Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy has revealed how his goal against Manchester United 22 years ago saw him recognised by "spear-carrying Maasai" while on holiday in Kenya.
Murphy scored the first of his three winning goals at Old Trafford when he struck home a delightful free-kick just before half-time to secure Liverpool’s first victory away to United for a decade in December 2000.
The goal earned Liverpool three points against their fiercest rivals and it also made Murphy famous around the world and he came to learn this in surprising fashion years later.
“I was in Kenya in the Maasai Mara with the family, wonderful place, no phone service, out in the wilderness living in glorified tents,” the 45-year-old said as quoted by Daily Star.
“The guy who was looking after us asked was everything going well, and I said, ‘Phenomenal. Fantastic. There’s just one thing: you couldn’t get me the football scores, could you?’ He told me to come with him, so we went off through the main camp, past where the staff worked and lived,” he added.
“We ended up in this brick building with a corrugated iron roof, like a very large shed. As I walked in, there were about 30 Maasai in there. They were not dressed up for the kids, they were proper Maasai.”
“There was a bucket of beers and a telly the size of my iPad on a chest of drawers. You could hardly see it, but on it was the football. They were all watching Liverpool playing Southampton.”
“I honestly did not think for a second that I’d do anything other than go in, have a beer and watch the match. But almost the moment I walk in, one of them turns around and points at me with his spear and says, ‘Danny Murphy. Free-kick. Liverpool. Manchester United’.”
Murphy played for Liverpool between 1997 and 2004, scoring 44 goals in 246 games before returning to his first club Crewe Alexandra for one season.
He also played for Charlton Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham and Blackburn Rovers but admits his stint with Liverpool is still what most fans around the world remember him for.
“I have travelled all over the world, and everywhere I’ve been on the planet, a Liverpool person, a Liverpool supporter or a football supporter will mention the Manchester United goals,” he said.
Murphy has been working as a pundit since he retired in October 2013.
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