Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish was proud to lead his beloved club into European competition for the first time as a manager.
The Anfield legend was denied the chance to be at the helm of a Liverpool team in Europe after English clubs were banned following the Heysel disaster in Brussels in 1985 but on Thursday night he finally got his chance.
And although the Reds were lacklustre in their scoreless draw with Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic, Dalglish was still extremely proud.
"It is special for me, very special," he said. "It is a club with fantastic history and pride, and your first opportunity to take the club you served as a player and manager into Europe is an important moment, and something that I will look back on with fond memories.
"It was a difficult game for us, we would rather have been more offensive than what we were but circumstances dictated the way we played, because of the players available.
"It wasn't the worst result, not the best by any means, but not the worst result. The game served its purpose, because we had the chance to give some players a start, like Sotirios Kyrgriakos, David Ngog and Danny Wilson, and we got Joe Cole on as well, so it was a benefit - and we believe that the second leg next week will be a very different game."
