He humiliated Milan in Istanbul, now look what Vladimir Smicer looks like, unrecognisable

Liverpool are undoubtedly littered with a host of legends who have made their mark on the team's history and all are worthy of great recognition for their great exploits with both the Reds and their national teams and this is certainly the case with Vladimir Smicer who helped Liverpool win the Champions League in Istanbul in 2005 with a stunning mid-range strike that Dida could do nothing about.

Vladimir Smicer joined Liverpool in 1999 after a spell in France where he also had a great spell with R.C. Lens winning the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 titles. Lens winning the Ligue 1 and the league cup which to date has not been able to happen again, Smicer being a fundamental part of these titles, which is why he arrived at Liverpool at 27 years of age as a great recruitment and where he met with players of his national team as Patrik Berger with whom he shared glory with the Reds winning the UEFA Cup in 2001 and the UEFA Super Cup, marking the beginning of a career full of success at Anfield.

Then in 2001 came another compatriot with whom he shared a dressing room not only with the Reds but also with the Czech Republic national team, Milan Baroš, with whom in 2005 he shared undoubtedly the best title of his career, winning the Champions League at the age of 32, against AC Milan in one of the best finals in the history of this competition, coming from 3-0 down, and becoming the first player in the history of the competition to win the UEFA Champions League.

After Istanbul and retirement for Smicer

Vladimir Smicer, now 50, is undoubtedly remembered by many Liverpool fans as one of the best attacking midfielders in the team's history, he now seems to lead a normal life, playing amateur games and spending quality time with his family, his age is undoubtedly reflected in his face with more wrinkles and a thinning head of hair and a beard full of grey hair, he has certainly changed too much now, almost unrecognisable.