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RAFA: I'M VERY PROUD OF MY PLAYERS 2007-03-07 10:09:00 Steve Hunter 06 March 2007Rafael Benitez couldn't hide his delight at seeing Liverpool go through to the last eight of the Champions League and said he was immensely proud of his team.The Liverpool manager felt his side deserved to go through despite the 1-0 second leg defeat and also praised the supporters for being the twelfth man. "I am very proud of my players and our supporters," enthused Benitez. The atmosphere was amazing and that's why I always say we have the best supporters in the world. "I am disappointed we conceded a goal and lost the match on the night but we deserved to go through. "We deserved to score a lot of goals in the first half and even in the second when Barcelona had more possession we had chances on the break. "We weren't finishing the opportunities we were creating but we worked so hard. We managed to hang on and and made sure we qualified."
STEVIE: LET'S HAVE A NIGHT TO REMEMBER 2007-03-06 14:46:00 Jimmy Rice 05 March 2007Steven Gerrard has challenged the Liverpool players and fans alike to make the Champions League clash against Barcelona one of the most memorable European nights Anfield has ever witnessed.The skipper believes Barca will be dreading the prospect of playing in front of a rammed Kop on Tuesday night. "Liverpool versus Barcelona in front of a packed Anfield – it doesn't get much bigger than that. I've experienced many special nights here and I'm hoping there is another one just around the corner," Gerrard told a press conference on Monday. "Teams in the past have come here and not enjoyed playing in this stadium – when it's full there is a lot of noise. The fans make it really difficult for the opposition. "It gives us a real boost knowing they're behind us trying to push a goal in for us. I'm sure they'll be there well before kick-off making the atmosphere really intense for Barcelona. That's what we want from them." Gerrard admits he is alrea
2007-03-06 14:44:00
RAFA: WE WANT TO WIN BOTH GAMES 2007-03-02 15:29:00 Paul Eaton 02 March 2007Rafael Benitez has insisted his team selection for tomorrow's clash against Manchester United won't be influenced by his plans for next week's Champions League showdown with Barcelona.Liverpool play two of the biggest games of their season over the next five days, but the manager insists he will maintain his usual policy of taking one game at a time. "This could be the biggest week of our season," he said. "We are playing against two of the best sides in Manchester United and Barcelona. "If we can beat United it will be good for our confidence for the Barcelona game. We will try to win the first game and then think about the next one. "Sometimes you want to use the same players for two games but it's not always possible. After the United game we will see if we have any injuries or other problems for the next match. "As far as I'm concerned both games are important. They are in different competitions but we still want to win them both - and I'm sur
Rafa plots Eto'o raid - Reports 2007-02-28 13:08:00 Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is reportedly plotting a summer move for Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o.The Spaniard tried to sign Cameroon striker Eto'o two years ago when he left Real Mallorca but couldn't match Barca's spending power.However the arrival at Anfield of American tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks has given Benitez money to spend, and has coincided with reports Eto'o will leave the Nou Camp in the summer.The 25-year-old has fallen out with Barca coach Frank Rijkaard and team-mate Ronaldinho in recent weeks after claims he refused to come on as a substitute against Racing Santander.That has led to him being linked with a move to both Chelsea and Arsenal, but it appears former Valencia manager Benitez's contacts in Spain have sprung Liverpool to the front of the queue in the race for Eto'o, who has been rated at anywhere between £20million and £50million by the media.If Eto'o does move to Anfield, he will join Andriy Voronin there, with the Ukraine striker movi
RAFA PLEASED WITH SPIRIT IN CAMP 2007-02-22 09:58:00 Jimmy Rice 21 February 2007Rafa Benitez was delighted with his players' response following a difficult build-up to their Nou Camp showdown. Goals from Craig Bellamy and John Arne Riise saw the Reds claim a superb 2-1 victory over Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie. "I said before in the press conference that the atmosphere between the players was really good and you could see today them all working very hard for the team, for the club and for the supporters," said Benitez. "For me I am really pleased with Bellamy and John scoring these goals and also pleased for the team too. "The players have done a very good job, we were training and working very hard to prepare for this game and to play Barcelona is not easy. I think that the team was very good at playing counter-attack. "At the end of the day we need to play another game, I don't want to say that everything is done. We need to be careful and think about the next game also."
CRISIS AT LIVERPOOL 2007-02-19 15:05:00 Liverpool have been thrust into crisis just days before their Champions League match with Barcelona.Riise Escapes Serious Injury, Bellamy In Trouble John Arne Riise seems to have escaped with very minor injuries after being attacked with a golf club by Liverpool teammate Craig Bellamy following a drunken brawl. Norway coach Age Hareide revealed as much, and that the situation in the dressing room is tense.A concerned Hareide called up Riise after reports of the brawl, and Bellamy's ferocious attack, hit the headlines.Revealing that he managed to speak to Riise, he confirmed that the left-back was doing fine. He also suggested that the situation in the dressing room was pretty serious."I got to talk to John Arne, and things in general are not good," Hareide told VG."But in any case things are okay with John Arne. That is the most important thing."He escaped without injuries."Bellamy and Riise were involved in a drunken brawl at a karaoke bar in Portugal, where Liverpool were preparing
Reds do not fear Barca 2007-02-19 14:00:00 Skipper Steven Gerrard says Liverpool have nothing to fear going into their Champions League last-16 tie against holders Barcelona.Gerrard also feels that Liverpool's contingent of Spanish player and their manager Rafael Benitez's knowledge of Spanish football gives them an edge.He told LFC magazine: "A lot of our lads have experience of the Nou Camp so there is no fear factor."We have to go there with confidence, and not worry about Barcelona."Liverpool, winners in 2005, return to European action in the Nou Camp in the first leg of their last-16 tie on 21 February.Gerrard is currently warm-weather training with Liverpool in Portugal, and warned against the dangers of scaring themselves. Read more:Barca
RAFA: BRING ON BARCA 2007-02-14 16:03:00 Mark Platt 14 February 2007One week before the Reds take on Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League clash in the Nou Camp, manager Rafael Benitez talks to Liverpoolfc.tv.To watch our interview with Rafa at Melwood, click here>>Liverpoolfc.tv: Rafa, the big Liverpool v Barcelona clash in the Nou Camp is drawing ever closer, how much are you looking forward to it? Rafael Benitez: It's a difficult stadium to play in but we have confidence. We know it will be a difficult game because Barcelona is a difficult team. We know about them but we will try and I have confidence we can do a good job.Since the draw was made in December has it been difficult diverting your players' attention away from the prospect of playing in the Nou Camp?I have watched some of their games on the TV but I have been focused on our form in the Premiership. I said to my players that we don't think about Barcelona and focus on the Premier. Now we can look ahead to Barcelona.Does this tie have an extra
MOMO SISSOKO INTERVIEW 2007-02-09 14:17:00 Shakir Ahmed 09 February 2007Liverpool midfielder Momo Sissoko chats to journalist Shakir Ahmed about religion and football…How old were you when you started playing football? I was seven years of age when I started playing football, and when I was 14 I started taking the sport more seriously. How did you start your career? I started playing in small local French teams; nothing big, just normal. I started playing for a club, like kids do, then I was spotted by the coach of Auxerre, who came to my house and asked if I'd like to play for Auxerre. I said of-course - for me this was very exciting and I was very happy. What kind of support did you get from your parents and family? My parents never had any problems with me playing football, they were very happy and encouraged me to play. You were not heard of until you signed for Liverpool FC, what was your first reaction when Liverpool were interested? Yeah, for sure I was not heard of, and then I hear Liverpool FC are interested! This w
GILLETT 2007-02-08 11:04:00 Jimmy Rice 08 February 2007George Gillett admits he is on a mission to win the respect of every Kopite in the world.And the American has sent this message to the millions of Liverpool fans around the globe: "Come talk to me." He said: "I want to earn the respect of the fans. My message to them is to give us a few years and we'll see where it takes us. Give us a little time and we are going to have some fun together. "When I go to Anfield I'm going to be on the streets in front of the stadium talking to fans. When I'm at the ice hockey if I see an empty seat during the interval I go and sit there to talk to the fans, and I will do the same here. "When I arrived in Liverpool I picked up a paper and there were four or five letters to the editor about us from people who don't even know us. I've asked my people to get numbers for those fans and I will ring them personally." Co-owner Tom Hicks moved to reassure fans their club is in safe hands. He said: "This is not a takeover like the
FIFA GIVE MASCHERANO GO-AHEAD 2007-02-01 09:51:00 Paul Eaton 31 January 2007FIFA have given Javier Mascherano permission to play for Liverpool if he completes his move to Anfield, but the Reds are now waiting to hear whether the deal will be sanctioned by the Premier League.The game's governing body has agreed to the move even though the player has already played for two clubs in the past twelve months. A FIFA statement read: "After due consideration of all aspects, the Fifa single judge ruled that, 'Upon registration for Liverpool FC during the present registration period, the player Javier Mascherano is eligible to play in official matches with the said club with immediate effect'." Despite FIFA giving their green light to the deal, Liverpool are still waiting to hear if the Premier League will allow it to progress. A Liverpool spokesman said: "FIFA have confirmed the player is entitled to play for Liverpool. "However, the move from West Ham still needs to be ratified by the Premier League and we await their decision."
WEST HAM'S AS BIG AS CHELSEA 2007-01-29 10:23:00 Paul Eaton 28 January 2007Rafael Benitez looked ahead to Tuesday's trip to Upton Park and insisted: "There's no point beating Chelsea and then losing to West Ham."Liverpool's victory last weekend saw them climb to within five points of the Champions and the Reds have a chance to further reduce the gap when they take on the relegation-battling Hammers this week. Benitez was delighted with the manner of his team's success over Jose Mourinho's men but has warned against the dangers of being brought back down to earth with a poor performance in east London. "All of the players and fans enjoyed the score against Chelsea," said the boss. "The game was good, we showed character and quality and I was really happy. "It’s always good to win against the top sides but at the end of the day it was only three points. We had confidence before that game because we were winning and doing the right things, but now we have won I think we have more confidence. "As always, our idea is to take things
RAFA: WE CAN BEAT ANYONE 2007-01-22 11:29:00 Steve Hunter 22 January 2007Rafael Benitez admitted the 2-0 win over Chelsea was one of his most satisfying victories as Liverpool manager and said it proved that Liverpool can beat anyone on their day.The Liverpool manager added he always had confidence that Liverpool could more than match the so called top sides in the Premiership and agreed the Reds showed their true capabilities on Saturday. "We can beat anyone – we'd done it in the cups, but now we've done it in the Premier League," commented a defiant Benitez. "All I can say is that we had a lot of confidence. You could feel it in training sessions. On Saturday, you could see how focused the team was. We were attacking, defending, winning the second balls. "We showed on Saturday that we are a very good team. We have a better squad than before. You have to be calm and quiet about your targets. We're five points behind, and it's a long race, but we’ll try and get even closer. It's about winning the next game. "If we maint
DANIELE PADELLI 2007-01-16 12:22:00 Liverpoolfc.tv 16 January 2007New loan signing Daniele Padelli speaks to the club website about his recent Anfield arrival and outlines his hopes for the future.The highly-rated Italian under-21 goalkeeper was signed from Sampdoria last week and this is his first interview as a Liverpool player... When did you hear of Liverpool’s interest and how did you feel when told they wanted to bring you here on loan? I was very proud and very excited when I heard the news, Liverpool is a great club. We hear a number of clubs have been watching you – what was so attractive about coming to Liverpool? Liverpool has a tremendous history and is one of the most famous clubs in the world. To have the chance to play for such a big club is an honour. Liverpool have been blessed with some great goalkeepers over the years – would it be a long term dream of yours to follow in their footsteps? Of course, there have been some great goalkeepers at the club and I want to continue that and achieve the sam
WATFORD 0-3 LIVERPOOL 2007-01-16 10:26:00 Daily Mirror 15 January 2007Peter Crouch admitted the pain of Liverpool's Carling Cup calamity inspired them to victory over woeful Watford - even if Rafa Benitez still will not admit he got it wrong.Benitez has endured one of the toughest weeks of his managerial career after his gamble of fielding a second string line-up in the Carling Cup against Arsenal backfired. Liverpool boss Benitez brought back two-goal Crouch and the other big guns to shoot down Watford but insisted next month's Champions League showdown with Barcelona and qualifying for next season are the only things on his mind. Crouch made it clear, though, that while Benitez still believes his cup gamble will be vindicated in the long run, the players are upset after their two most realistic chances of silverware disappeared within the space of four days. England striker Crouch says Liverpool are determined now to carry on making up for their cup disasters by beating Chelsea at Anfield next Saturday and closing the gap
BENITEZ: WE WON'T UNDERESTIMATE PSV 2007-03-09 15:38:00 Mark Platt 09 March 2007Rafael Benitez has warned Liverpool's players and supporters not to underestimate PSV Eindhoven when the two clubs clash in the Champions League quarter-final next month.Having already beaten the reigning Dutch Champions in the group phase of this season's competition the Reds will no doubt be installed as favourites to progress to the semi-final. But Benitez was quick to play down such talk and insisted they won't be taking Ronald Koeman's men lightly. "At this stage of the competition every team is going to be difficult. We know all about PSV, having already played them twice this season, but that doesn't mean it will be easy," Benitez told Liverpoolfc.tv. "Sometimes knowing your opponents well can be an advantage but sometimes it can be a disadvantage because they'll also know all about us. We must be cautious. "I'm sure the supporters will be happy with the draw but we don't want to make the same mistake as last year when went out against Be
Reds owners suspend stadium work 2007-03-15 10:54:00 By Phil McNulty Liverpool's new owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have suspend
ed work on their proposed new stadium and ordered a review of the plans. BBC Sport understands the pair want to examine ways of increasing the 60,000 capacity of the arena in Stanley Park.Liverpool have targeted 2009 as an opening date for the stadium, but if major changes are made, there would need to be a new planning application.This could result in a delay, although the original date may yet be met.Liverpool have yet to confirm the decision to suspend preparatory work on the £215m project, but have revealed a review will be undertaken.A Liverpool spokesman said: "There is a total commitment to a new stadium but the new owners are conducting a thorough review of the current proposals, to see if there is any way they can be improved."BBC Sport believes the club's hierarchy regards the move to commission a review of the plans as a sign of the huge ambition of Gillett and Hicks rather than any move to b
WE WANT TO WIN RACE FOR THIRD 2007-03-19 15:43:00 Paul Eaton 19 March 2007Jamie Carragher has insisted Liverpool are determined to win the race for third place in the Premiership this season.Champions League glory may be at the top of the Reds' agenda over the remaining weeks of the season, but Carragher has revealed there's also a burning desire within the squad to beat Arsenal to third place in the table. "We want to go as far as we can in this season's Champions League but we also still have to ensure we're in it next season," he said. "I'm sure the battle for third will go right down to the wire and we want to claim that third place. "We didn't make a great start to the season and we know we're a bit behind Chelsea and Man United over a nine-month campaign. The league is a long hard slog and we need to improve. "We are a level behind the top two and there's a gap that we need to bridge. "How we go about that is up to the coaching staff and the manager as to which direction they want to go in. "As players we have
BOSS PLEDGES COMPLETE COMMITMENT TO LFC 2007-03-22 12:33:00 Mark Platt 22 March 2007Rafael Benitez today dismissed rumours linking him to Real Madrid and re-affirmed his commitment to Liverpool.The Reds boss said: "I think it's important the fans know I am completely committed to Liverpool Football Club and I'm going nowhere. "I know there's been a lot of speculation in the Spanish media linking me with Real Madrid. "Any manager would be honoured to be associated with such a famous club, especially as Madrid is my home city and also my former club. However, I want to make it clear I am very happy at Anfield and very happy in England and I'm genuinely excited by what the future holds for Liverpool. "I've had some extremely positive discussions with the new owners and share their enthusiasm and determination to take this club back to the very top. "I will be sitting down shortly with both Mr Gillett and Mr Hicks to discuss things face to face, but an enormous amount of work is already underway in preparation for the way forward."
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