pitch like he was on-the-pitch. But he's just down to earth, he's there for advice and it's hard to describe what that's like when it comes to your idol."
In the same year Liverpool won the Champions League, Alexander-Arnold was attending a soccer camp put on the by the club. He's been a part of it ever since.
His most special moment, even after scoring on his European debut in Hoffenheim, came when he made his first Premier League start at Old Trafford.
"To have that manager's trust and that faith behind you was an incredible feeling for such a big game. It was just a magical day for me and my family.
"I called my Mum [once he found out], obviously she didn't believe me at all. Once it sunk in she started crying and it got a bit emotional down the phone. She told me to play with a smile, be happy, do what you can do, try your best, because if you try your best there's not much more you can do."
Alexander-Arnold took his chance that day at Old Trafford and hasn't looked back since. Now it's his name on the back of shirts, his poster on the walls of kids dreaming of being Premier League footballers.
"It's a bit surreal, you don't think it's ever going to happen. It started at six and 12 years down the line, it's finally happening. It's a bit of a long time to wait, but it's definitely worth it to see that one kid walking round the city with your name on their back, fans knowing who you are.
"I was once that kid with 'Owen', 'Gerrard' and 'Fowler' on my shirt, to see kids walking around with my name on their back is special."
