Harry Kewell exclusive: Liverpool's Champions League title was my own nightmare

Harry Kewell became a Champions League winner as Liverpool claimed victory in one of the most famous finals of all-time back in 2005 - but he admits his memories of the iconic night in Istanbul are clouded with despair.

Starting the game for his beloved Liverpool against AC Milan, Kewell limped out of the game after 23 minutes with injury, leaving the Australian to watch on from the sidelines as the Reds stormed back from a 3-0 half-time deficit to record a stunning penalty shoot-out win.

Memories of that epic match in Istanbul are etched into the hearts of all Liverpool fans, but BT Sport pundit Kewell has a very different version of events, as he told Yahoo Sport.

The 2005 Champions League final is cherished as one of the greatest moments in the history of Liverpool FC - but I look back on that night as a complete nightmare.

As a big Liverpool fan all my life, this was the ultimate game in my career. I knew I was never going to play in a World Cup final with Australia, so a Champions League final with that famous red shirt on was the pinnacle for me.

I was named in the starting line-up by manager Rafael Benitez and had visions of scoring the winning goal, but all that evaporated after 20 minutes as my groin ripped and I was out of the game.

It was devastating. We were already a goal behind a few minutes into the game and as I limped out of the game, all my dreams had been shattered.

We were 3-0 down at half-time and there was no way back.

People often ask me whether it was Benitez’s half-time speech that changed the course of that Champions League final, but I don’t recall him saying too many incredible things. He kept it simple and maybe needed to rely on luck to get back into a game that seemed lost.

Benitez told the players to keep cool, to believe that if we got the first goal the second would follow and then the third. I remember Rafa encouraging the players to keep going and try to believe it was possible to get back into the game, but I wasn’t really focused on it all by then. This already felt like the worst night of my life and even though we ended up winning the match in dramatic fashion, it was in many ways.

The famous second half comeback from the lads was incredible, but I have been in teams that have achieved big wins and the players who are not playing don’t feel a part of it.

In many ways, it is even more heartbreaking to see your team win when you have not been able to play a part in the success because you work all your life for moments like that.

Some players are on the field for every game on the way to a big cup final and then they are dropped for the one that matters. I have seen the reaction when their team-mates go up to collect the trophy. They would rather be anywhere else and that’s how I felt on the night of the Champions League final.

My career was a real roller coaster and I guess that night in Istanbul was a snap shot of what happened to me.

I was the most wanted player in England when I left Leeds and decided to join Liverpool because they were the club I always followed as a kid and I wanted to be part of what they were trying to achieve.

Then you get to this defining moment in your career and it is taken away from you just like that.

When I started out in Australia, my dream was to become the best player in the world. I looked at Pele and Diego Maradona and wanted to try and get alongside them one day as the best player. You have to aim for the top in any profession and the Champions League final was the place I wanted to be to prove myself as one of the game’s best.

Liverpool lifted the Champions League trophy on that night in Istanbul and I have a medal to confirm I was part of the team that won it.

That great occasion was actually a personal nightmare for me, but I should still feel proud to have been a part of a great night in Liverpool’s history.