It’s probably up there with the Miracle on Ice, the 2004 ALCS or maybe even Tiger Woods most recent Masters triumph. Comeback stories are the stuff sportscasters dream about but it’s rare to get a behind the scenes look at one from the sportscaster’s perspective.
Enter Liverpool Football Club and their 2019 Champions League clash with Barcelona. The two leg tie started out with Barcelona winning 3-0 on home turf…a commanding lead. It meant Liverpool needed a similar style of win to advance to the final of the tournament. For those unfamiliar, away goals in Champions League ties count for double, meaning a tally from Barcelona meant a 5-0 deficit for Liverpool.
The Reds got the job done, a 4-0 demolition of one of the best teams on the planet. But what makes this special for sportscasters is the behind the scenes look that Liverpool gave fans recently at their announcers Steve Hunter (right) and John Aldridge (left) working the game.
Sure they get carried away during the goals, but given the eruption of the fans during every moment of that game, you can’t really blame them. What counts as a bit of a sportscasting masterclass is the composure Hunter shows during the big moments of the 3-0 and 4-0 goals. He uses the crowd reasonably well and always brings it back to the moment in the game.
If you’re a Barcelona fan, maybe skip this one….but for fans of huge comebacks, behind the scenes videos of sportscasters and passionate sports broadcasting, there’s few videos better. It provides a great look at the team work between the two as well as a bit of a hint of their prep and setup in the booth.
There’s a video documentary on the game itself that you can watch here.
What’s the greatest comeback you’ve ever covered on air? What’s your favourite sporting comeback of all time? Let us know!
