In the UEFA conference rooms at Nyon, where the modernist, architecturally-striking confederation headquarters overlook Lake Geneva and the spectacular panorama of the Chablais Alps, Carlo Ancelotti and Rafa Benitez often share a moment. It is a setting as serene as the Atakturk Stadium, Istanbul was wild, passionate and unhinged on a May night eighteen years ago.
Benitez says such moments are for small talk, chat about the game in general. The pair meet at UEFA coaches' conventions but have never actually fully dissected what occurred in perhaps the greatest Champions League final of all, the victory of Benitez's Liverpool over Ancelotti's AC Milan on penalties, after Liverpool recovered from 3-0 down at half-time.