The Goal Rush

LAURENCE GRIFFITHS / Getty for TIME

YOU'LL NEVER QUEUE ALONE: Liverpool fans line up to buy team merchandise on a game day at Anfield in February

On a flight back home to the U.S. in early February, Tom Hicks was passing the time with a dvd of the European Champions League football final of 2005. A ruthless trio of goals by AC Milan had looked to have killed the game before half-time, and Liverpool, Milan's opponents, were out of sorts. But the second half was a different story. The English team fought their way back into the game, and Liverpool eventually snatched Europe's top club competition in a dramatic penalty shoot-out.

For Liverpool fans, celebrating their club's first European Cup for 21...

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