10 Underwhelming Liverpool Signings Who Became Cult Heroes

2. Jerzy Dudek

Not much was known of Polish goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek when Gerard Houllier when he decided to sign him in 2001, other than he had performed well for Feyenoord in the Eredivisie, and that he must surely have been a more reliable pair of hands than Sander Westerveld. At the same time, however, Liverpool supporters would have been hoping for a little more, as they sought to eradicate their goalkeeping woes. This was a goalkeeper with not much European experience, and by all accounts, could be prone to a couple of errors here and there. They were right to worry. Following a stellar debut season, in which he was nominated alongside Oliver Kahn and Gianluigi Buffon for the UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year award, onlookers soon realised quickly that he was nowhere near that class, as errors began to litter his game, and he struggled with the competition from Englishman Chris Kirkland. Letting a routinely tame 25 yard shot from Wayne Rooney slip though his fingers at Anfield certainly threw the pressure down on top of the Pole like a ton of bricks. However, despite all of these mishaps, errors and comical moments, Dudek will always be a hero at Anfield, if only for one night in Istanbul. Having conceded three in a disastrous opening half to AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final, the entire side emerged reinvigorated for the second half, storming back to equalise, before the Pole made amends for his horrendous opening 45 minutes with a miraculous double save from Andriy Shevchenko in extra-time. Emulating the famous 'spaghetti legs' antics of former Reds goalkeeper Bruce goalkeeper in the shoot-out, Dudek saved from both Andrea Pirlo and Shevchenko, handing the Reds the most unlikeliest of victories from the clutches of defeat. While it wasn't enough to stop Benitez from acquiring Villareal goalkeeper Pepe Reina in the impending transfer window, that night in Istanbul will always mean that the Pole has a special place in the heart of every Red.