Liverpool FC Forum

[anfieldadorer]

10/19/2004 4:20:00 AM

In my opinion, no, i mean in their opinion (i don't want to take risk of possible being busted for claiming other people's article       ) Deportivo La Coruna will travel to Anfield on tuesday knowing that, after securing just 1 point from their opening two group A games, a loss will virtually spell the end of any hopes that may harbour of progressing to the knockout stages of the competition. Liverpool, on the other hand, know that a victory would prove very helpful in ensuring their qualification from the group, whilst a defeat could see them propping up the table.
Background

At first glance you would be forgiven for thinking that Liverpool are nothing less than an inconsistent team who have had their major problems away from home. If you are to scrutinise their results, and more specifically the opposition that they have faced, you will come to realise that the pattern is more to to do with the quality of the opposition rather than any inconsistencies - they haved excelled against the likes of West Brom, Norwich and Fulham yet struggled badly when faced with Manchester United, Bolton and Chelsea.

Liverpool fans may point to the injured Gerrard for such shortcomings against quality opposition (no disrespect to West Brom, Fulham or Norwich) but in reality, if they are to become a major force in the game, they will have to start competing with the top teams once again with, or without their captain.

Deportivo will provide the perfect opportunity to gauge just how far Liverpool still need to progress. The Spanish side seemed to have gained their feet after a miserable start to the 2004/05 campaign, the lowest point of which must have been the 5-1 hammering dished out to them by Valencia at the Riazor.

Their 1-0 triumph over Real Madrid at the Bernebaeu over a week ago was followed last weekend with their first home win of the season - a 2-1 victory of Gatafe. They will be hoping that such form can be transfered into the Champions League where, after a poor start, it is sorely needed.


Team News

Liverpool:
Harry Kewell (ankle and thigh) and Steve Finnan (stomach) are likely to be fit after recovering from their respective injuries picked up in mid-week internationals.

Xabi Alosno is likely to be recalled to the side after coming off the bench on Saturday to orchestrate Liverpool overturning a 2-0 half time deficit to beat Fulham 4-2 away.

Stephen Gerrard (foot), Smicer and Nunez (knee) remain sidelined for the home side.

Deportivo:
Mauro Silva is likely to replace the suspended Sergio for Tuesdays match with Liverpool after recovering from the injury he picked up in the loss to Osasuna.

Apart from Sergio’s suspension, Javier Irureta will have a full squad available for the game against Liverpool with Diego Tristan expected to be fit after appearing as a second half substitute in Deportivo’s weekend win over Getafe.

Victor and Luque are expected to return to the starting line up after being rested on the weekend, while Capdevila should keep his place ahead of the returning Romero for the left back spot.


Probable Starting XIs

Liverpool - Kirkland, Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise, Finnan, Hamaan, Alonso, Kewell, Luis Garcia, Baros.

Deportivo - Molina, Pablo, Cesar, Andrade, Capdevila, Victor, Mauro Silva, Duscher, Luque, Valeron, Pandiani


Player to Watch

Liverpool: Luis Garcia - the Spaniard will be looking to produce the form that made him an instant fan favourate at Anfield. If playing in the support striker role, and awarded the type of freedom that he thrives on, he could create or score the all important goals that Liverpool will need to win.

Deportivo: Valeron - the midfield magician should start this match in a free role, operating just behind Pandiani. His vision, control and poise could combine to create the decisive assist that Pandiani and/or Tristan will pounce upon.

[anfieldadorer]

Alonso aims to deflate Deportivo
The Guardian

San Sebastián was puzzled last summer. Real Sociedad's favourite son Xabi Alonso had opted to move not to the bright lights of Real Madrid, nor to the European powerhouse that is Manchester United, but to an apparently ailing Liverpool. The choice seemed to defy logic but, as his array of passes suggests, Alonso is rarely one for the easy option.

The Basque will enjoy something of a Spanish reunion at Anfield this evening, as Deportivo la Coruña visit Merseyside seeking to revive their own stuttering Champions League campaign.

A long-mooted transfer to Real or United may have yielded immediate silverware. At Liverpool the short-term prospects may be limited, but the long-term prognosis is promising.

"Coming to Liverpool was always a very attractive project for me, a chance to be part of something special," said Alonso. "I knew it would be a matter of re-building - the club had new signings and a new manager in Rafael Benítez - but it is the start of a new future. When you arrive here you are struck by the identity Liverpool Football Club has and the huge history of the place.

"I'm hoping to win titles here over the next few years. It may take time to achieve what we want to, but we are ambitious in the short-term as well. We want to do as well as we can, and to go as far as we can in the Champions League, so beating Deportivo La Coruña will be an important step towards qualifying for the knock-out stage."

Alonso will be pivotal if Liverpool are to prevail. The midfielder has become his side's inspiration in the absence of the injured Steven Gerrard, his ability to retain possession whilst prompting attacks making him the hub around which the team revolves.

He was outstanding in the dismissal of Monaco in the opening group game and, when his own form dipped at Olympiakos last month, Liverpool endured their worst performance of the season. Benítez's side may have been poor at Fulham on Saturday but they improved to the tune of four goals after the Spaniard sprung from the bench.

He will start tonight aiming to conjure his first win against Deportivo at the eighth time of asking.

Javier Irureta's team have established a reputation in this competition, shrugging off an 8-3 drubbing in Monaco and a three-goal deficit to Milan en route to the semi-finals last term, but they arrive under pressure. Their improving league form has not been mirrored in Europe with a solitary point and no goals gleaned to date.

Even Alonso has indulged in some timely mind games. While on international duty with the national squad in Vilnius last week, the Basque took time to discourage the Deportivo players Albert Luque and Joan Capdevila. "They were saying that this might be their last chance to get out of the group, so they needed to win here," said Alonso. "But I warned them it would not be easy. The problem is they could not be more dangerous than they are now."

Deflating their opponents will be half the battle. Benitez watched his former side Valencia rout tonight's visitors 5-1 in a league game last month in la Coruña. He has already shown his Liverpool players the video of Valencia's 3-0 stroll against Deportivo in March.

"The players may have changed, but their ideology has not over the last five years," said Benítez. "They are a compact team and they try to deny you space, then hit you on the break. We have to be aware of that. But, while I don't want to be sensationalist, we know that if we can beat them then maybe they are out. If we play like we did against Monaco, we will win."

Liverpool (4-4-1-1; probable): Kirkland; Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise; Finnan, Xabi Alonso, Hamann, Kewell; Luis García; Cissé.

Deportivo la Coruña (4-2-3-1; probable): Molina; Manuel Pablo, César, Andrade, Capdevila; Duscher, Mauro Silva; Víctor, Valerón, Luque; Pandiani.

Referee: A Frisk (Sweden).
TV: ITV2, ko 7.45pm

[anfieldadorer]

Deportivo desperate to subdue the artistry of Alonso

By Phil Shaw
19 October 2004
Xabi Alonso will tonight strive to be a Spaniard in the works for Liverpool, knowing that his compatriots in the Deportivo La Coruña side believe defeat at Anfield would effectively end their chances of advancing to the knock-out stages of the Champions' League.

Alonso, one of three Spanish players who are likely to be in the team named by the former Valencia coach Rafael Benitez, returned last week from international duty with Spain against Belgium and Lithuania. The subject of the back-to-back tussles on Merseyside and in Galicia was inevitably raised.

"Both [Joan] Capdevila and [Albert] Luque told me the Depor players realise this could be their last chance to stay in contention to qualify," the £10.6m summer recruit from Real Sociedad said yesterday. "Things will be difficult for them if we finish the game with six points and they still have only one. It would also be psychologically harder for them when we go there."

Alonso, 22, has been Liverpool's outstanding player this season, sparking an overdue away win at Fulham on Saturday. His form in midfield has prompted some supporters to suggest that selling Steven Gerrard might not be so shocking a proposition after all. But while the newcomer has little to prove to the Kop, Deportivo's arrival reminded him he still has personal goals to achieve.

Prominent on the list is to defeat Deportivo. Not simply because it would put Liverpool in a promising position entering the second half of the Group A campaign, but because they are his bogey team. In eight encounters as a Sociedad player, he never finished on the winning side, despite the fact that he scored his first senior goal against them. "A nice one, too," he recalled, wistful and proud. "From outside the box, into the top corner of the net."

Together with Pedro Duscher, the Argentinian who first acquainted the English with the word "metatarsal" by breaking one of David Beckham's, the Brazilian Mauro Silva is the heartbeat of a Deportivo side who reached the semi-finals last spring. Silva said on arriving that stopping Alonso was the key to success for Javier Irureta's team.

Alonso was quick to reciprocate. "Mauro Silva is their rock in midfield - strong, intelligent and with a good shot. There's also [Walter Gerrardo] Pandiani, who is one of the best strikers in Spain - a killer, a true No 9 - and [Juan] Valeron, a great player. They're always hard to play against.

"I was surprised they didn't start the season well, but they beat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in their last away match and won again on Saturday at home to Getafe. So they're gaining in confidence all the time. They like to keep the ball and slow the game down. We have to make it a high-tempo match so their best players are not as comfortable as they would like to be."

In Monaco last month, Deportivo conceded both goals in the opening 10 minutes to raise the spectre of last season's 8-3 defeat there. Such facts may encourage Anfield to expect a goal glut. However, Liverpool have not scored in four of the last six visits from Spanish clubs or on the last three trips to Spain.

Benitez saw his old club beat Deportivo 5-1 in early season. "Duscher and Silva were injured and it wasn't typical of them," the Liverpool manager cautioned. "They're a very compact, counter-attacking team." Tonight's match also marks the refereeing return of Anders Frisk, whose last Champions' League outing ended with a head injury after an object was thrown by a spectator in Rome.

Liverpool (4-4-1-1; probable): Kirkland; Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise; Finnan, Xabi Alonso, Hamann, Kewell; Luis Garcia; Baros.

Deportivo La Coruña (4-2-3-1; probable): Molina; Manuel Pablo, Cesar, Andrade, Capdevila; Mauro Silva, Duscher; Victor, Valeron, Luque; Pandiani.

Referee: A Frisk (Sweden).

[Adebisi]

Referee: A Frisk (Sweden)

Good referee, hopefully he has a good game as a lot of those  Deportivo players like the odd dive here and there!

[Leonmc0708]

Referee: A Frisk (Sweden)

Good referee, hopefully he has a good game as a lot of those  Deportivo players like the odd dive here and there!

I think I will take a few lighters with me tonight as I am sitting in the Paddock. If the ref has a nightmare in the first half, I will land one on his fore head and get hte game called off.

[zarababe]

open hostility.. never expected that of you Leon

[106-1093504160]

Referee: A Frisk (Sweden)

Good referee, hopefully he has a good game as a lot of those  Deportivo players like the odd dive here and there!

I think I will take a few lighters with me tonight as I am sitting in the Paddock. If the ref has a nightmare in the first half, I will land one on his fore head and get hte game called off.

wear a deportivo top then leon, so we'll win the game by default

[stmichael]

if frisk is refereeing then expect there to be a few cards in the game. he HAS to be centre of attention all the time when he's refereeing.

in terms of the game itself, don't be fooled by deportivo's poor start in the group. this will be THE HARDEST game we have played so far this season. any team with the likes of valeron, luque, pandiani, diego tristan, victor, sergio are going to be a threat.

it is imperative that we win though. it is of my belief that if we win our remaining two home games, that it should be enough to qualify.

[anfieldadorer]

Take a look at Liverpool's record against Spanish clubs in European competitions.


Overall
Played: 233
Won: 131
Drawn: 50
Lost: 52

European Cup/Champions League
Played: 103
Won: 60
Drawn: 21
Lost: 22

Liverpool have won 80 of the 107 European games played at Anfield.

They have lost only 9 of their last 54 European games.

Since losing to Barcelona in November 2001 they have only conceded 6 goals in their last 14 European games at Anfield.



adam bryant