You probably won't have heard of Chris Pile. Even some Liverpool supporters who religiously followed the team home and away during the 1980s, struggle to recall much about him.
A goalkeeper from the same Huyton suburb as Steven Gerrard, he was just 18-years-old when Joe Fagan's team were preparing for the European Cup final against Juventus three decades ago.
Then, he was unexpectedly catapulted in to the first team picture for the biggest club game there is.
"I was walking in through the players’ entrance at Melwood," the now 48 year-old recalls. "A few apprentices started whispering as I went past. I asked them what was happening?
"They said: ‘have you not heard, have you not read the paper? Bob Bolder [the usual substitute goalkeeper] broke his ankle in the reserves last night. You’ll be in the squad for the European Cup final'.
"There was no coverage of the reserves on club TV channels then, no mobile phones, no texting; so I didn’t have a clue about what had gone on. None of the coaching staff said anything to me until I was putting some gloves away later that day and Ronnie Moran was putting his kit away too. He told me to just look after myself and not to speak to anyone that I shouldn’t. He basically told me to keep myself fit."
That quiet, understated way was the usual Liverpool approach at the time, even ahead of the season's most important fixture where they would have a chance of retaining the trophy they'd claimed on penalties against AS Roma in the Italian capital a dozen months earlier. There was no fuss about anything ahead of the trip to Brussels for that season's showpiece at the Heysel Stadium.
“We had some warm up training sessions,” Pile says. “There was no specific goalkeeping coaching then, so I had to play outfield against players who were the champions of Europe. Guys like Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush. I was okay, but I was playing with superstars and it was really difficult. We finished the session before travelling to Belgium and all the management said was: ‘right, let’s go win the European Cup’.”
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| Pile as part of the LFC squad in 1985 |
In the same game three years earlier Spink, with just one senior appearance for the midlands club behind him, was required to come off the bench to replace regular goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer, who had picked up a neck injury just 9 minutes in to the contest with Bayern Munich. The 23-year-old managed to keep the Germans scoreless with a number of impressive saves as Peter Withe’s goal ensured ‘old big ears’ ended up at Villa Park.
“Getting a chance like that is every young goalkeeper’s dream," Pile continues. "I'd watched the '82 final and I imagined something similar happening to me. It was a thrilling prospect but at the same time terrifying."
Pile's understandable nerves were slightly eased by the aforementioned calmness that seemed to pervade the Liverpool camp.
"It was very relaxed. I didn't even have a player's suit. I just wore one of my own. We were given some training gear, but nothing like the lads get today. We flew to Belgium and I did a couple of interviews with some of the Merseyside papers, but that was all the attention I got. Although Gary Gillespie was aware of my presence. He was my roommate and wanted me gone because his wife was coming to stay!"
Early on the day of the game Liverpool's tranquility remained. They had been here before, having won the competition four times in the previous eight seasons. Winning it again was the only focus.
"When we went to the ground there were thousands of people around. We didn’t need official UEFA passes to get in. We wandered around and you could instantly see Heysel was an athletics stadium rather than a football stadium. There was a kids’ match on before ours. We went around to the Liverpool end to see people and pick friends out of the crowd. Then we went inside to get changed. At that point we heard there had been a little trouble between fans in town but nothing major."
The truth was serious, much more serious. Minor scuffles earlier in the day had escalated. Inside the ground missiles were being thrown back and forth, the levels of aggression rising steadily. When Liverpool fans charged at their Italian counterparts they fled in an attempt to locate safety. In desperation some of them opted to climb a wall. Such was the nature of the dilapidated ground it collapsed. The eventual tally of those who died would reach 39.
"Each dressing room was situated in line with the edge of the 18-yard box," Pile recalls, suddenly turning more sombre. "There was a huge crash at our end of the stadium. Rumours quickly started going around that 10, then 20, then 30, then 40 people had been killed. We didn't know what to believe. There was a suggestion that some kids had died. Then it was a case of 'what do we do now?'"
As far as the players knew the game was still set to go ahead and they had to remain focused.
"The lads in the dressing room were doing different things to pass the time, such as playing cards or head tennis, the normal stuff. I don’t remember too much discussion about whether the game would be abandoned. We didn't have a clue what was really going on outside. Phil Neal, the captain, disappeared a few times to talk to different people about what was happening. Then the lads walked out on to the pitch and the game kicked off."
A non-event is how those who watched it remember, or choose not to remember, the 90 minutes. Understandably, the players didn't want to participate after what had just happened. Only one goal was scored, a Michel Platini penalty in the second half. Nobody cared. People had died at a football match.
"It must have been very difficult for the lads who had to play," Pile says. "I remember doing a warm up during half time and there were horse hoof prints on the turf. That emphasised to me some of the carnage that had gone on.
"Not that anybody wanted them, but we got our runners-up medals in the dressing room. Craig Johnston and I were walking out of the stadium afterwards and took a wrong turn. We ended up in a gym where there were bodies being laid out. Armed guards stood nearby. We quickly turned around. I think there would have been more trouble if the game hadn’t actually gone ahead. The authorities knew that so they probably didn't have much choice."
Obviously Pile and his team-mates didn't see exactly what had happened. But he is certain about one vital element of that tragic day.
"It was an ill-suited venue for a football match. What proper preparation and planning had gone in to the game? Not much I would guess."
The Liverpool contingent had hoped to be travelling back to Merseyside the next day as heroes who had conquered Europe again. Instead the flight was a silent journey, although the full extent of what had just happened was still only sinking in.
"Everybody was very quiet. When we landed there was a scrum of reporters and photographers. They all wanted to see Joe Fagan because he was leaving. There wasn't as much talk or questions [from the press] of what had happened at the ground as you might have expected. I just got in a taxi and went home."
What looked like it might have been a special occasion for the teenager had gone horribly wrong for everyone concerned. English clubs would be banned from Europe. Pile just wanted to forget about it all.
"Before the game my mom had said to my nan about how proud she was to see me in the squad. My nan was proud too but said she had a bad feeling that something was going to go wrong. Hearing that when I came back was quite eerie.
"Like a lot of people who had been there, I was a bit down. I don't know if it was shock. I just needed to escape from it so I got on a train to Bournemouth to see my brother Simon, who worked as a chef down there. I stayed on the south coast for six weeks and that really helped me."
Inevitably though, pre-season came around and it was time to return to Melwood. The big subject amongst the squad on their resumption of duties after the summer break was of Kenny Dalglish succeeding Fagan.
"There was just no mention of Heysel. It was a closed book. It took me maybe five years to ever discuss it with anyone. I remember a friend of mine once said: ‘I’ve known you for roughly a decade and you’ve never mentioned Heysel.’ He didn’t want to ask me about it. I didn’t want to talk about it. I was only 18 at the time and it made a huge impression on me."
As always, the life of a footballer moved on quickly. Bob Bolder, the back-up goalkeeper to Bruce Grobbelaar, had decided to leave in search of more playing time and departed for Sunderland. This meant Pile moved up the ranks to become the permanent number two.
"There were no sub 'keepers for league games then so I'd go along and just sit in the stands. Then I caught my studs in the turf at training and slipped a disc in my back."
The club needed cover; Mike Hooper was signed from Wrexham that October and would establish himself as the regular back up to Grobbelaar.
Pile's reaction? "That's life. I just had to get on with it." He would never be so close to the first team scene again. Instead, a few outings for the reserves were as good as it got and he was released in 1987.
Brief spells at Tranmere and Bury followed before going to play in New Zealand for a team named Waterside. A talented cricketer too, Pile embraced his love for the bat and ball while down under to such an extent that he was offered the chance to return to England and play for Blackpool alongside West Indies captain Richie Richards. While back in the UK he signed for Southport FC during the winter only to break his wrist.
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| Pile pictured on a recent return home |
"It was the fourth time I'd had that injury. The specialist suggested I look for a new career away from football. I was only 24. I went back to New Zealand and got a job in the motor industry."
Since then he's combined his role as a Volkswagen salesman in Wellington with coaching young goalkeepers. Some people would be bitter about coming so close to being a Liverpool player and having the chance snatched away. He looks at it a bit differently.
"I had a little bit of resentment for about 30 seconds when they let me go. Then I moved on. That’s my philosophy in life. There’s no point looking back or thinking: ‘If I, would I, could I, why didn't I.’ I know I was lucky to be at Liverpool. Some people never get that far. And not making it wasn't the end of the world for me. Worse things can happen."
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