The year of 2001 lives long in the memories of the Liverpool supporters that experienced it.

It was a period of time in which the Reds won the League Cup, the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup, all within the space of three months.

While many players contributed to those triumphs, few had a bigger impact than young striker Michael Owen.

The England international was surprisingly omitted from the starting lineup for the League Cup victory over Birmingham City on penalties, but he would go on take out his frustration on Arsenal during the FA Cup final.

With his side trailing 1-0 to a Freddie Ljungberg strike, Owen slammed in an equaliser in the 83rd minute and then as extra time loomed large, he showed great pace and poise to fire in the winning goal, which secured the Merseysiders the trophy for a sixth time in their history.

Owen didn't get his name on the scoresheet in Dortmund as Liverpool played out a dramatic UEFA Cup final with Spanish side Alaves, yet he did win a penalty, which Gary McAllister duly converted.

For good measure, Owen also found the net in Liverpool's UEFA Super Cup and Community Shield wins over Bayern Munich and Manchester United respectively.

Later that year and still aged only 21, Owen took his predatory instincts to the international stage when he scored a hat-trick in England's famous 5-1 victory over rivals Germany in Munich.

All of which meant that when the winner of the coveted Ballon d'Or was announced 13 years ago today, Owen, along with England teammate David Beckham, was one of five nominees in contention to win the award.

Despite a successful and trophy-laden 12 months, it was still something of a surprise when Owen was announced as the winner, becoming the first Englishman to be named Europe's best footballer since Kevin Keegan back in 1979.

"I knew that I was one of the five players in question. I would like to thank the team and all the staff, everyone who is involved with Liverpool. It's their award too," said Owen, who had just turned 22.

"Marco van Basten won it three times. Michel Platini as well. I am proud to add my name to those of Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, Rivaldo, Bobby Charlton and Kevin Keegan."

Owen received 176 votes, which was 36 more than second-placed Real Madrid captain Raul. In third was goalkeeper Oliver Khan, who was between the posts for Germany the night that Owen scored his trio of goals.