Obituary for Ray Clemence: Legend in the goal of Liverpool FC

This bright green dress, more sweater than jersey, plus mostly bright red shorts: Ray Clemence was recognizable, he stood out, also visually, and maybe with these signal colors he attracted one or the other ball magnetically. The opposing strikers at Anfield Road will have dreamed in green and red in those years when Ray Clemence was at the height of his time. And they weren’t good dreams.

May 25th is an important date in the history of Liverpool FC. On May 25, 2005, the Reds accomplished the feat of catching up 3-0 in the Champions League final against AC Milan and still winning. It was the daring, craziest big win in the long history of the LFC. The hero was goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek, who unnerved the Milan shooters on penalties.

May 25th was also the day on which Liverpool FC secured the European crown for the first time, in 1977 in the Olympic Games in Rome against Borussia Mönchengladbach, and even then it was the goalkeeper’s game, the game of Ray Clemence.

For £ 18,000 to Anfield Road

He had already been under contract at Anfield Road for ten years, after moving from Scunthorpe United to Liverpool in 1967 for a mere £ 18,000, so the sums were then. From 1969 he was the team’s regular goalkeeper, a position that he has not given up for almost twelve years since then. When he left the club for Tottenham Hotspur in 1981, he had played more than 650 competitive games for Liverpool, the statisticians have added up. This is how you become a club legend.

Clemence experienced the great times of Liverpool FC first hand, he was allowed to train under the legendary Bill Shankly, then under Bob Paisley, these are the icons of the club to this day, monuments have been built in Liverpool. He became champion with the team, two-time UEFA Cup winners, he won the FC Cup, he had already accumulated all these merits before his greatest day on May 25, 1977.

Liverpool against Mönchengladbach, that had already existed as a European final four years earlier, in the Uefa Cup both teams had already met for the final. which at that time was still played as a return leg. Liverpool laid the foundation for the win with a 3-0 first leg, Ray Clemence saved a penalty from Jupp Heynckes, that was decisive, Borussia’s 2-0 success in the second leg was too little for the Germans. An English goalkeeper deciding a final with a saved penalty. That alone can be called historical.

Four years later, the Gladbachers were burning for revenge, Udo Lattek’s team went aggressively, offensively, had numerous chances, but Clemence destroyed them all, on the other side Terry McDermott scored the LIverpooler lead. After the break, the Gladbach team increased the pressure again. Allan Simonsen equalized, the game seemed to tip over when Uli Stielike had the big chance to make it 2-1. Clemence had his fingers on and prevented the gate. That was the turning point. Two minutes later, Tommy Smith headed Liverpool 2-1, it was the defender’s 600th game for his club, and that evening everything just went together. The Gladbachers didn’t come back after that. Phil Neal’s penalty for the 3-1 final score was just the icing on the cake.

Liverpool FC has never been at the top in Europe, this team had made it. European cup winners of the national champions, it was called back then. With Kevn Keegan, who then left the Reds and led Hamburger SV to glory, with Tommy Smith and Phil Neal, these squared timbers in defense, with captain Emlyn Huges, with Jimmy Case and Steve Heighway, every LFC fan can do the names pray down today. And behind them Ray Clemence kept the box clean, Liverpool FC never played to zero as often as in his day.

In 1981 that time was over, Paisley wanted to build up the new keeper Bruce Grobbelaar as number one. Clemence moved to league rivals Tottenham when he returned to Anfield for the first time, fans on the Kop celebrated their former goalkeeper for minutes. In the very first year he reached the final of the League Cup with Spurs, which he lost. The opponent: Liverpool FC.