The following campaign, Dudek rebounded from a series of errors in the league to win the League Cup with a player of the match performance against Manchester United in the final. Pope John Paul II, who was a goalkeeper in his youth, met personally with him in 2004, saying that he was his fan and followed Liverpool whenever they played; the player presented the Pope with a souvenir goalkeeper shirt, and would later dedicate Liverpool's UEFA Champions League success to the late pontiff.