Apart from the pre-match trouble which marred the Champions League final my other big regret from the trip to Athens is that I couldn't make it to Olympiakos where a group of Liverpool fans were on a special pilgrimage.
The pilgrimage, organised by lads from the excellent Red All Over The Land website, took place on the day of the game at a time when most fans were congregating in Syntagma Square.
For those of you who don't know, in 1981 Olympiakos suffered there own tragedy, when 21 fans were killed in a crush at Gate 7 of the Karaiskaki Stadium.

In the eyes of the Greek fans, this was their Hillsborough.
With a clear sense of empathy, the Liverpool fans from RAOTL decided the trip to Athens for the European Cup final would give them a perfect opportunity to pay their respects to those who perished on that fateful day.
It was also their chance to return a favour as several groups of Olympiakos fans have attended the annual Hillsborough memorial service at Anfield over the years.
Because of this, the bond between the two sets of fans has grown ever stronger so it was deemed entirely fitting that a group of Liverpool supporters should visit the memorial at Gate 7.
Ste Wright from the Hillsborough Justice Campaign was one of the prime movers behind the visit, along with John Mackin and Murf from RAOTL.
On a day when the reputation of Liverpool fans suffered a battering in sections of the national media their gesture went unnoticed.
I had promised to be there but, unfortunately, events, conspired against me and I am absolutely gutted that I could not make it because what these lads did was worthy of far more coverage than a retrospective account on an internet blog.
From what I have been told since getting back to Liverpool, their pilgrimage was well received by Olympiakos club officials and supporters.
A wreath was laid in memory of those who died at Gate 7 and soon the memorial was covered in Liverpool scarves and momentos.
Those who didn't leave their scarves behind swopped them with Olympiakos fans who were so impressed by what they were seeing they ended up looking after the Liverpool lads with all kinds of ale and food.
Perhaps the most poignant moment was when the mother of a teenage victim of Gate 7 turned up to thank the Liverpool fans for their support.
All of this went unnoticed by the British media who were too busy castigating Liverpool fans for the behaviour of a minority who caused problems at the Olympic Stadium before the final.
Here was another minority showing empathy, solidarity and doing their bit to help soothe the pain of the surviving relatives of the victims of Gate 7 and yet they were deemed not worthy of even a mention.
One of the organisers even sent the information to Sky Sports News but they were too busy reading out e-mails from "Nigel from Middlesboro" hammering the behaviour of Liverpool fans in Athens to bother reporting anything positive.
All those who took part in the pilgrimage to Gate 7 are a credit to their club and themselves.
And I can only apologise for not being there with them to give the story the coverage it so clearly deserved.

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