Anfield's last game of the season was a bit of a party. It wasn't the most amazing game but there were two goals from us and it wasn't a defeat, unlike our last few league games. Plus there is the small bonus that it means we stay ahead of Arsenal and finish third.
The big news of the match that it was Robbie's last hurrah at Anfield. Rafa subbed him off with a minute of normal time remaining which enabled Robbie to get a standing ovation from the fans. Unfortunately it meant that he couldn't score the penalty we were awarded a minute later. Harry put it away for his first goal of the season. Robbie is a red legend of the highest order but everyone can see that he can't cut it at this level anymore. I'm going to do a separate blog entry about him over the next week or two.
So out with the old and in with the new. The new in this case is Lucas. This is one to get excited about. He's the Brazilian under twenty captain, a central midfielder and was voted player of the year in Brazil last season. This deal seems to be agreed and he'll join us in July after the copa Libertadores. The fee is rumoured to be around £5m or so. Rafa has said that he tried to compete for top class young signings like Denilson and Walcott at Arsenal but was financially unable. Hopefully this means that the Hicks and Gillett investment is starting to pay off. 
We're also being linked with Alexandre Pato. "The Duck" is an eighteen year old Brazilian striker and is being tipped for greatness. I would be surprised if this happens but we are interested in him apparently. Check out the mad skillz.
With Athens not far away, it reminded me of this quote from Cruyff. "There's not one club in Europe with an anthem like You'll Never Walk Alone. There's not one club in the world so united with the fans. I sat there watching the Liverpool fans and they sent shivers down my spine. A mass of 40,000 people became one force behind their team. That's something not many teams have. For that I admire Liverpool more than anything." Dutch legend Johan Cruyff after Istanbul. Only eight days to go. Good video on the chelsea match using an audio montage from radio merseyside.
I was in Barcelona at the weekend and we visited Camp Nou for the Barcelona v Betis game. Good match even though it finished 1-1. Barca scored early and played some great stuff in the first half and could have easily been 2-0 or 3-0 at half time. But Betis came back into it and scored in the last few minutes. The locals got restless and the white hankies/sheets of newspaper came out which added to the entertainment. I hope that Barcelona can turn it around but it's not looking good considering their form and Madrid are now top of the league.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
God bows out
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7 comments:
Good blog! Link me up!
Consider yourself linked.
Alright boss, liking the look of those brazil boys. Myself and marko talked about Lucas during this week's podcast at Okeydokefootball. Pato is something I only heard about here but would welcome him considering half of europe is after him. Bellamy looks on his way out anyway, poor sod.
One thing on Lucas though - he's considered to be the Brazlian Gerrard (despite a lazy wikipedia entry that has him down as a 'holding midfielder') but do we need another player like that? This is a certain sign to me that Alonso is on his way out or that the Monster Mash deal will not be long term. Considering Alonso's recent form, could it be a good thing if he packed off to Madrid or Valencia?
Tim Vickery was on off the ball on newstalk talking about Lucas. He sounds like the real deal. If we are buying him then one of our midfielders will have to go as we won't be able to keep everyone happy. Maybe Momo will go to Juve/Barca as Rafa thinks Javier is a better long term bet. I really hope that Alonso doesn't leave despite his from this season. He's still Rafa's favourite son as far as I'm concerned.
Interesting post... Toronto FC fans in the MLS are already considered the best fans in the league. I was reading an article attempting to explain the phenomenon, and they pointed out that a majority of Toronto FC fans are liverpool supporters
Aren't Toronto the newest franchise in MLS?
yes they most certainly are. lol
20,000 people at an MLS game with a lively and rowdy bunch is unprecedented in North America. the atmosphere is the same as how it is in Europe. so its a big deal here, i've read by an american blogger stating that the atmosphere in the U.S. games are quiet and somewhat dull.
On a side note, I'd like to point out how much I like the Irish. I was in Tokyo for the World Cup in 2002, and I have to this day, yet to meet as many Irish people as I met in Tokyo. Hundreds and hundreds of Irish, every single one of them in their national jersey, drinking, singing songs, and my crew of Argentinian supporters bonded with many of them (through our mutual dislike for the English National Team lol)
One man literally gave my dad an Ireland national jersey. so we only have pleasant memories...
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