Owen was my king growing up and he was majestic as
Liverpool fought back to stun
Arsenal in Cardiff in 2001
The FA Cup final of 2001 was a final of firsts. Never before had two non-British managers met in the final (the French compatriots Gérard Houllier and Arsène Wenger) and, because of the Wembley renovations, the final was to be played outside
England. The new setting: Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on a sunny May day. The kind of weather that splits the turf into high contrast ivy-green/lime-green.
I was 11 years old and Liverpool and Arsenal were stuffed with my heroes. I grew up on a diet of local loves: Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and, my king (in Liverpool’s gold strip), Michael Owen.