my liverpool fc

All Hail King Luis!

The event’s at Anfield certainly have been exciting over the past couple of days and it was fantastic to see Fernando Torres finally unveiled as our new number 9 at this afternoon’s press conference. (click here)

Liverpool have paid a record amount for the player but I think it was warranted. The team has been crying out for somebody a little bit special upfront to add to what we’ve already got and I think we’ve got that in Torres. Whether he will turn out to be this mythical “25 goal a season” striker remains to be seen, but I would agree with Rafa Benitez’s comment today when he said, “I’m not thinking about 20 goals (a season). I’d rather have four strikers who score 15 goals each.” (click here)

However, it needs to be noted that we currently have 5 strikers and this comment coupled with his later comment confirming that Peter Crouch is definitely staying, would seem to indicate that it’s the end of the road for Craig Bellamy as a Liverpool player, but let’s save that subject for another blog.

Our defence and the centre of our midfield is stronger then most teams and at least as equally strong as others. Adding Torres to our front line has vastly increased our strength in this area and should ensure that there will be intense competition for places among our forwards next season. Both wings are the area’s that now badly need to be addressed to complete the picture and I was very happy to hear Rafa mention that these are the area’s that he is now focusing on when he said today. “Really we are working with wingers. People can talk about a lot of things and a lot of names but we’re working on wingers.” After a quiet start to the transfer window, things are really starting to get exciting for us and I look forward to hearing exactly which wingers Rafa has in mind.

The close season is always an exciting time as we watch some fresh faces coming into the club and speculate about how they’ll fit into the side. But the excitement can also be tinged with a little sadness as we sometimes also have to say goodbye to some old friends. This was the case a couple of month’s ago when we learned that the Legendary Robbie Fowler would not be with us next season and he has now been joined on the departure list by another favourite of mine, Luis Garcia. (click here)

The serial thumb-sucker has left the club and rejoined Atletico Madrid, and I was sorry to see him go as he was one of my favourite players of the Benitez era. So as my own little tribute to King Luis I delved into my archive and found a piece I wrote about him back in November 2005 that I think is still relevant today.

This came at a time when he had put in a couple of frustrating performances and there were some fans calling for him to be dumped. Given that he had played such a crucial role in helping to get us to Istanbul for our historic Champion’s League win just a few month’s earlier, I felt this was totally out of order and I wrote:

As you have probably guessed from the title of this blog, I’m a fan of King Luis, but that doesn’t mean I’m blind to his faults. The main gripe people have with Garcia is the amount of times we’ve seen him needlessly give away possession. Like every other Liverpool fan, I too have often screamed in frustation when one of our attacks broken down due to him electing to try a fancy flick instead of a simple pass. I strongly believe that football is all about possession. You can’t score goals without the ball, so when you have it you keep it and you use it to hurt the opposition, when you don’t have it you’ve got to go and get it. Being of that mindset, it would take a very special player for me to overlook a weakness in possession such as Garcia’s but I believe Garcia is a very special player.

We all know how meticulous Rafa is in his preparations and I’m sure he re-watches videos of our performances at least several times and also has the team watch them. So I’m certain both he and Garcia are very well aware that he needs to work harder on keeping possession and it should be noted that this season and in particular in recent games, this area of his game has improved. Rafa has spoken very highly of Garcia on a number of occasions and in particular has also mentioned what a clever player he is and I totally agree with this.

We see so many games these days where teams cancel other out with their sterile tactics. In such games its often a mistake or a moment of magic that makes the difference and with the possible exception of StevieG, Garcia is the player in our side most likely to provide that moment of magic. Garcia’s tricks and flicks don’t always come off and when they don’t he can sometimes look foolish but at least he has the courage to try them and even in those games when it seems nothing goes right for him, his head never drops and he keeps going.

He made a huge contribution to our Champions League win of last season and has even been recently nominated, along with Carra and Gerrard, for the European footballer of the year for his efforts. Who will ever forget his 3 goals over the two legs against Leverkusen in the last 16, his magnificent strike against Juventus in the quarters and in the chelski game while others were standing around shouting for a penalty for a foul on Baros, it was Garcia’s determination and quick-thinking that forced the ball over the line (ish). We should also remember Alonso’s penalty in the final. Thankfully Xabi was able to put away the rebound when his spot kick was saved but who was right behind him reacting quicker then anybody else? Garcia. If Xabi hadn’t got to that rebound Luis would have.

That’s often the case with Garcia, he seems to think and react quicker then those around him which is why I agree with Rafa when he praises Garcia’s cleverness, its not just the tricks and flicks but also the intelligent runs he often makes. A recent example of this was his fabulous headed goal against Anderlecht. In an interview after the game he was asked about the goal and said that he knew Steve Finnan would put in a good cross from the right and made a run to get in front of the defender on that side to ensure he got to the ball first and the result of this quick thinking was his a brilliant flicked header that looped over the keeper and into the far corner.. So while others were hanging around the box waiting for things to happen, he was out there making them happen.

Among his other qualities are the fact that he virtually guarantees you 10 or 12 goals from midfield a season and despite often been regularly battered by hefty defenders, unlike Drogba and other such players, he doesn’t roll around on the ground feigning injury he just gets up and gets on with it. Finally, he also plays the game with a smile on his face and seems to have a genuine affection for the club and the supporters. With all this in mind, I really can’t see how any supporters in their right mind could possibly be of the opinion that Rafa should dump Garcia but that’s exactly what some have been saying. I for one hope to see Little Luis running towards the supporters sucking his thumb for many years to come.

Sadly there’ll be no more thumb sucking antics from Garcia in a Liverpool shirt but I wish him all the best in his future career at Atletico. All hail King Luis!

Labels: Luis Sanz Garcia