Almost ten years after they played out one of the competition’s most memorable Finals, Liverpool and West Ham will lock horns once again in The Emirates FA Cup on Tuesday.
Footage of Steven Gerrard rifling home a long-range last-gasp leveller at Wembley is enough to get the hairs standing up on the back of any Liverpool supporter’s neck – not to mention the scenes of jubilation after Pepe Reina’s penalty heroics.
West Ham United v Liverpool
The Emirates FA Cup
Fourth Round Proper replay
7.45pm, Tuesday 9 January 2016
Boleyn Ground, West Ham United
Live on BT Sport
Winners receive £90,000 from prize fund
By Paddy von Behr
The match also holds special memories for Dietmar Hamann, who scored in the shootout in what proved to be his final game in the famous red shirt.
And the former Germany international, who was introduced at the Millennium Stadium 20 minutes from time with Liverpool 3-2 behind, remembers vividly how the thrilling scenes unfolded.
"It is probably a game we shouldn’t have won so that made it a little bit sweeter," said Hamann. "We were under the cosh for most of the game.
"And it turned out to be my last game for Liverpool, which I didn’t know at the time, so it was a nice way to finish.
"They played a very experienced side and they didn’t make an awful lot of mistakes. I was a bit surprised by the way they coped with everything. They didn’t really give us much of a chance and we needed something special to pull them back – fortunately Stevie did exactly that.
"When we made the changes it was probably to give Stevie a bit more licence to go forward. We just needed to get a chance and somehow get the ball in the back of the net."
Gerrard’s equaliser – his second of the afternoon – took the clash to extra time and then penalties, with Hamann first to step up and showcase his German efficiency from 12 yards.
The Reds had of course triumphed in another thrilling Final just a year earlier, Jerzy Dudek dancing between the posts as they beat AC Milan on penalties in Istanbul to lift the Champions League.
And in Reina they had a worthy replacement, the Spanish stopper saving three of West Ham’s four spot kicks to deny Alan Pardew’s side at the final hurdle.
"The year before we had beaten AC Milan on penalties so I was pretty confident once it got to that stage – and we probably had the best goalkeeper in Europe at saving penalties," continued Hamann.
Highlights of The FA Cup Final of 2006 between Liverpool and West Ham United
The previous year he had saved seven or eight out of 11 in the Spanish league so I had every confidence in him as well as our takers."
Almost a decade later, there is an entirely new crop of Kop heroes, Gerrard taking with him the final remnant of that FA Cup-winning side when he departed last summer.
The Jurgen Klopp era is not off to an emphatic start – they were held to a 0-0 draw by Slaven Bilic's Hammers in the first tie ten days earlier and the Hammers also coasted to a 2-0 victory over them last month.
But Klopp’s side did reach the League Cup final with a penalty shootout of their own recently and Hamann has largely been watching on with gritted teeth.
And his worry ahead of Tuesday is that, when push comes to shove, Klopp is lacking a talisman capable of producing some of that Gerrard magic.
"I think they have done okay this season," he accepts. "They have been inconsistent, with some very average performances, but they are already in one Cup final. They haven’t set the world alight and the jury is still out.
"It is probably advantage West Ham because they took care of Liverpool pretty convincingly a few weeks ago. They have to prove that they can win when the chips are down."
