Such a great player. Rafa's treatment of him and apparent preference for Gareth Barry remain an enduring mystery.
well, at least Athletico Madrid are trying to play a bit this year and not spoil everything with unadorned brute defending. How they emerged 0-0 out of that 2nd leg semi with Bayern I'll never fathom or forgive the football gods for, evn though Bayern weren't on full accuracy mode and Robben missed the game. Because Bayern would have shoved the ball up the overrated Madrid side's arses three or four times in the final I think....
More reason to love the guy .... Xabi Alonso used his retirement speech to cheekily remind his Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti of Liverpool 's legendary comeback in the 2005 Champions League final. The Reds were famously 3-0 down at half-time to Ancelotti's much-vaunted Milan side when they fought back with three goals in six second-half minutes. It was Alonso who scored the vital equaliser after initially missing a penalty in the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul, and the Reds eventually won their fifth European Cup on penalties on May 25 2005. And Alonso, who announced his retirement on Thursday , was discussing his career at length alongside Ancelotti, he just couldn't resist giving the Italian a little reminder of arguably the most famous night in the Reds' illustrious history. "I was lucky enough to play a fantastic final," said Alonso before turning his head towards Ancelotti who was sitting next to him at a press conference on Friday. "And to win that Champions League that most other people will remember!" The move drew widespread laughter from a packed press conference, but three-time Champions League winner Ancelotti was quick to remind his midfielder of his own history with the Europe's premier competition.
Momo Sissoko's career has just taken another twist http://www.givemesport.com/1005790-momo-sissokos-career-has-just-taken-another-twist?autoplay=on
I liked Sissoko. He was incredible in how much ground he was able to cover and how many tackles he was able to make. He was a nightmare for opposing midfielders to play against. There was one season where Sissoko and Alonso were a dominant pairing and Gerrard was playing great football on the right wing.
http://www.goal.com/en-ar/news/1872...perb-kuyt-strike-shows-hes-still-got-it-at-36 Mar 12, 2017 21:14:01 Given how much he's ran himself ragged over the years, you'd think by this point the old fella's legs would have packed in - far from it! Footballers seem to be playing for longer and longer these days, with 35-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic perhaps the best example of what you can achieve if you look after your body in the twilight of your career. And while they may not be at quite the same level, former Liverpool man Dirk Kuyt made his own case for the ageing generation with a fine strike in Feyenoord's 5-2 demolition of AZ on Sunday. Timing his run to perfection, the veteran snuck in behind AZ's defence to latch on to a clever shouldered through-ball from Nicolai Jorgensen (who himself bagged three goals and two assists!) and blast home past Tim Krul. Check out the wonderful play in the video above!
Ahem. As someone who started following Liverpool closely ten years ago, during Kuyt's first season at Anfield, I can't help but wonder how the Kuyt of that era would have fit into Klopp's system. He certainly had the engine and the desire.
In the 'probably just paper talk' category I read today Suso being linked with a move to Chelsea. I really had high hopes for him a few years back though haven't seen him play since he left us so no idea re his progress . Article quotes him valued at £20-25 million. http://www.90min.com/posts/4732743-...ue-under-antonio-conte-at-chelsea?a_aid=36149
Suso didn't quite get a fair chance here - however he is built for the slower Italian league. He's a good player no doubt however - and maybe Conte had an eye on him while he was in Italy - but I don't think he'd make it in the PL.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04sfb7s Dirk Kuyt and Brad Jones talk about Feyenoord's title hopes.
He scored 10 goals w/ LFC U23s in 42 appearances ( 348 minutes/goal ), but in 21 appearances for the big kids ( 936 min. ) he scored once. He's still only 23. If Chelsea wants to pay 20M for him, great. He's not worth that much, IMO.
Little Kuyt scores wonderful goal: http://www.ad.nl/offside/video-kuyt-junior-slalomt-zich-naar-een-prachtgoal~a57b5d40/ filmed by mama Kuyt.