CRUYFF: YNWA sent shivers down my spine!

Dutch legend Johan Cruyff has praised Liverpool to the heights and added he was personally moved by the Reds supporters in Istanbul and the rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone sent shivers down his spine.

Cruyff says the Liverpool supporters are special and the greatest in the world and were the 12th man to lift their team to a wonderful victory.

Cruyff said: "There's not one club in Europe with an anthem like You'll Never Walk Alone.

"There's not one club in the world so united with the fans. I sat there watching the Liverpool fans and they sent shivers down my spine. A mass of 40,000 people became one force behind their team. That's something not many teams have. For that I admire Liverpool more than anything."

Cruyff also had praise for manager Rafael Benitez for the way he turned Liverpool's fortunes around at half-time.

Cruyff said: "Benitez is now in a new echelon of top coaches in Europe. Only the best coaches in the world can inspire comebacks like that.

"I always rated him when he worked in Spain. His vision, the way he made his team play, their style proves he's a very modern coach.

"Benitez showed in the second half how attacking he can make Liverpool play. Maybe he should have done it earlier but he showed the character and quality of a truly top coach.

"In the second half he created pressure on Milan. He took a full back out, put an extra man in midfield and we saw all the real one-to-one fights in the most important areas of the field. That's where Liverpool beat the great Milan.

"With this victory Liverpool now have a coach touched by the glory of the great Liverpool teams of the past.

"I rate Steven Gerrard so highly and he is one of the best midfielders in the world and I call Jamie Carragher my Marathon Man. He looks like a marathon runner whose legs are turning to jelly as he's about to cross the finishing line but he finds more energy to get there. The sliding tackle he made after receiving treatment for cramp summed up the character of the team. He was phenomenal.

"Jerzy Dudek is the man whose saves brought Liverpool the European Cup. The man has been criticised for a year. The double save he made from Shevchenko gave him the confidence to perform like he did in the penalty shoot-out. He took the mickey out of the Milan players during the shoot-out. He drove them crazy!"

In other news from Anfield:

29/05/05 : Diego Maradona is an adopted scouser
29/05/05 : Kaka: Reds should defend their title
29/05/05 : Carra: Rafa is special
29/05/05 : Stam gutted but praises Reds comeback
29/05/05 : Rush urges UEFA to allow Reds back in
29/05/05 : Kaiser: Reds must defend their title
29/05/05 : Johansson backs Reds cause