2026-02-21 12:33:11
Bolo Zenden says Liverpool’s defeat in the 2007 Champions League final “still hurts” him to this day.
The Dutch midfielder played as the Reds were beaten 2-1 by AC Milan in the Athens showpiece and was “sickened” to come so close to Europe’s biggest trophy during his time at Anfield.
Zenden told FourFourTwo magazine: “Everyone recalls the win over them in Istanbul two years earlier, but this was the one I remember for all the wrong reasons.
“People say semi-finals are the toughest losses to take, but I disagree – losing finals are the real sickeners because you’re really, really close.
“The greatest prizes of all are the World Cup, the Euros and the Champions League. All the top players set their sights on winning at least one and I came closest in the latter.
“I’m proud to have reached a final, but do you know something? That Milan defeat still hurts today. It was a missed opportunity.”
Zenden played with several greats during his career but rates Brazilian forward Ronaldo as the very best.
He said: “Without doubt the best of the lot was R9, the great Ronaldo, who was my team-mate at PSV. We were born just a few weeks apart but while I came through the ranks, he arrived as a World Cup winner with Brazil in 1994, though he didn’t feature much that tournament.
“We had a great relationship on the pitch and also got on well off it. We lived in the same building, the only difference was that while I had a small studio, he lived in the penthouse. I spent quite a bit of my spare time at his place.”
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