He is one of the great figures of English football who has just passed away.
Ray Clemence died at the age of 72, his family announced on Sunday (November 15th). He had spent his last years battling cancer diagnosed fifteen years ago. Emblematic goalkeeper of Liverpool in the 1970s and 1980s, he marked the history of his club during the 1976-1977 season. The Reds faced Saint-Etienne in the quarter-final of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup, a confrontation that has remained in legend. A player from ASSE, midfielder Dominique Bathenay, then scored two goals for Ray Clemence. The first in the first leg to Geoffroy Guichard (victory for the Greens 1-0), and the second in the return leg at Anfield (victory for Liverpool 3-1).
We’re deeply saddened by the passing of one of the greatest-ever goalkeepers, Ray Clemence.
The thoughts of everyone at Liverpool Football Club are with Ray’s family and many friends.
Rest in peace, Ray Clemence 1948-2020.
– Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 15, 2020
The mythical image of the Stéphanois, arms raised, in the Anfield Road stadium will be remembered. The former star of Saint-Etienne fondly remembers Ray Clemence, “I think all Liverpool fans must be very moved, he represents the immense goalkeeper who won the first C1 for Liverpool, he was a charismatic character of this club. He’s part of my story, part of our story, we had met him twice, I managed to score him two goals. It was not a very pleasant memory since we had been eliminated. But all the same, in this mythical stadium of Anfield Road, having managed to silence all this crowd, to mystify Ray Clemence, that is part of the good memories.“
The ASSE midfielder remembers this historic goal, scored from far away in the cages of Ray Clemence in Liverpool, on March 16, 1977 in the quarter-finals of C1, “I don’t know if this is the peak of my career, that would reduce it to a few things. But it’s a highlight because everyone talks to me about it, it was one of the good times of my life as a footballer.” While a fresco in homage to Ray Clemence was inaugurated in early October, the memory of the former great football players is still alive, “I think the English have this ability to glorify their sport, their clubs, their players, says Dominique Bathenay. They never forget where they come from, their glorious or less glorious past, the whole history of the club. I think all Liverpool players of 2020 are very touched by Ray Clemence’s passing.“
The only thing you can wish for someone who loves football is to go to an English stadium and especially Anfield. It’s goosebumps guaranteed.
Dominique bathenayto franceinfo
If Liverpool has managed to return to the top (European champion in 2019), Saint-Etienne, on the other hand, no longer plays at the European level, “Liverpool, for many years, has managed to regain leadership and is one of the big European clubs. English football is organized to have the means to do it, to have great stadiums of great coaches, and also to eradicate the cancer that was eating them away, that is to say the hooligans. Now on the stadiums there is a magnificent atmosphere.“
Liverpool, which is one of the stages of the Saint-Etienne epic in the 1970s, “A lot of people tell us about it, and these two matches were quite exceptional, with a lot of atmosphere and twists. It’s part of my life as a footballer. I talk about it with great pleasure, because it is the story of this Saint-Etienne team, which for three or four years has shown that it can compete with the best. “
Listen to Dominique Bathenay’s tribute to Ray Clemence, at the microphone of Jean-Pierre Blimo