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Glory in Rome for the 'Anfield Iron' - Tommy Smith obituary

  /  autty

The greatest goals - the really special ones - are accompanied with commentaries that can be recited, word for word, at any given moment.

These are the goals that made history and ensured their scorer's place in history. On May 25, 1977, on a balmy night in Rome as his boyhood club conquered Europe, the man they called the 'Anfield Iron' elevated himself into the pantheon.

'Oh yes!' proclaimed the BBC's Barry Davies. 'And what a delighted scorer! It's Tommy Smith! Look at it again! Oh what an end to a career!' The joy in Davies' voice reflected the story and achievements of Smith, who gave his life to Liverpool. He was a stalwart in the truest sense, his journey taking him from the terraces to the pinnacle of the game as Liverpool beat Borussia Monchengladbach to win their first European Cup.

Smith, who passed away peacefully in his sleep aged 74 on Friday after succumbing to dementia, was destined to wear a Red shirt. He grew up in the shadows of Anfield, worked as a groundsman at the stadium and painted the old safety barriers on The Kop.

But there was more to it than just passion and determination and it was through his ability and uncompromising strengths as, first, a midfielder then a defender he became one of the cornerstones of Bill Shankly's great teams.

Everyone knows how dominant Liverpool became during the 1970s and 1980s but it is only when you consider the honours that someone such as Smith accrued - and the amount of games he played - that you begin to appreciate what their achievements.

'Tommy Smith wasn't born,' Shankly once said. 'He was quarried.' In total, he made 638 appearances for Liverpool; he won the UEFA Cup twice, a European Super Cup, four league titles and two FA Cups to go alongside that shimmering European Cup; Smith was hard in every sense and would take no prisoners in his quest for success but it was all for Liverpool.

'Hard but fair' was how Sir Bobby Charlton remembered Smith, who was only sent-off once (for dissent) and booked three times despite his formidable reputation. But he could also play and it was something of an anomaly that he only won one full England cap, against Wales at Wembley in 1971.

It would be wrong to say that Smith was universally popular with all his team-mates - there was a well-publicised row with the late Emlyn Hughes after Smith had lost the captaincy to the younger man - but his passion for Liverpool could never be questioned.

After he wound down his career by playing for the Los Angeles Aztecs and Swansea City, Smith was never too far from Anfield. He became a columnist for the Liverpool Echo and never minced his words for those who he believed did not measure up to the standards that he helped set.

You would see him in the Anfield press box at every home game. He would leave his seat a couple of minutes early before half-time to go down for a cup of soup, his shuffling stride evidence of the wear and tear that all those battles had taken.

The pain, though, was all worth it as far as he was concerned. He lived the dream and that night in Rome, when he soared through the air to connect with Steve Heighway's driven corner, he achieved something that only the very few can do.

He set the benchmark for the local boys who followed behind such as Phil Thompson, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher and the latter two both recognised the achievement when they passed his total number of appearances.

Carragher, to illustrate the point, called him: 'One of the club's all-time greats.'

When you talk about Liverpool legends, the names such as Dalglish and Rush, Souness and Barnes, Hansen, Hunt and Yeats all come easily to mind. But the name of Tommy Smith sits comfortably in their company. One night in Rome and an unforgettable commentary is all the evidence you need.

Related: Liverpool