Related Quotes
"I asked the manager to let me take the fourth penalty given what happened in Istanbul last year. That hurt me. I was carrying an injury at the time which meant that I couldn't blast the penalty there which I'd normally do. I had to place it and their keeper (Dida) saved it. That was a nightmare, even though we won the cup, it still left me demoralised but I could use the power now.
"I know my penalty here wasn't a great penalty, but a goal's a goal. I blasted it down the middle and it flew in, and as soon as it hit the back of the net, I burst into tears. They were stinging my eyes. It was just so emotional after what happened last season. This was closure, a chance for me to get revenge and put things right."
Riise made amends in the FA Cup final after missing from the spot during the shoot-out in the European Cup final against AC Milan
"...But after about ten minutes yesterday, we witnessed 'that' moment. We were facing a corner, and the ball was deflected away to the edge of our area. Riise was on to it in a flash, and started thundering down the right flank with Pennant for company. Pennant stayed out wide a drew a defender, Gonzalez was tonking down the left flank and he too drew a defender. Riise turned infield and headed for the goal like a turbo-charged tank. Terry backed off - I swear to God he was bricking it - and Riise just kept steaming forward.
By now, everyone at our end had stood up. Hushed voices could be heard above the hum ... 'Go on, son - keep going John' We knew he was going to shoot, and we also new the chances were that he would probably not just miss the goal, but the crowd as well (in fact, that wouldn't have been hard, as only 17 Chelsea fans turned up). Eventually, Terry decided to confront Riise. Bare in mind here that Riise had been running at full pelt for probably 70 yards, and must have been puffing a bit. He was probably looking for a pass - but Pennant and Gonzalez were decoys, and no other Liverpool player had made up the ground. So as Terry stepped forward to block, Riise from all of 25 yards let fly. In truth, it was not the best ball he has ever hit, but it still flew like a cannon-ball towards the corner.
At this point, our whole end fell silent and held it's breath. Cudicini dived and it appeared he might get to it. But wether it was the power, or the dip, or the swerve, or the fact God is a scouser - he missed it, and the ball flew like a missile into the corner..... cue momentary disbelief. Had this really happened? TOO FECKING RIGHT - and we exploded as one with such noise and passion that it is beyond words. These kind of moments are rare, but frig me with a red hot poker, they are worth waiting for.
When the mayhem had died down, and we were just grinning inanely, some fella shouted out 'Even F*cking Ashley Cole couldn't do that!' - and I think he was right. In fact, I can't remember any full back doing what John did yesterday. That kind of ability is rare indeed. And we should cherish it."
A LFC fan called Shaybo describes John Arne Riise’s goal vs. Chelsea in the 2006 Community Shield