Owen was my king growing up and he was majestic as Liverpool fought back to stun Arsenal in Cardiff in 2001

The FA Cup final of 2001 was a final of firsts. Never before had two non-British managers met in the final (the French compatriots Gérard Houllier and Arsène Wenger) and, because of the Wembley renovations, the final was to be played outside England. The new setting: Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on a sunny May day. The kind of weather that splits the turf into high contrast ivy-green/lime-green.

I was 11 years old and Liverpool and Arsenal were stuffed with my heroes. I grew up on a diet of local loves: Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and, my king (in Liverpool’s gold strip), Michael Owen.

Related: The Joy of Six: the best of Michael Owen | Jacob Steinberg

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