We may have offended Jim McLean,but I don’t believe the referee was bribed when we beat Dundee United – former AS Roma star Sebastiano Nela

THE Champions League semi-final first legs have left fans of Liverpool and Real Madrid eyeing a Final showdown between the clubs in Kiev on May 26.

On Wednesday night, the Anfield outfit – with Scotland’s Andy Robertson an important cog in their machine – will start 5-2 up in their return against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.

Twenty-four hours earlier, the holders host Bayern Munich, leading 2-1 following their victory in Bavaria.

However, Sebastiano Nela argues that football is a sport which has always thrown up the unexpected.

And he should know.

He was one of the Roma stars who pulled off an amazing turnaround against Dundee United in their notorious European Cup semi-final clash at the ground 34 years and four days ago.

“While Liverpool did very well, we have only to look back to the last round to see what is possible with Roma,” he said.

“Barcelona beat them 4-1 in the first game. But in the return in the Olimpico, Roma won 3-0 to progress on away goals.

“That was a historic comeback, one for everyone associated with the club to savour.”

Quite.

Anyone in any doubt about how that affected the club and the fanatical Roma support need only check out YouTube footage of the joyous, uninhibited celebrations which followed.

It was, as Nela himself conceded, in stark contrast to the 1984 European Cup semi-final, when the Italians’ success over Jim McLean’s United was the signal for an outpouring of vitriol against the defeated visitors.

In an iconic image, the defender is photographed “shooting the bird” at McLean, while other team-mates shouted abuse towards the Tangerines manager and his assistant, Walter Smith.

Brave men.

The outburst was, Nela recalls, just the most visual representation of the acrimony which had developed between the two sides.

McLean had been accused of verbally abusing winger Bruno Conti during the first leg – claims he denied.

“In the days before the game, in Italy there was a lot of news about the Dundee (United) coach Jim McLean,” said Nela, who at 57 still maintains a strong connection with his former club.

“The Italian newspapers reported there had been offensive statements against us, and about Italy in general.

“We were already tense because of our desperation to remedy the mistakes of the first leg, and these stories nurtured our desire for revenge.

“Unfortunately, I have to admit, I’m almost sure that my team-mates and I took our opponents lightly in the game in Scotland.

“We did not behave like professionals, believing that we could beat them without problems.

“They were not a club of great traditions, and when we got drawn together, we were quite convinced that we had a good chance of beating them.

“Indeed, with the Final scheduled to be in Rome, we felt sure we could win the European Cup itself.

“But football is ruthless, and so in Scotland we found ourselves two goals down.

‘‘Obviously it was getting very bad and we got nervous.

“We had no excuse at all. Our coach, Nils Liedholm, warned us in the dressing room before the game that their physicality could give us problems.

‘‘He said: ‘They are not very good technically, but remember that they have so much grit and play without respite’.

“At the end of the first leg, we were very angry with ourselves.

‘‘Yet I would say we were also confident we could overturn the result in the return match at the Olimpico.

“And, of course, on the day we did it – not only beating them but doing so 3-0 to overturn their 2-0 win in Scotland and put us through to the Final.

“Because of that, and because the match was so exciting, our adrenaline was really flowing.

‘‘So many of us went over to remonstrate with McLean, offending both in words and gestures.

‘‘And yes I know about the picture that has me showing him my middle finger.

“That was a long time ago, and it is now water under the bridge.

“It is only the fact we have the semi-final of Europe’s biggest club competition returning to Roma which has me reliving the moment now.”

The Italian has an even stronger sentiment about the rumours which emerged of the attempted bribery of French referee, Michel Vautrot, which prompted the SFA to ask UEFA to investigate.

Their request was not granted. But in 2011, an admission made on Italian television by Riccardo Viola that club president Dino Viola, his father, had tried and failed to bribe Vautrot provided all the confirmation doubters had needed.

Kenny Dalglish, whose Liverpool side won the European Cup that season, spoke in his column in The Sunday Post last week of Roma not really having deserved to be in the Final because of the bribery accusations.

His comments raised an eyebrow in the Italian capital.

“This has always made laugh and still does,” said Nela.

“We are talking about 100 million lire (£50,000) that Viola would have delivered to an intermediary to get the money to Vautrot in order to help get us to the final.

“With complete honesty, I have to say I never believed this story, even when the strange declarations of Dino Viola’s son, who at the time was part of the management, came out.

“It is something I have never discussed, either with President Viola or with my team-mates of the time.

“Why? Because our performance that day against Dundee United was one of the best we ever produced.

“We would have beaten anyone that afternoon, so to claim we won thanks with the help of the referee is laughable.

“The truth is United could have had one of their own players refereeing the tie and we would still have got past them.”

Given the Tangerines’ side contained the likes of Dave Narey, Richard Gough and Paul Sturrock in their prime, his claim is debatable.

What is a matter of fact is that where Roma were able to squeeze past Scotland’s best, they found England’s best – a Liverpool squad that contained Scots Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Alan Hansen, Steve Nicol and Gary Gillespie – too good.

“The final against Liverpool, as with the semi-final in Dundee United, was a nightmare for us,” said Nela.

“Playing in Rome was supposed to be an advantage for us, but it turned out to be anything but, because it made us too nervous on the pitch.

“We felt incredible pressure.

“It felt like winning the European Cup was a matter of life and death for the players – and for all the Roma fans.

“The Liverpool players, though, acted like it was just another game for them, albeit one at a high level.

“Before the kick-off, they were relaxed enough to laugh and joke with one another.

‘‘We were silent, and I would rather not remember the looks I saw on the faces of my team-mates.

“So, when it came to the penalty shoot-out, even though Liverpool missed the first kick (Steve Nicol skying his kick over the bar), there was no doubt who would win.

“The pain of losing the Final of Europe’s best club competition at our own home was a very strong one.

‘‘Even now – all these years later – that feeling has still not passed.

While Dundee United supporters – themselves denied what would have been a fairytale Final against Liverpool in the Eternal City – might not exactly know he feels, it is fair to say they will have an inkling.