Friday 25 May 2018 13:44, UK
Pako Ayestaran helped guide Liverpool to Champions League victory in 2005 - and knows exactly what needs to be done to get the club's players through one of the biggest games in their lives on Saturday.
The Reds, who have shaken off a run of one appearance in the competition since 2008 to reach the final this year, come up against a Real Madrid side in Kiev bidding to win the tournament for the third time in succession - and become the first team to do so since Bayern Munich in the mid-1970s.
Ayestaran was assistant to Rafa Benitez when Liverpool lifted the trophy in Istanbul 13 years ago, having defied the odds to beat Juventus and big-spending Chelsea and set-up a final with favourites AC Milan.
As with that Liverpool team, tomorrow's line-up will have no previous experience of a game of this magnitude, and Ayestaran told Sky Sports that will prove Jurgen Klopp's biggest headache as he looks to overturn a club with 12 Champions League and European Cup titles under their belts.
Klopp is managing in his second Champions League final, after ending on the losing side with Borussia Dortmund against Bayern Munich in 2013.
Ayestaran said: "It's different, the anxiety. It comes down to experience you've got in this type of games. You could say Real Madrid have more experienced players to deal with that in these big games.
"Jurgen Klopp has to try to convince them it's just a game, and they have to just concentrate on football matters. Focus on the plan, concentrate and try to avoid all the sound around the team and around the game.
"For the less experienced players you have to get them to focus on their usual habits, that they are comfortable with."
Some of that anxiety could be alleviated by Liverpool's position as outsiders, something Ayestaran experienced with the Reds against Milan in 2005.
Real Madrid are 8/13 with Sky Bet to retain the trophy, given their pedigree in the tournament and record in the Champions League in recent years - winning the trophy in both of Zinedine Zidane's seasons as manager so far.
Ayestaran said: "Of course, being underdogs relieves a bit of pressure on the players. But you have to convince them they are good enough, that they have the quality to win on the day.
"The question is whether you can perform on the stage. It doesn't matter if you are underdog or favourites, it's which one deals with the pressure and anxiety and is able to perform close to their natural game."
