Finnan has always been vastly underrated for the time he spent at Liverpool
Steve Finnan – Ask any Liverpool fan to name the team that started in the 2005 Champions League final, and they’ll probably remember Djimi Traore’s name before they can recall that Finnan was also a starter.
Finnan is destined to be a forgotten man, when lists of great Liverpool players are drawn up. Perhaps rightly so. He was never spectacular. Far from it. But he was dependable, he was consistent and he was one of the most solid defensive right backs in the Premier League for the five seasons he was at Anfield.
It’s remarkable to think that Finnan’s career started at such a low level, only to peak 11 years later in the 2005 Champions League final.
The highlight of Finnan’s career, no doubt, was playing under Rafa Benitez who had a guiding hand in making the Irish right back one of the best full backs in the Premier League. You’d rarely see Finnan too far up field, and his goal-scoring and assists record from full back left a lot to be desired but Rafa was always one for those players that could put in a shift and in Steve, he had the perfect fit.
Playing over 200 games for Liverpool, Finnan would move on in 2008 with Champions League, FA Cup, Super Cup and Community Shield medals to his name, as well as a second Champions League final. Not bad for a player was that was signed for the grand old fee of £3.5 million and gave Liverpool his best years.
