The goal that sealed a famous European night for Fulham FC

The dream was still on; Fulham were in the last 16 of the Europa League. And when the draw was made, it was Juventus in the third round.

Juventus. At Fulham, for heaven’s sake. A club that had won Serie A 29 times back then, had won the Champions League or European Cup twice, the Cup Winners’ Cup once and the UEFA Cup three times, among a multitude of other honours. 

Fulham were drawn away in the first leg, but before that there was an FA Cup quarter-final with Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham to negotiate. Roy Hodgson’s men were held 0-0 at the Cottage in a tight game against Spurs.

And then it was Turin—without the suspended Danny Murphy. And bizarrely, former Inter Milan and Udinese manager Hodgson stunned his players by breaking into song in the dressing room before the match, warbling "Down Under" by the Australian band Men at Work.

Paul Konchesky said, "We all stopped. Gobsmacked. It’s a massive game—and to see your manager do that before a game like that. You end up laughing, thinking you’ve never seen that side of him.

"He was normally really serious. Concentrating all the time—he always had your back. But when something like that happens, you look at him and think he’s just a normal person."

But maybe because of the choice of tune by their manager, Fulham’s normally formidable defensive organisation under Hodgson deserted them that night, as goals from Nicola Legrottaglie and Jonathan Zebina put the Italians into an early lead. 

Then came a crucial moment as Dickson Etuhu’s shot took a wicked deflection off Legrottaglie and rolled into the corner of the net.

Juventus got a third before half-time through David Trezeguet. But after that frenetic first half, the Italians seemed content to sit on their lead, and Fulham to prevent further damage.

Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer says, "That was the one game in the whole run when we were not quite at it. Maybe it was a little bit of rabbit in the headlights. It was Juve, after all.

"But fortunately we scored, and that one goal made all the difference. Dickson got it—but at that point we didn’t think we might now have a chance. You just take it game by game. That just gave us a glimmer of hope. If we had lost 3-0 I think it would have been all over."

Michael Cole, Mohamed Al-Fayed’s director of public affairs and a Fulham fan, added, "The greatest game ever was against Juventus. Mohamed did not come to the game in Turin, but I kept him in touch.

"The next morning, after we had lost 3-1, we were at the airport going back. Roy was there. I said to him, actually Roy, we only have to win 2-0 at Craven Cottage, and we can go through. And Roy says, 'Do you think Michael, that we can do that?' I said yes, I thought we could. And he said, 'Well I’m glad you are optimistic—we will see what we can do.'" 

The task at the Cottage, at 3-1 down, looked formidable. What made it even more problematic was centre back Brede Hangeland injuring a rib in the 3-0 league loss at Manchester United in between. And there was still no Murphy.

Fourteen years earlier that week, Fulham were losing 2-0 to Cambridge in the Football League Third Division, before a crowd of just 3,872. 

But if the task this particular night looked difficult at kick-off, it soon got even worse. Just two minutes into the game at a packed and seething Cottage, Trezeguet capitalised on defensive uncertainty to score and put the Italians 4-1 up on aggregate. That task now looked hopeless. 

But there was something about the ground that night. The atmosphere was electric, as players and staff still remember. Paul Konchesky crossed, his old pal Bobby Zamora found space, chested down and slotted the ball into the corner past 39-year-old third-choice Juve goalkeeper Antonio Chimenti to get Fulham on the scoreboard.

Then visiting skipper Fabio Cannavaro was controversially sent off for a foul on Zoltan Gera, and the pendulum swung. The unfortunate Chimenti had a mixed night—twice the woodwork saved him—and then Gera pounced to convert Simon Davies’s cross from six yards just before the break.

On a feverish night in SW6, four minutes into the second half Hodgson’s men were, unbelievably, level after Diego handled Damien Duff’s cross and Gera nervelessly smashed home the penalty. 

On came substitute Clint Dempsey for the moment in his career the American will forever be remembered for.

With eight minutes left, he picked up the ball on the edge of the box, glanced up, and as time seemed to stand still, floated a glorious chip over Chimenti and into the far corner. Zebina was then sent off for a petulant kick at Duff. Astonishingly, Fulham were home.

Hodgson says, "We realised we were staring down the barrel of the gun after that away defeat. But it led of course to the game which will always live in Fulham people’s minds. 

"We go a goal down, and of course Murphy was suspended, having been sent off. Bobby equalises, and then Zoltán scores, and then again from the spot. A great penalty.

"And then we had that wonderful strike from Clint. A lot of times Clint could not get in the team. That was not his fault, because he always trained properly. He was a keen learner, Clint. He was just a bit unlucky at the beginning.

"I was probably too loyal sometimes to the players that had been playing. But Clint was tough. And he could play as an out-and-out striker."

Coach Ray Lewington remembers, "The home game with Juventus is my favourite match in my whole career. Dickson’s goal in the away leg was crucial. At 3-0 we could not have done it. That goal gave us something to hang on to.

"Then at home we go 1-0 down! Undoubtedly the turning point was when Cannavaro got sent off. He was important to them. But that was the first time I have ever heard a Fulham crowd as noisy as that. It was unbelievable. 

"My mate went, and he is not a football fan—and afterwards he was crying! Bobby scores, Gera taps one in, then puts in the penalty. Then Dempsey’s goal. I speak to quite a lot of Fulham fans, and that’s when they started coming regularly. Based on that goal, that night. It turned them into Fulham fans. That night and that goal. It was incredible."

Gera himself burst into tears with the emotion of the night back in the dressing room.

The Great Adventure: Al-Fayed’s Rollercoaster Ride with Fulham FC by Tony Banks is out now (Pitch Publishing, £18.99)