PRELUDE TO WEMBLEY 2012 A good summary of the recent highs and lows of the club by Rob Smyth guardian.co.uk, Saturday 25 February 2012 23.00 GMT GIANTS IN CARDIFF May 2006 At the end of Pepe Reina's first season, Liverpool win a classic FA Cup final on penalties after a 3-3 draw with West Ham. Reina saves three penalties in the shoot-out AMERICAN NIGHTMARE February 2007 Tom Hicks and George Gillett buy the club for a reported £435m. The pair soon fall out with each other and Rafa Benítez, while breaking promises over debt and a new stadium MISERY IN ATHENS May 2007 After beating Barça and Chelsea en route to the Champions League final, Liverpool lose 2-1 to Milan in Athens, two years after the victory in Istanbul BROKEN PROMISES May 2008 The construction of a new stadium is halted when Hicks and Gillett have trouble finding the £300m needed for the proposed development PIPPED AT THE POST May 2009 Liverpool lose only two league games all season but are beaten to the title by Manchester United, whose 18th championship equals Liverpool's record EUROPEAN WOE December 2009 Liverpool fall in the Champions League group stages for the first time since 2002 after losing to Lyon and Fiorentina RAFA DEPARTS May 2010 Liverpool finish seventh, their lowest league position since 1999. Benítez leaves the club by mutual consent and is replaced by Roy Hodgson AMERICAN DREAM October 2010 A long power struggle with Hicks and Gillett concludes when Liverpool announce they have agreed to sell the club to New England Sports Ventures, the company largely owned by John W Henry RETURN OF KING KENNY January 2011 Hodgson is sacked with Liverpool ninth in the table. Kenny Dalglish returns as manager, 20 years after his first spell in charge BIG SPENDERS August 2011 The signing of José Enrique takes Dalglish's gross spending to around £107m RACISM ROW December 2011 Luis Suárez is banned for eight matches and fined £40,000 for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra in October. The club are criticised for their support of the player SPATS … AND APOLOGIES February 2012 Suárez declines to shake Evra's hand before the Premier League match at Old Trafford, while Kenny Dalglish loses his temper with Sky's Geoff Shreeves. Both men apologise the next day BACK AT WEMBLEY Sunday Liverpool's first match at the rebuilt stadium, with only Cardiff City standing in the way of a first trophy in six years