If David Fairclough hadn't scored against Saint Etienne in the European Cup quarter finals of 1976-77, Liverpool's rich continental tradition would have developed in a starkly different way.
Thanks to his winning goal on aggregate in the second leg at Anfield, the Reds were able to go all the way to the final and win the first of five European Cup/Champions League.
It's not the only legendary goal, Liverpudlian Fairclough scored for his boyhood club, but overall his career at Anfield came in fits and starts and often off the bench, hence why his new autobiography is titled Super Sub.
It was the same role he played against Saint Etienne, making an impact as a sub as he would so many times and it was one of the moments we discussed as he dropped into studio for a chat on this week's Team 33.
You can listen to part 1 of the interview with David Fairclough on the podcast player or stream/download on iTunes:
Recent interviews on Team 33 include ex-England international Carlton Palmer, Chelsea legends Bobby Tambling and Paddy Mulligan, Dutch legend Johan Neeskens, ex-England striker Darius Vassell, former Ireland midfielder Mark Kinsella and former Everton forward Tomasz Radzinski. Plus our in-depth chats with Tony Coton, Packie Bonner, Nobby Solano, Ron Atkinson and Alan Curbishley are still available on iTunes. You can find them all in one place by subscribing to Team 33 on iTunes.
"People didn't like me coming on against them. I got told 'used to hate the sight of you coming on'. If I'd known that probably it would have been much easier," he told me of the positive spin on the Super Sub tag which started with a Merseyside derby goal against Everton in the 1975-76 season (his debut campaign no less) that was a solo run with echoes of Diego Maradona's Goal of the Century.
"In those days, it was about me and the ball and it was a first experience of a Merseyside derby. It was going to be nice to do something enjoyable. I don't think for the 15 minutes I'd been on, I don't think I'd had much contact with the ball and for some unknown reason I decided to make a tackle and once I won the ball at the halfway line, the first thing that comes into my head is just go round the blue shirt that comes before me."
Which he did multiple times around numerous blue Everton shirts.
"And on and on I go and I make my way into the box and in those days I was a very direct type of player. I was comfortable with my right and left foot," said Fairclough, who touched on how watching George Best in his pomp had proved an inspiration.
Unlike Maradona who rounded Peter Shilton, Fairclough beat his goalkeeper with an angled shot to cap a victory that would prove crucial as Liverpool won the league and qualified directly for a European Cup that they would go on to win partly thanks to his super sub antics against Saint Etienne.
"It was often said in those days that I was difficult to mark because players didn't know which way I was going to go. But I didn't really know which was I was going to go myself so it was all off the cuff and on that day, it all kind of went perfectly well."
Part of the Fairclough interview in which Bob Paisley's man management comes into question and we talk about that Saint Etienne goal and his time abroad will be available on podcast and on-air on Newstalk 106-108 on Tuesday, October 31st.
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