Winning Eleven Winning Matchups

May 29, 1985. That day will mark one of the most tragic in the history of European soccer and the entire sport.

Thirty-nine Juventus fans died when a stadium wall collapsed as they were trying to escape Liverpool fans. The crowd turned violent before the start of the European Cup final at Heysel Stadium in Brussels. More than 350 fans were injured and as a result of the hooliganism, English club teams were banned from European play outside the United Kingdom.

Perhaps what is most surprising is that the match continued even after the riot, despite the protests of both managers. Juventus won that game 1-0.

Twenty years later, the two teams met again in Anfield, their first match since that tragic day in Belgium. This go around Liverpool emerged victorious, defeating Juve 2-1 after a touching display by Liverpool fans to apologize for the events at Heysel. A large number of fans held signs to spell "Amicizia," the Italian word for "friendship."

To commemorate that classic match we booted up Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 on the Xbox 360. Although Konami did not secure the license for Liverpool, it does feature a highly-rated squad by the name of Merseyside Red, featuring star players Peter Crouch, Steven Gerrard and Harry Kewell. Juventus features a handful of Italian national players including Alsessandro Del Piero, Christiano Zanetti and Gianluigi Buffon, as well as stars like David Trezeguet and Pavel Nedved.

Indeed it was Nedved and Trezeguet that took over for Juve, leading the Torino-based squad to a massive 3-0 victory. Keep in mind that we were playing as Juve against IGN video producer Ty Root, who has been known to suck at videogames. Click on the media links below for new HD flicks and screens of WEPES 2007.

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