Rafa Benitez today revealed that he originally bought Robbie Keane to be the linkman between Gareth Barry and Fernando Torres.But when he failed to sign Barry, Robbie Keane was quickly sold "as collateral damage".That clears that one up then. I thought Keane was sold because Benitez didn't fancy him as a player. Click to continue reading...

I know the decade technically isn't over for another year. Don't care. As far as I'm concerned, and for our purposes here, the decade is from 2000-2009.
And since we had such fun with the ‘compare the squads' vote a few weeks back, I thought another poll or nine would be entertaining. Plus, it's easy content! Click to continue reading...

The following list of elite midfield players in the world will exclude the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka since they sometimes play as forwards or as support strikers depending on the strategy deployed by their team. Kaka has previously played as a second striker during his spell with Milan while both Messi and Ronaldo have played in various attacking positions for their club (mostly on the wing though).

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Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has admitted to making errors in the transfer market but suggested he had to take risks because of the precarious financial situation at Anfield.
With the club struggling in the Premier League and their Champions League participation hanging by a thread, Benitez defiantly defended the job he has done at the club, and claimed when all of his players returned from injury, fans would see the best of them. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool have signed one of the best players in the world according to Alberto Aquilani's former teammate Francesco Totti.
The Italian forward claims his ex-Roma teammate will be a huge success at Anfield despite only featuring in two substitute appearances for Rafa Benitez's side.
The 25-year-old was brought to the Premier League in the summer as a direct replacement for the Real Madrid bound Xabi Alonso, and Totti suggests his compatriot and friend has all the talent to be a huge asset alongside Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. Click to continue reading...

It would seem this vuvuzela thing is, at the very least, unpopular. As a direct result of its popularity, of course. Xabi Alonso left the Confederations Cup poo-pooing the vuvuzela and its effect on the field of play. The cacophony a bit too intense for such things as hearing the whistles and one's teammates not things entirely insignificant.

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Four months into the season, and Liverpool still hasn't deployed the first-choice XI thanks to injuries. And last week we got word that both Benayoun and Riera could be out for a month. Awesome.
Injury problems have consistently troubled Liverpool this season, but with those two missing, the left flank is a massive concern. Click to continue reading...

Sometimes in football, the chemistry between two extraordinary players are at such a high level, that it makes it a privilege to watch.

Last season, when Manchester United fumbled, the two players that came to the forefront in Liverpool's, ultimately fruitless, challenge was Gerrard and Torres.

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Jogaram amistosamente em Madrid, no Estádio Vicente Calderón, as seleções da Espanha (2º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção da Argentina (6º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
Copa do Mundo
1966Birmingham 13/07/1966 ARG2:1 (0:0)ESP Group matches
Amistoso
2006Murcia 11/10/2006 ESP2:1 (1:1)ARG
1999Seville 17/11/1999 ESP0:2ARG
1995Madrid 20/09/1995 ESP2:1 (1:0)ARG
1987Seville 12/10/1988 ESP1:1 (1:1)ARG
1974Buenos Aires 12/10/1974 ARG1:1ESP
1972Madrid 11/10/1972 ESP1:0ARG
1961Seville 11/06/1961 ESP2:0ARG
1960Buenos Aires 24/07/1960 ARG2:0ESP
1953Buenos Aires 05/07/1953 ARG1:0ESP
1952Madrid 07/12/1952 ESP0:1ARG
Mundial Sub-20
2005Enschede 25/06/2005 ARG3:1 (1:1)ESP Quarter-finals2003Sharjah 28/11/2003 ARG2:1 (0:1)ESP Group matches1995Doha 25/04/1995 ESP0:3 (0:1)ARG Semi-finals1989Taif 17/02/1989 ARG1:2 (1:1)ESP First stage
Mundial Sub-17
2007Gwangyang 25/08/2007 ESP1:1 (0:1)ARG First stage2003Helsinki 27/08/2003 ARG2:3 a. Click to continue reading...

Yesterday, I looked at the real cost of Jan Kromkamp's transfer to Liverpool. Today, I attempt to establish the true cost of Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia, two of Rafa Benitez's most successful signings.
At the time of both transfers, the BBC reported that Garcia cost 6m, but in their report for Alonso's transfer, a fee was not specified. Click to continue reading...

It has been revealed that Xabi Alonso may have been prevented from writing an open-letter to Liverpool's fans when he left the club. Given the Spaniard's contribution to the club, I find this to be very disappointing.
Both John Arne Riise and Luis Garcia wrote open letters to Liverpool fans when they left the club, both of which were published on the official Liverpool FC website. Click to continue reading...

I don't make it a habit of watching England games but I'm tempted to try and catch today's friendly with Brazil. Not to actually see England play, you see, but rather in the hope that Lucas Leiva gets a game in the Brazilian midfield.
It speaks volumes about his game this season that Lucas is no longer being constantly pilloried by the fans (well, at least the majority of them) and, without wanting to replace Alonso, he has made a good job of filling in the Spaniard's old role. Click to continue reading...

No matter what happens from now until the end of the season, and whether we finish in the top 4 or not, there are a number of recent transfer deals that bother me greatly - signings, sales or missed opportunities that could've improved our squad and afforded us more depth than we currently have.
The deals relevant to last season may even have turned some of those nagging draws in wins, maybe giving us enough points to have snatched the title from Man Ure. Click to continue reading...

If you believe what you hear - and what you saw against Fulham - you'll probably believe the wolves are at the door for Señor Benitez. However, I'll try to put things in perspective without using an array of cringe-worthy Halloween puns.
What happened against Fulham was a disaster, and a game we shouldn't have lost going into. Click to continue reading...

Let's enjoy a lush trifecta of footballer perfection avec children:

David Beckham with his oldest son Brooklyn at the Lakers game last night. Photo details that make us feel safe and secure: Brooklyn's untied shoelaces and David's chomped on candy apple;

Francesco Totti and his seriously enamoured son Christian.

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Let's enjoy a lush trifecta of footballer perfection avec children:

David Beckham with his oldest son Brooklyn at the Lakers game last night. Photo details that make us feel safe and secure: Brooklyn's untied shoelaces and David's chomped-on candy apple;

Francesco Totti and his seriously enamoured son Christian.

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Almost everything is going wrong for Liverpool. I say 'almost', because last week they beat Manchester United at Anfield, and the gloom was temporarily lifted. "Liverpool have turned a corner... This will kick-start their season... etc" in the end, it hasn't. Liverpool's continued struggles share similarities with those of the aforementioned United in the 2004-05 season, where, after an awful start to the season, a victory against Big Rivals (in that case, Arsenal) threatened to send the Old Trafford club on a march back to glory.

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I finally got to this. There shouldn't be any surprises, but the depth chart is obviously switched right now. Forward: Montero, Ljungberg, Jaqua, Levesque, Le Toux Left Wing: Zakuani, Ljungberg, Levesque, Le Toux Right Wing: Jaqua, Ljungberg, Levesque, Le Toux Center Mid: Evans, Vagenas, Alonso Defensive Mid: Alonso, Vagenas, Ianni Left Wingback: Gonzalez, Scott, Wahl Right Wingback: Riley, Evans, Ianni Centerbacks: Hurtado, [. Click to continue reading...

I finally got to this. There shouldn't be any surprises, but the depth chart is obviously switched right now.

Forward: Montero, Ljungberg, Jaqua, Levesque, Le Toux
Left Wing: Zakuani, Ljungberg, Levesque, Le Toux
Right Wing: Jaqua, Ljungberg, Levesque, Le Toux
Center Mid: Evans, Vagenas, Alonso
Defensive Mid: Alonso, Vagenas, Ianni
Left Wingback: Gonzalez, Scott, Wahl
Right Wingback: Riley, Evans, Ianni
Centerbacks: Hurtado, Marshall, Ianni, Wahl

Rotationals are the following four in order of likely appearance: Levesque, Vagenas, Le Toux and Ianni

The coaches likely see the team as 15 deep at this time.

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After Sunday's great victory over Man Utd and a very good performance in the Carling Cup defeat to Arsenal on Wednesday, Rafa Benitez must be starting to believe that Liverpool have turned a corner this season and that his side are now prepared to fight again for the Premiership title.
Lets face it, we played United of the park last week and we put in a very good display against Arsenal the other night and were very unlucky to lose that match. Click to continue reading...

In a Copa Del Rey match, Jerzy Dudek was the goalie under siege as Francisco Borja scored the first goal, a under pressure Alvaro Arbeloa scored an own goal, Ernesto Gomez tapped in a third, and Borja completed Madrid's woebegone display with his second goal and Alcorcon's fourth.

Pellegrini rested Kaka and his place was taken by Guti.

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The "incredible" home support witnessed during Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Manchester United has increased Italian international Alberto Aquilani's desire to make his long-awaited debut for his new club.
Aquilani was purchased by Rafael Benitez in August for an estimated £17 million, as a direct replacement for Real Madrid-bound Xabi Alonso, but the former Roma star has been unable to represent the Reds in competitive action as his season has been beset with ankle trouble. Click to continue reading...

Before Sunday's game between Liverpool and Manchester United, Liverpool were supposedly in crisis. While their manager Rafa Benitez has got some relief from the enormous pressure on him, the questions regarding the team's dependence on Gerrard and Torres will come up again in the future. Liverpool fully deserved their victory and this does not reflect well on the quality of the United team.

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In the midst of the Alonso summer saga, I posted the results from different midfield pairings. Lucas/Mascherano's line looked like this:
6 wins, 4 draws
2-0 West Brom, 3-0 West Ham, 4-1 United, 1-1 City, 1-1 Wigan, 0-0 Stoke, 5-1 Newcastle, 3-1 PSV [4-4-2], 0-0 Fulham [4-4-2], 2-1 Marseille
Let's ignore the PSV and Fulham games because of the 4-4-2 formation in Gerrard's absence (and Torres' against PSV). Click to continue reading...

England legend Gary Lineker has proclaimed that Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez made a mistake during the summer by signing Glen Johnson, when he should have opted to bring in Gareth Barry instead.
The current Manchester City midfielder was being chased by the Spaniard, as the boss intended to edge out Xabi Alonso to lure the Englishman into being a part of the 'Rafalution'. Click to continue reading...

Javier Mascherano has further rocked the listing Anfield boat this morning by snubbing a new contract.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez, already on the ropes after four straight defeats, has always believed the Argentine midfielder would join his golden list of long-term stars.
Skipper Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Pepe Reina, Dirk Kuyt, Daniel Agger and Yossi Benayoun were all secured on bumper summer deals. Click to continue reading...

It's gearing up to be a very interesting Sunday afternoon of football, with Liverpool and United meeting before we take a trip east to face West Ham, opponents we haven't exactly thrived against in recent years. In fact, some of the games have become infamous, the 1-0 defeat that saw Wenger and Pardew nearly come to blows, and a 3-2 reverse where Sol Campbell jumped ship at half time.

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Its a game that's as big as it gets for Liverpool afternoon.Yes its our hated enemy, Man Utd at Anfield in a game which will define our season.Win and we are right back in contention for the league.Lose and our season is over, its that big a match.
With six defeats already this season, four in the Premiership, things have not been going well at Liverpool, to say the least. Click to continue reading...

I think not!

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Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is already putting together a shortlist for next summer's transfer market, and it appears that his priority is a swoop for Liverpool's Steven Gerrard.

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A lot has been made of Liverpool's recent dip in form with the team looking a shadow of the side that we saw last year. Liverpool lost key personnel most notably in the form of Alonso with his replacement Aquilani yet to take the field in a Liverpool shirt.

Key players Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard have both missed games this season and the lack of suitable back up players for Liverpool seems to be evident at the moment.

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Alberto Aquilani's recuperation continues with a 15 minute reserve match run-out against Sunderland reserves last night. Here is a short video from Caughtoffside.com highlighting the Italian's eye for a pass, vision and close control.
Aquilani has the makings of a very good playmaker, in an advanced midfield role. Click to continue reading...

Raul

The forgotten man in Real Madrid's offensive rotation reminded La Liga fans that he is still among the best goal scorers. With Cristiano Ronaldo out for a while it is Raul's time to shine and prove once again in his career that he is as valuable as any player on the squad.

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Without Cristiano Ronaldo, the Merengues lacked creativity and an attacking spark.

Karim Benzema and Kaka both had an unmemorable outing. It was the supporting cast of Granero, Marcelo and Raul that provided the threat and in the second half Royston Drenthe had his moments.

Pellegrini turned defensive with Lass and Alonso creating redundancy in the holding midfielder positions, with Alonso a bit more adventurous.

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Liverpool's crushing defeats to Sunderland and Lyon are undoubtedly devastating blows to the club's trophy ambitions. Clearly, the recurring problems that have plagued Liverpool under Rafa Benitez are wreaking havoc once again. As such, if the club is to recover and salvage something from this campaign, it is imperative that important changes are made NOW. Click to continue reading...

Phew! Who would want to be in Rafa's shoes right now.Four straight defeats in all competitions, the first time since 1987, an injury list as long as your arm and a tough game against Man Utd this weekend.Not the ideal scenario, in fact, things couldn't be any worse at Liverpool right now.Torres, Gerrard, Johnson, Riera and Kelly are all injured leaving us in a position where Rafa will struggle to get a fit team out on Sunday to face our arch rivals. Click to continue reading...