Four days after Wembley, Liverpool won the European Cup in Rome

When Bill Shankly retired after the 1974 FA Cup final, Liverpool turned to Bob Paisley, who had been beside him in the Boot Room. Paisley was reluctant at first, then accepted. Two years later his side won the UEFA Cup, beating Club Brugge 3–2 at Anfield and drawing 1–1 in Bruges. Liverpool had won that competition once before, in 1973, against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Paisley had been to Rome before. In June 1944, serving with the Royal Artillery, he rode into the city on a tank when it was liberated.

Saint-Étienne

In the 1976–77 European Cup Liverpool put seven past Crusaders over two legs, lost 1–0 in Trabzon and beat Trabzonspor 3–0 at Anfield. The holders, Bayern Munich, went out to Dynamo Kyiv in the quarter-finals. Liverpool's quarter-final was against Saint-Étienne, who had lost the previous year's final to Bayern 1–0 and were, like Liverpool, one of the sides fancied to end Bayern's run.

Keegan missed the first leg in France. "If I played I could really break down," he said of his injury. Dominique Bathenay scored and Saint-Étienne took a 1–0 lead to Anfield.

The second leg was on 16 March 1977, in front of 55,043. Keegan scored inside two minutes, from an acute angle after a short corner. Early in the second half Bathenay beat Ray Clemence from long range, and Saint-Étienne led again on aggregate. On 59 minutes Ray Kennedy made it 2–1. "The ball came to me off Toshack's shin," he said. "I didn't hit it that hard, but I hit it true."

At 2–2 on aggregate Saint-Étienne were still ahead on their away goal. Paisley took off John Toshack and sent on David Fairclough. Six minutes from time Kennedy put him through. "I just chested it down," Fairclough said. "I never had any doubt about it - I knew I would score." He did. "When the ball hit the back of the net the noise was just unbelievable."

The semi-final was straightforward by comparison. Liverpool won 3–1 at the Letzigrund, where Phil Neal scored twice and Steve Heighway once, and 3–0 at Anfield. Borussia Mönchengladbach came through the other half of the draw past Austria Wien, Torino, Club Brugge and Dynamo Kyiv.

Wembley

At home Liverpool won the First Division by a point from Manchester City. They also reached the FA Cup final, and with it the chance of a treble of league, FA Cup and European Cup that no English club had won. On Saturday 21 May they lost the FA Cup final 2–1 to Manchester United. The European Cup final was on the Wednesday.

Rome

Liverpool went to the Stadio Olimpico with Clemence, Neal, Joey Jones, Tommy Smith, Ray Kennedy, Emlyn Hughes, Keegan, Jimmy Case, Heighway, Ian Callaghan and Terry McDermott. The players had expected around 8,000 Liverpool supporters and found far more. "When we saw all the red flags unfurled, all thoughts of the FA Cup disappointment went out of our minds," Case said. "How could we let them down again?" Hughes remembered walking out and thinking: "Jesus Christ we're back in Liverpool!"

Callaghan won the ball from Rainer Bonhof and Heighway played it on for McDermott, who had the goalkeeper to beat. "I've got Wolfgang Kneib – he was about 9ft 2in – running out at me," McDermott said. He put it past him, and Liverpool led 1–0 at half-time.

Early in the second half a mistake involving Case let in Allan Simonsen, who equalised. Clemence then dived at the feet of Uli Stielike to keep the score level.

Liverpool went back in front from a corner. Heighway took it and Smith headed it in. It was his first goal in any competition for two and a half years, in what was meant to be his last game for the club. "No-one even knew why he was going up there," said Keegan, "he was supposed to stay back!" Smith's version was simpler: "The ball was driven across, I met it perfectly and the 'keeper didn't even [have] time to move, let alone save it."

Berti Vogts had the job of marking Keegan, and Keegan had the better of him. Late on Vogts brought him down in the penalty area. Neal took the kick and scored. Liverpool won 3–1, and Emlyn Hughes became the first Liverpool captain to lift the European Cup.

After

It was the first time either club had reached the final. Liverpool were the second English club to win it, and Paisley was the first manager to win the UEFA Cup and the European Cup in successive seasons. "We've done the country proud and this is my greatest moment," he said. What he said about 1944 is remembered in more than one version. In one of them: "This is the second time I've beaten the Germans here. The first time was in 1944."

Smith changed his mind about retiring and stayed another season. Keegan did not stay. He had joined from Scunthorpe in 1971, he had scored 20 goals in all competitions that season, and Rome was his last game for Liverpool. That summer Hamburg paid £500,000 for him, a British record.