Werenât you the lad wearing a Sydney Dingos jersey or whatever theyâre called at the Inn the other night?
And I wouldnât claim I was. Certainly not the red half anyway
queenslander mate
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The scouser scumbag that gave Phil Fodenâs mother the belt looks down at Paddy Footix?
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As long as youâre happy in your own skin, why do you care about what everyone else thinks of you.
I didnât think image would be a big thing for you mate?
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The footix are making Irish football worse by funding english football
Should be funding Scottish football instead.
Sadio is some lad.
A very special man at a very special clubâŚ
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Antonio Nunez knows he is the answer to a quirky Liverpool quiz question.
âItâs important to make history, and I wrote a small piece,â he smiles as he relaxes at home in Huelva, near Seville in south western Spain.
For those of you scratching your heads, the Spanish former winger is the only player in Liverpoolâs illustrious history whose solitary goal for the club came in a major final.
The setting was Cardiffâs Millennium Stadium, the date February 27, 2005 and the occasion the League Cup final against Chelsea. Nunez climbed above Petr Cech to head home from close range late in extra time to give Liverpool hope of at least forcing a penalty shootout but it proved to be just a footnote as Jose Mourinhoâs side held on to win 3-2.
Itâs a match largely remembered for Steven Gerrardâs own goal with 10 minutes left in normal time, which cancelled out John Arne Riiseâs first-minute opener and led to Mourinho being banished from the touchline by referee Steve Bennett for his celebrations in front of the Liverpool fans.
âWe were so unlucky with that equaliser,â says Nunez, who had replaced Harry Kewell early in the second half. âThe ball brushed off Stevenâs head and flew past Jerzy (Dudek, Liverpoolâs goalkeeper). We were so close to winning that final.
âIf we had got a third goal in extra time and then won on penalties, my goal would be remembered more â but we won the game against Chelsea that mattered more than any other when we met them in Europe later that season.â (Weâll come back to that match later on.)
Antonio Nunez takes on Chelsea in that 2004-05 League Cup final (Photo: Nick Potts â PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)
Nunezâs stay at Liverpool proved to be brief but eventful. He left after one season with a Champions League winnersâ medal in his suitcase and memories to last a lifetime. The club remains close to his heart.
âIâve moved around a lot and lived in many cities since 2005. Many of my things stayed in Madrid but that medal has always come with me,â he says. âItâs never too far from me. It means everything.â
During a wide-ranging interview with The Athletic, Nunez also reflects on breaking through at hometown club Real Madrid and playing alongside Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, the Brazilian Ronaldo and David Beckham. Remarkably, he combined life with the Galacticos with studying for a law degree at Complutense University of Madrid.
After his rollercoaster year on Merseyside under countryman Rafa Benitez, he returned to their homeland with Celta Vigo. He only retired, at the age of 39, at the end of the 2017-18 season after a four-year spell with Recreativo de Huelva in the Spanish third tier.
These days, he works as a scout and helps the most gifted youngsters from the west African country of Guinea-Bissau find clubs in Spain and Portugal.
âWalking into that dressing room in the Bernabeu was like being in a dream,â says Nunez. âI was sitting there next to Ronaldo, Beckham, Raul, Figo, Zidane. I couldnât believe it. Everyone in my family supported Real. Suddenly, my heroes were my team-mates. I found it a bit hard to adapt.
âWhen I arrived at Realâs second team, I was already 22. By the age of 24, I was playing for the first team. Two years earlier Iâd been playing in the third division for (Madrid club) Las Rozas. My journey was different to the others. The change was so big.â
Then-manager Carlos Queiroz gave Nunez his Real Madrid debut off the bench away to Villarreal in La Liga in September 2003. He marked the occasion in style by salvaging a point five minutes from time when he headed home a Beckham corner to make it 1-1.
âI always found Beckham to be a really nice guy,â he says. âHe wasnât just a footballer, he was like a film star. I expected him to keep his distance but he was so friendly. We were nobodies, the kids who had come from the second team, but he was always nice with us.
âThe problem at Real Madrid, certainly in those years, was that itâs not like a normal football team. They have so many things going on around them. So much luxury, so many people wherever they go. You never felt a real unity in that football team. It was like being in a movie or something like that. Each of the stars did what they knew. They could win us games with their individual talent but not so much as a team.â
So, if Nunez could only pick one Galactico for his five-a-side team, who would it be?
âZidane,â he answers instantly. âHe was always my hero. I was very lucky to share a dressing room with such huge players, not only at Real Madrid but also at Liverpool.
âSometimes you feel that a player is on a different level to the rest. It was like that with the Galacticos at Real and I also felt it with two other players â at Celta Vigo with David Silva (the future Manchester City fan favourite, then 19, spent the 2005-06 season there on loan from Valencia), and it was the same feeling with Steven Gerrard. You think, âOK, these guys are playing a different game.â Gerrard was the most complete player I ever played with.â
Thatâs some compliment. What set the Anfield legend apart from the rest?
âSteven could do everything at the highest level â pass, shoot, cross, tackle, heading. There was no weakness in his game. He could do a job in any position. On top of that, he was a real captain and controlled games.
âHe was always the kind of player I imagined would make a good coach. He had the right personality,â Nunez says of the former Rangers and now Aston Villa manager. âIn his position, he could always see and understand well the things that happened on the pitch.â
Nunez went on to make 15 senior appearances, 13 as a substitute, for Real Madrid in that 2003-04 season. And when he got home from training, he would take his law books down from the shelf.
âI was always clear in my mind from a young age that I wanted to make it in football,â he adds. âBut my father was determined that Iâd go to university. He said if I wanted to continue with football I also had to study, so I had something if it didnât work out.
âEven when I was doing well at Real, I didnât want to leave the degree unfinished. I actually finished it the summer I left for Liverpool. My teachers liked that they had a student who played for Real Madrid!
âOne was a big fan and said, âOK, Iâm going to help you with this assignment because I know you play for Real and donât have so much free time for studying.â I havenât used my law degree since, but Iâm glad I completed it.â
A disastrous end to that season saw Madrid lose the Copa del Rey final to Real Zaragoza, knocked out in the Champions League quarter-finals by Monaco, and finish only fourth in La Liga.
Queiroz was sacked, former Spain coach Jose Antonio Camacho took over and Nunez was informed he was surplus to requirements. He was on the brink of joining Real Mallorca in the August when Benitez came calling.
With Real pushing to sign Liverpoolâs England striker Michael Owen, Nunez was offered as a makeweight. He was valued at ÂŁ1.5 million in Owenâs ÂŁ8.5 million move to the Bernabeu. âReal thought I could be in the deal to make Owen a little bit cheaper for them,â he says. âIt all happened so fast.â
Nunez endured a nightmare start to life in England. A knee injury suffered in only his second training session needed surgery and it was late November before he finally made his debut, against Arsenal at Anfield. He was playing catch-up by then.
âIt made things really difficult for me,â he says. âWhen I came back there was a difference between me and the rest of my team-mates physically. I could feel it for almost the rest of the season. I wasnât at my level. Sometimes in football, these things happen. You have to accept the good luck and the bad luck that comes your way. Itâs life.â
Nunez only made 13 starts in all competitions in his sole season as a Liverpool player, with a further 14 appearances coming off the bench. But there were some major highlights.
He started the memorable Champions League group win over Olympiakos of Greece in the December, when Gerrardâs late piledriver sent Liverpool through to the last 16. Benitez also put his faith in him for the quarter-final second leg away to Juventus.
Nunez then came off the bench in the 84th minute of the second leg of the semi-final against Chelsea at Anfield, replacing match-winner Luis Garcia as Liverpool avenged that League Cup final defeat and booked their passage to Istanbul. Mourinho was left bemoaning Garciaâs so-called ghost goal, adamant the ball hadnât crossed the line.
âWas it over the line? I donât know. Luis would say yes,â Nunez laughs. âI remember thinking, âJust donât do anything bad!â
âIt was so intense. If Chelsea had scored one goal, we were out. When Eidur Gudjohnsen had that late chance that went just wide, the ball passed quite close to me. My brother told me he was worried I was going to get a touch and make an own goal. That would have killed us.
âWhen I went to the playersâ lounge after to see my brother, he just kept saying to me, âYou are in the Champions League final! You are in the Champions League final! Can you believe whatâs happened to you?â Such an amazing night.
âThat was probably the best atmosphere I ever experienced. I donât remember another one like this. Many people in Spain say to me, âWhy is Anfield so famous? Why is the atmosphere so special?â I always say you have to go there and live it for yourself to truly understand it. Itâs a special place.
âEverybody who loves football should go to Anfield one time in their lives. Look at what happened against Barcelona in 2019. Things like that can only happen in Anfield.â
Nunez was an unused substitute as Liverpool staged their miraculous fightback from 3-0 down at half-time to win the final against AC Milan.
âI didnât get on but Iâd played five games in the competition, so I felt like I had played my part. It was an explosion of happiness after that last penalty,â he says. âI have some pictures from that night in frames and a replica of the Champions League trophy, which is beautiful.â
Nunez celebrates with Josemi and Luis Garcia after winning the Champions League (Photo: Adam Davy â PA Images via Getty Images)
Despite his initial struggles to get to grips with the physicality of English football, Nunez believed he was ready to kick on and stake a claim for greater involvement the following season. But those hopes were dashed by Benitez, who was on the brink of signing Boudewijn Zenden and Mark Gonzalez that summer.
âIt was just before the parade around the city with the trophy that Rafa told me that I wasnât in his plans,â says Nunez.
âI donât know why he didnât wait until after. Rafa had his way of doing things. In that moment I thought, âOK, this is hard, but Iâm not going to let it ruin this celebration. Today will still be the best day of my life and then tomorrow we will think about what comes next.â
âIt was disappointing, because I was so happy at Liverpool. Iâm the first to admit I wasnât at a really good level that first season for many reasons but I was sure I could make a good season in my second year.
âWhen you are playing for such a big club, sometimes you donât have second chances. The level is so high. Every year, new players arrive. Tactically, Rafa was such a great coach. But sometimes you need to think about the person and not just the player.â
Having represented two giants of European football, Nunez went on to play for Celta, Real Murcia, Apollon Limassol in Cyprus, Huesca, Deportivo La Coruna and, finally, Recreativo de Huelva.
Retirement has opened up new opportunities.
Heâs passionate about his work for Internacional de Guinea-Bissau, a blossoming football academy based in Bissau, capital of a nation of two million people sandwiched between Senegal and Guinea. Gifted youngsters from one of the poorest countries in the world have already been signed by Sporting Lisbon and Braga in Portugal, as well as Nunezâs former sides Celta and Deportivo in Spain.
âSomeone I knew from Celta Vigo told me about this project and he needed someone who knew football from the inside, who knew people at clubs and had played at a good level to be part of it,â Nunez says.
âPart of it is helping kids who have nothing. Thatâs what convinced me to get involved. There are around 800 kids at the academy. When I travel to Guinea-Bissau, I watch the kids play and I participate in the selection of the best of them.
âWhen we bring them to Europe, we help them with everything. They come with almost nothing, so we provide a home and food. We talk with clubs and look for the right club for them. Itâs hard work but itâs beautiful. Weâre just starting off and itâs rewarding. It has a business part but it also has a social part and thatâs the best part for me.
Nunez now works with a football academy in Guinea-Bissau, west Africa
âMany of these kids are related to people in Portugal, so thatâs the easiest way to bring them over. Getting the paperwork is probably the most difficult part. Most wonât go on to play for big clubs but if you can give them the chance to play football for a living and earn enough money to live their life, then youâve succeeded.
âAll kids in Guinea-Bissau dream of being a football player. They see football as the only chance to better their lives. The first thing these kids think about when they start earning some money in Europe is, âRight, I need to buy a house for my motherâ.â
Nunez still plays in exhibition games for Real Madrid Legends and helped them beat a Barcelona Legends team including Rivaldo and Ronaldinho in Tel Aviv, Israel, last summer. His regular trips to Madrid to visit family usually involve a round of golf and a game of cards with friend and former Liverpool team-mate Luis Garcia.
His last visit to Anfield was for the 1-1 draw with Italyâs Napoli in the Champions League in November 2019, before the pandemic struck. As COVID-19 restrictions lift, heâs keen to get back before the end of this season.
âThe stadium has changed since I played there,â says Nunez. âThe new Main Stand is so impressive. I looked around and thought, âWow, how big has this club become?â
âI probably watch more Liverpool games than Real Madrid ones. The Premier League is such a high level right now.
âItâs been an amazing few years for Liverpool with Jurgen Klopp in charge. More than the results, I really like how the team plays with such intensity. They still have four titles to play for this season and I wish them great success.
âIâll always be proud to say I played for Liverpool.â
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Gerrard was more complete than Zidane? No chance.
they all look like realistic fugures, both on sales and expenditure. Neco Williams will clearly demand more money than Bellingham and Haaland. The Ox at ÂŁ80m might be a bit undervalued though, he could top a tonne.
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James Milner will be a relative bargain for Leeds at ÂŁ50 million with his longevity.
Assume those transfer fees for outgoings have a load of clauses added on, we canât be giving away players
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Curtis Lad back in the team for tonightâs big game
Looking at that, youâd have to fancy Bournemouth for a top half finish.