With a long football career that may not yet be over, Sam Millne sat down with two-time European Cup winner Sammy Lee to discuss his life at Liverpool.
Few in football can match the resume that Lee has built over the years.
After winning 10 major trophies in 10 years with his boyhood club, Liverpool, Lee retired from playing and then went on to an influential coaching career.
Since retiring from playing, he has worked with legendary managers including Gerard Houllier, Rafa Benitez, Kenny Dalglish and Sven-Goran Eriksson, all while maintaining his passion for Liverpool.
We talked about Lee’s life at Liverpool as a player, manager and supporter.
I started supporting Liverpool because…
You’re either red or blue in this town, right? It was like that from birth.
Can you remember your first match with Liverpool?
One of my first, I would have been six years old. We drew with Ajax 2-2 at Anfield – the great Johan Cruyff was there.
We were beaten 5-1 in the first game and came back here, Bill Shankly was in charge. It was a foggy night in Ajax and Shanks, the man that he was, blamed the defeat on the fog.
So Liverpool actually wore the yellow shirts against the great Ajax here in 1966. It was a misty night then because it was one of those nights where the steam came out of the Kop, the body heat created it.
I was taken to Anfield very early on by my father and then by my relatives and that was a joy, but that’s what I remember most of all.
Which match would you live through, either as a player, coach or fan?
I had a lot. I was very, very lucky to play with some fantastic players, work under and work with fantastic coaches and managers, but the thing that sticks out in a lot of people’s minds is my debut.
That’s because at that time there was only one substitute and what happened at that time was that Liverpool players very, very rarely got injured because if you got injured you would lose your place and struggle to get back.
I was on the bench. There is a picture of me in the dugout, not for one moment thinking about going out on the field.
But my mate got injured, that allowed me to get on the pitch and if you google Sammy Lee, Sammy Lee and goals don’t go together.
But I came on against Leicester and actually scored on my debut in front of the Kop.
So for me as a boy growing up as a Liverpool fan, to actually play for Liverpool FC, to actually play in front of the Kop, to actually score in front of the Kop on my debut was something I’ll never forget.
My favorite season at Liverpool was…
My whole journey has been fantastic, either as a player for and against Liverpool Football Club, or as a coach for and against Liverpool Football Club.
This trip has given me so much and I have to thank this football club.
What does Liverpool mean to you?
Well, Liverpool Football Club means everything to me. All I have formed today is Liverpool Football Club.
My three dinner guests from Liverpool past or present would be…
I am very lucky because we are going to lunch with a group of players.
There’s me, there’s Phil Thompson, there’s Ian Callaghan who would definitely be one of my dinner guests, and Aldo (John Aldridge), Bruce Grobbelaar. We often go out together, and John Barnes.
But one would be Cally. Surely one would be the great Bill Shankly and it would have to be Jurgen Klopp.
So we’re talking about Shanks, Cally and Jurgen and me. I hope it will be a long, long lunch.
* Thanks again to Sammy Lee for sharing his ‘Liverpool Life’ with us.
You can hear more about him in our documentary, Jurgen Klopp: 10 Defining Moments, here.
