Rafael Benítez
Personal information
Full name	Rafael Benítez Maudes
Date of birth	16 April 1960 (1960-04-16) (age 48)
Place of birth	Madrid, Spain
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Midfielder[1]
Club information
Current club	Liverpool (manager)
Youth clubs
197?–1974	Real Madrid Aficionados
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1974–1981 1981–1985 1985–1986	Castilla CF AD Parla CD Linares Total	247 0(73) 124 0(28) 034 0(17) 405 (118)
National team
1979–1981	Spain Universities XI	005 00(?)
Teams managed
1986–1989 1989–1991 1991–1993 1993–1995 1995–1996 1996–1997 1997–1999 2000–2001 2001–2004 2004–	Castilla Youth B Real Madrid Youth B Real Madrid U-19s Real Madrid B Real Valladolid CA Osasuna CF Extremadura CD Tenerife Valencia CF Liverpool

Rafael “Rafa” Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish football manager. He has been managing English club Liverpool since June 2004.

Born in Madrid, Benítez played football throughout his youth and joined the Real Madrid academy. He mixed his university studies with his football career at lower division Spanish teams but injury caused him to prematurely retire. He joined Real Madrid’s coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under 19 and reserve teams coach, and assistant manager for the senior team. Benítez moved away from Real Madrid but management spells at Real Valladolid and CA Osasuna were short-lived and unsuccessful.

A move to Segunda División side CF Extremadura in 1997 was much more fruitful and Benítez guided the team back to the Primera División in his first season. The team were relegated the following season and he left the club, taking a brief break from football before returning to coach CD Tenerife in 2000. In 2001 Benítez was appointed coach of Valencia CF and he proved himself to be amongst the top Spanish managers by winning La Liga in the 2001-02. Both Don Balón and El País recognised his achievements and he was named Manager of the Year. He proved his mettle in both Spanish and European competition in 2004 by winning the league for a second time and Valencia’s first UEFA Cup, making him the most successful Valencia manager in history after just three seasons. However, a disagreement between Benítez and the club director over team investment caused the Spaniard to switch to English Premier League outfit Liverpool.

Benítez was a high-achiever in his first season as he guided Liverpool to victory in the UEFA Champions League, the highest honour in European club football. This made him only the third manager, after Bob Paisley and José Mourinho, to win the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League in successive seasons and the second Liverpool manager, after Joe Fagan, to win the European Cup/UEFA Champions League in his first season in charge. Additionally, in 2005 he won the European Super Cup and was runner up in the Football League Cup. In 2006 he led the team to victory in the FA Cup and the FA Community Shield. Benítez reached the Champions League final again in 2007 but remained unable to finish in the top two of the Premier League, placing third in consecutive seasons.

Personal life

Rafael Benítez Maudes was born on April 16, 1960, into a middle-class Madrid family. His father, Francisco Benítez, worked as a hotelier. His mother is Rosario Maudes. Rosario was a big football fan and supported Real Madrid, while his father supported Atletico Madrid. Francisco died in December 2005 while Benítez was in Japan for the FIFA Club World Championship. He is the second of three children. His older brother, also called Francisco, was born in 1959, while his younger sister, called Rosario, was born several years later. Both studied veterinary science and Rosario later became a vet. In 1998, Benítez married his wife, Maria de Montserrat, a Doctor of Law, born in Ourense. They have two daughters, Claudia, who was born in Madrid in 1999, and Ágata who was born in Valencia in 2002.^[2]

Early career

Playing career

The young Benitez attended several schools throughout Madrid and played for various school teams. Among his school friends and team mates was Ricardo Gallego. He also showed his early potential as a coach when at the age of thirteen he began training a children’s football team. At the age of twelve Benítez joined the Real Madrid cantera. He progressed through the ranks, playing as a midfielder for both Real Madrid Aficionados in the Tercera División and Castilla CF, in the Segunda División. He also enrolled as a student at INEF, the sports faculty at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and in 1982 he obtained a degree in Physical Education.

In 1979 Benítez was selected to play for the Spain Universities XI at the World Student Games in Mexico City and he scored a penalty in the opening game, a 4–0 win against Cuba. In the next game, a 0–0 draw against Canada, he was injured following a hard tackle. The injury saw him sidelined for a year which realistically ended his chances of becoming a major player. In 1981 Benítez joined Tercera División side AD Parla. Initially he joined Parla on loan, but eventually signed for them permanently and helped them gain promotion to Segunda División B. He also played a further three games for the Spain Universities XI. In 1985 he signed for Segunda División B club Linares CF and under Enrique Mateos he served as a player/coach. Further injury problems saw him miss almost the entire 1985–86 season and he subsequently retired as a player.^[3]

Real Madrid youth coach

In 1986, at the age of twenty six, Benítez returned to Real Madrid and joined the club’s coaching staff. At the start of the 1986-87 season he was appointed coach of Castilla B. With this team he won two league titles in 1987 and 1989. He won a third league title with Real Madrid Youth B in 1990. Halfway through the 1990-91 season he succeeded José Antonio Camacho as the coach of the Real Madrid U-19s. With this team he won the Spain U-19 Cup in 1991 and 1993, beating FC Barcelona in both finals. In 1993 the team completed a double when they also won the national U-19 league. While at Real, Benítez also gained his coaching certificate in 1989 and in the summer of 1990 he taught at a football camp at UC Davis in California.

During the 1992-93 season Benítez also worked as an assistant coach to Mariano García Remón at Real Madrid B. After his success with the U-19s, Benítez then succeeded García Remón at the start of the 1993-94 season. Real Madrid B were then playing in the Segunda División and on September 4 1993 he made his debut as a Segunda División manager with a 3-1 over Hércules CF. In March 1994 he became assistant manager to Vicente Del Bosque with the senior Real Madrid team before returning to coach Real Madrid B for the 1994-95 season.^[4]

Promotion specialist

The first attempts by Benítez at senior management away from the Real Madrid fold were less than successful. He was appointed manager of Real Valladolid for the 1995–96 season but was sacked after only two wins in 23 games with the club bottom of the Primera División. During the 1996–97 season, Benítez took charge at CA Osasuna in the Segunda División but after only 9 games and one win he was sacked. He did, however, meet the fitness instructor Pako Ayestaran at the club, and went on to form a partnership with him at several clubs for the next decade. In 1997, he joined another Segunda División side, CF Extremadura and this time led them to promotion, finishing second in the table behind Deportivo Alavés, after winning 23 out of 42 games. CF Extremadura only survived one season in Primera División, however, and were relegated in 1999 after finishing seventeenth and losing a play-off to Villarreal CF.

Benítez subsequently quit CF Extremadura and took a year out studying in England and Italy. He also worked as a commentator/analyst for Eurosport, Marca, El Mundo and local Madrid TV. In 2000 he was appointed manager of CD Tenerife of the Segunda División and with a team that included Mista, Curro Torres and Luis García, he gained promotion to La Liga by finishing third in the league behind Sevilla FC and Real Betis.

Valencia CF

2001–02 – Champions of Spain

In 2001 Benítez was appointed coach of Valencia CF, replacing Hector Cuper. The club had previously approached Javier Irureta, Mané and Luis Aragonés and had been turned down by all three. However the club director Javier Subirats recognised the potential of Benítez and campaigned for his appointment. Despite the loss of both Gaizka Mendieta and Claudio López, he inherited from Cuper a team brimming with potential. Santiago Cañizares, Roberto Ayala, Rubén Baraja, David Albelda and Pablo Aimar provided the backbone of an already formidable but underachieving side.

Valencia CF fans were soon won over by Benítez as he introduced a more attacking style of play. He also made good use of both Mista and Curro Torres and Mista went on to become top goalscorer for Valencia CF with 19 goals in the 2003–04 season and Curro Torres became an established international. In 2002, these tactics saw Benítez lead Valencia CF to their first La Liga title in thirty one years, winning it by a seven point margin over second placed Deportivo de La Coruña.

However the following season 2002–03 was a disappointing one as the club failed to follow up on their title success, they finished only fifth in La Liga, eighteen points behind Champions Real Madrid. The season saw Benítez make his debut in the UEFA Champions League. Valencia CF reached the quarter-finals before losing to Inter Milan.

2003–04 – La Liga/UEFA Cup double

The 2003–04 season was a different story. Valencia CF won La Liga with three games to go and beat Olympique de Marseille 2–0 in the UEFA Cup final. Despite this success, Benítez fell out with Jesus Garcia Pitarch, the club’s director of sport, over control of new signings and the club’s failure to reinforce the squad with the players he wanted. These differences of opinion saw Benítez resign as Valencia CF coach in June 2004. He famously said “I asked for a table and they bought me a lampshade” in reference to the players he wanted the club to sign.

Liverpool

2004–05 – Champions of Europe

Liverpool were quick to take advantage of the disharmony at Valencia CF and Benítez was appointed manager of the English Premiership club on June 16, 2004, replacing Gérard Houllier. Arriving at Liverpool, he found himself in a very similar position to the one he had found at Valencia CF. The club had a talented but underperforming squad that included, among others, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Dietmar Hamann, Harry Kewell, Steve Finnan and Sami Hyypiä.

Benítez had barely arrived at Liverpool when Michael Owen was sold to Real Madrid. He subsequently signed several players from La Liga, most notably Luis García, Fernando Morientes and Xabi Alonso. During his first season Benítez failed to improve the club’s form in the Premiership. Key players such as Steven Gerrard, Milan Baroš, Djibril Cissé, Xabi Alonso and Dietmar Hamann missed much of the season through injury and Liverpool failed to challenge Chelsea and Arsenal for the league title. They eventually finished fifth. However, they did reach the Carling Cup final against Chelsea at the Millennium Stadium but Liverpool lost 3–2 after extra time.

In the UEFA Champions League it was very different, despite a poor start. Liverpool began their campaign with an unimpressive 2–1 aggregate win over Grazer AK in the qualifying rounds and were minutes away from going out of the competition in the group stages before an 87th minute goal by Gerrard defeated Olympiakos 3–1 and saw the club progress to the last sixteen. Bayer Leverkusen were beaten 3–1 home and away followed by Juventus who were beaten 2–1 on aggregate.

In the semi-final Liverpool faced Chelsea, runaway leaders in the Premiership and favourites to win after overcoming the highly rated FC Barcelona in a previous round. Chelsea had already beaten Liverpool in the League Cup final and twice in the Premiership. After a goalless leg at Stamford Bridge, an early goal from Luis García saw Liverpool win 1–0 on aggregate and reach the final against AC Milan. In a classic final, Liverpool came from 3–0 down at half-time to level the score at 3–3 (in the space of just under 6 minutes) and eventually won on penalties with the assistance of Jerzy Dudek, giving Liverpool an historic fifth European Cup.

2005–06 – FA Cup winners

For the 2005–06 season Benítez further reinforced the Liverpool squad by signing Peter Crouch, Mohamed Sissoko, José “Pepe” Reina, Boudewijn Zenden and Daniel Agger, as well as former Liverpool player (and fan favourite) Robbie Fowler in the January transfer window.

It is notable that Dudek’s heroics in the Champions league final were not enough for him to stay as first choice keeper, as Reina replaced him in goal right away. Benitez also quickly discarded unlikely heroes Vladimír Šmicer and Igor Biscan, who played key roles in the European success but seemingly did not figure in Benítez’ long-term plans. Benitez also quickly sold two of his first signings in English football, Josemi and Antonio Núñez after they failed to establish themselves. This is an example of what some may see as Benítez’ ruthlessness.

The improvements saw the club’s Premiership form improve considerably. Liverpool finished third in the league, qualifying for the UEFA Champions League and only narrowly missed out on second place by 1 point. Liverpool also won the FA Cup beating both Manchester United and Chelsea on the way to the final against West Ham Utd. History repeated itself in the final as they then went on to lift the trophy after a penalty shoot-out, following a dramatic 3-3 draw. Liverpool came from 2–0 down and were losing 3–2 in stoppage time when Steven Gerrard scored a dramatic late equalizer. This time Pepe Reina saved three penalties during the shoot-out to secure the silverware.

In winning the FA Cup ‘Rafa’ became the only manager in the history of Liverpool Football Club to win major trophies in both of his first two seasons at the club.

2006–07 – Another Champions League Final

Benitez’s Liverpool claimed the first domestic honours of the 2006–07 season with a 2–1 victory over Chelsea in the Community Shield, despite fielding a weakened side with Gerrard and Alonso on the substitutes bench. The English Press were predicting Liverpool would challenge Chelsea for the Premiership crown after Benitez addressed Liverpool’s perceived weaknesses in the transfer window by signing strikers Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt as well as wingers Jermaine Pennant and Mark Gonzalez.

Although Liverpool had qualified for the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League with two games to spare (a new record for the club), and then going on to win the group with one game still left, Benitez’s future at the Liverpool was called into question after poor away results in the league: his agent was quoted as saying he would consider offers to manage in Italy^[5]. Benitez swiftly issued a statement through the club’s website re-affirming his desire to remain with Liverpool for the long term.^[6]

Although the team’s league results improved, their defence of the FA Cup lasted just one game as they were knocked out by Arsenal at Anfield; and four days later they were knocked out of the League Cup, also by Arsenal losing 6–3 at Anfield, Liverpool’s heaviest home defeat since 1913. However this was soon forgotten when Liverpool beat Chelsea 2–0 at Anfield, Benitez’s first league victory over Jose Mourinho’s side. At the end of the league campaign, Liverpool were on 68 points, beating Arsenal to third place on goal difference but their poor away form had prevented the title challenge many were expecting – they did not win away in the League until December.

Liverpool’s 2006–07 Champions League campaign proved successful. Liverpool finished top of Group C in the group stages after beating Maccabi Haifa in the 3rd qualifying round. They were then drawn against defending champions FC Barcelona in the first round of the knockout stages. Benitez’ side did not have ideal preparations with a reported altercation between Liverpool players Craig Bellamy and John Arne Riise days before the winning the first leg 2-1 at Camp Nou.^[7] This was seen as a major test of Benitez’ man-management at the time and he subsequently fined both players.^[8] Remarkably, Riise and Bellamy combined to score the second goal of a 2–1 victory in the first leg and Liverpool held Barca to just one goal in a 0–1 loss in the return at Anfield, thus progressing on the away goals rule. In preparation for the second game, Barca’s Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard described Liverpool’s style of play: “The style Liverpool have – quite physical and tactically disciplined – once you have seen a couple of their games you know how they play.”^[9]

In the quarter-finals, Liverpool achieved a 3–0 first leg lead over PSV Eindhoven, before sealing their place in the semi-finals with a 1–0 win at Anfield with Benitez resting several key players including Gerrard.

In the first match of the semi-final against Chelsea, Liverpool lost 1–0 at Chelsea, but won the return leg 1–0, and then ultimately winning 4–1 in a penalty shoot-out after extra time. After the game, Liverpool’s new co-owner George Gillett said: “Rafa has been tremendous … We knew of him but I don’t think we realized how good he was, and not just as a coach. Not only was he a brilliant coach but he is a very sharp, savvy businessman. He knows what he wants and how to get it. The more we have seen of him the more impressed we have become.”^[10] During the penalty shoot out, Rafa was noted for sitting down cross-legged in his technical area. He later explained that it was because fans were complaining that they could not see.

Liverpool contended with AC Milan for their sixth European Cup in Athens, Greece on May 23, 2007, in a repeat of the 2005 final but lost 2–1, after two goals by Filippo Inzaghi. Dirk Kuyt’s late consolation goal from a header off Jermaine Pennant’s corner was in vain, as Milan held on to win the game. Following the defeat Benitez insisted his club’s new owners had to back him in the transfer market in order for Liverpool to progress.^[11] It was reported Benitez did not feel he had the complete support of the new owners, a thought that was compounded by Liverpool’s initial lack of activity in the transfer window, although the club played these rumours down.^[12]

During the season, Benitez continued to develop the youth team, bringing in players such as Emiliano Insua, Sebastián Leto and Jordy Brouwer. The scouting programme had already successfully captured the likes of Daniel Agger, Mark González, Gabriel Paletta, Scott Carson, Miquel Roque, Godwin Antwi, Astrit Ajdarevic, Paul Anderson and Nabil El Zhar.

2007–08 – Cash flow and crisis

Benítez in 2007.

Liverpool’s new owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett provided Benítez with transfer funds for the new season to attempt to bridge the gap to Premiership rivals Manchester United and Chelsea. Benítez broke Liverpool’s transfer record when signing Spanish striker Fernando Torres from Atletico Madrid as well as signing Ajax’s young Dutch forward Ryan Babel, West Ham attacking midfielder Yossi Benayoun, Brazilian player of the year Lucas Leiva and Andriy Voronin on Bosman. During the pre-season he also invested in a number of young foreign players such as Bulgarian under-21 goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov, Australian Dean Bouzanis Hungarian starlets Krisztian Nemeth, Andras Simon, Peter Gulacsi and poached young superstars Dani Pacheco and Gerardo Bruna from Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively. Charles Itandje was signed as cover for Pepe Reina after Scott Carson was loaned to Aston Villa for the season.

Benítez released several players in the summer, including fan-favourites Robbie Fowler, Luis García and Jerzy Dudek as well as Djibril Cissé and Craig Bellamy. Benitez also tried to sign left-back Gabriel Heinze from Manchester United, however on August 21, 2007 an FA panel ruled that Manchester United were under no obligation to sell Heinze to a rival club.^[13]

Liverpool made a good start to the new league season and remained unbeaten at the end of November, having topped the Premier League table for the first time under Benitez after a comprehensive 6–0 win over Derby County. Despite this, poor results in the Champions League and a disagreement over future transfers lead to a public falling-out with the club’s owners, played out in the media at the end of November and it was suggested that Benitez’s position was now under serious threat. The resulting coverage resulted in an overwhelming show of support by fans in support of Benitez which culminated in a fans’ march in support of Benitez ahead of the critical Champions League home tie with Porto, which they won 4–1.^[14] It has since emerged that at the time Jürgen Klinsmann was offered the Liverpool job before accepting the post of Bayern Munich manager and numerous sources have linked Benitez to Real Madrid.

Emiliano “Emilio” Adrian Insúa Zapata (born 7 January 1989) is an Argentine footballer who plays in the left-back or a Centre back positions, and he currently playing for English Premier League club Liverpool. Insúa began his football career with youth team Pinocho in Argentina, later moving to, Buenos Aires-based team, Boca Juniors.^[2] The left-back did not break into the first-team at La Bombonera but nevertheless caught the attention of Liverpool.^[1] The defender agreed to an 18 month loan deal with the Merseyside club on 28 November 2006, beginning his loan period in January.^[3] Insúa soon got a chance to impress, making his first-team debut against Portsmouth on 28 April 2007.^[1] However, he only made one more league appearance that season.^[4]

The player succeeded on the Under-20’s international scene, playing 3 games to finish with the runner-up medal at the South American U-20 Championship, which served as a qualifier for the World U-20 World Cup where he played seven games and aiding the Argentina Under-20 team to victory against the Czech Republic in the FIFA U-20 World Cup final on 22 July 2007.^[5]

The following season Insúa made only three more first-team league appearances but found success with Gary Ablett’s Premier Reserve League winning team; along with other Liverpool FC youngsters.^[6] His performances impressed manager Rafael Benítez enough to offer him a permanent deal at the club. Insúa signed a three year contract on 2 July 2008,^[7] forming part of a deal that allowed compatriot Gabriel Paletta to transfer to Boca Juniors.^[8] Insua was given the number 22 shirt for the start of the 2008-2009 campaign.^[9]

Lucas Pezzini Leiva (born 9 January 1987 in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul) is a Brazilian Central Midfielder, who currently plays for Liverpool FC. He is often known solely by his first name, Lucas. The box-to-box midfielder is the nephew of former Brazilian football player Leivinha and holds an Italian passport.

Club career

Grêmio

Lucas started his career with Grêmio, making his first team debut on October 22, 2005 in a 1-0 win over Náutico in Serie B.^[2] Grêmio went on to win the league that season, with only seven players on the field, returning to the top tier of Brazilian football.

2006 was a successful year for Lucas and Grêmio, winning the Rio Grande do Sul state championship (the Campeonato Gaúcho) for the first time since 2001, and also coming third in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. Lucas also became the youngest player to ever to receive Placar magazine’s Bola de Ouro (Golden Ball), given to the best player in the Campeonato Brasileiro — an honour previously won by the likes of Zico, Falcao, Careca, Alex, Romario, Kaká and Tevez.^[3]

His form in 2006 led to reported interest from many major European clubs including Milan, Palermo, Manchester United, Inter, Juventus, Atlético Madrid and Barcelona.^[4]

Liverpool

On May 13, 2007 Liverpool confirmed the acquisition of Lucas and he joined the club from Grêmio before the start of the 2007-08 season.^[5] The transfer fee is rumoured to be worth in the region of €9 million.^[6] Lucas remained with Grêmio until the end of their 2007 Copa Libertadores campaign. They made it to the final where they would meet Boca Juniors. Lucas however, had a niggling injury, causing him to start the first leg on the bench. With Grêmio 1-0 down, Sandro Goiano was sent off. Lucas was brought on to help shore up the midfield, but to no avail as Grêmio lost 3-0. Lucas was back in the starting line-up for the second leg, but again Grêmio were defeated, this time 2-0.

On July 26 he was officially unveiled as a Liverpool player and was given international clearance to compete in the final of the Barclays Asia Trophy^[7]. On July 27, he made his debut in the match against Portsmouth, coming on for Sissoko in the second half.Benitez has reffered to Lucas as the next Brasilian “wonderkid” and is confident of Lucas’ abilities as a footballer.

By late November, manager Rafael Benitez gave Lucas his chance at starting a game in the Liverpool midfield, after easing him into the Liverpool way in his first few months at the club. He quickly became popular with the fans after putting in some mature displays against Newcastle and Bolton Wanderers in the league.

Lucas scored his first goal for Liverpool on January 27th, 2008 when he curled a 25-yard shot into the top corner during an FA cup match against Havant and Waterlooville and as a result became the first Brazilian to score for Liverpool.

The young Brazilian has already started league games against Chelsea and Arsenal, as well as both Champions League games against Inter Milan.

The 2008/09 season will be a big one for Lucas with many critics expecting him to step up to the next level after completing his first season with the Reds. The Brazilian got off to a good start to the campaign with a well taken opening goal in a 2-1 win over Swiss side FC Lucerne in July. However he missed the first month of Liverpool’s Premier League games, due to his commitment to the Brazilian Olympic Team of which he had been selected to compete for in the Beijing Olympics.

International

Lucas is the former captain of the Brazilian Under-20 team. He helped the team to victory in the 2007 South American Youth Championship, scoring 4 goals in the process. He was expected to lead the team again in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup which was contested in Canada in July 2007 and was named in their squad. However an injury in training kept him from playing for 3 weeks, leading to his withdrawal from the squad.^[8]

In October 2006 Lucas was brought into the senior Brazilian squad for friendlies against Kuwaiti club Al-Kuwait and Ecuador. Lucas was both the youngest member and one of only two non-Europe-based players in a strong squad. He made his debut for Brazil on October 7, 2006 coming on as a second half substitute against Al-Kuwait. Brazil won the match 4-0. However, this appearance does not count as his first cap as the match was not considered an official friendly match by FIFA.^[9]

Lucas gained his first official Brazil international cap on August 22, 2007, coming on as a substitute in a friendly against Algeria.^[10]

In June 2008, Lucas was named in the Brazil squad for an Olympics warm-up match later in the month.^[11].

On Tuesday, 19th August, Lucas was shown a red card in the Olympic Semi-Final encounter between Brazil and Argentina, after a challenge ironically on Liverpool team mate Javier Mascherano, as Argentina ran out 3-0 winners.

Lucas scored a header against Crewe Alexandra in the Carling Cup 3rd Round.

Martin Škrtel (pronounced: Shkrtel) (born December 15, 1984 in Handlová, Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia) is a Slovak international football defender who plays for English Premier League club Liverpool.^[2][3]

Biography

Škrtel began playing football at the age of six;^[4] while a competent ice hockey player, he followed his father’s career^[5] and chose to play football for F.C. Prievidza, before signing for FK AS Trenčín.^[6]

He tried to play in many different positions and finally chose defence when he was sixteen.

Trenčín

Škrtel started his professional career at FK AS Trenčín. He played in 45 games for them between 2001 and 2004.^[4]

Zenit Saint Petersburg

Škrtel made his debut for Zenit in a Russian Cup match on 31 July 2004. He said that the presence of Slovak and Czech players essentially helped him to adjust to the new team.^[5] He played 113 times and scored five goals for the club.^[5] Valencia, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, and Newcastle United were all reported to be interested in his services,^[7] but he ended up signing for Liverpool in the January 2008 transfer window.^{[2][3][8][9][10]}

Liverpool

Škrtel signed for Liverpool on 11 January 2008 on a four-and-a-half year contract for £6.5 million. Upon completion of the deal, Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez said of Škrtel, “He is aggressive, quick, is good in the air and I think he’s a very good player for the future and also for the present. He is very competitive, but his mentality for me is very good”. He also compared Škrtel to present Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher.^[2][3] He made his league debut against Aston Villa and wears the number 37 for Liverpool.

On 26 January 2008 Škrtel was given his full Liverpool debut in Liverpool’s 4th Round FA Cup tie against non-league Havant & Waterlooville, when he nervously gave away a corner which put Liverpool 1-0 behind, as well as a goal mouth scramble which saw Liverpool go 2-1 down after having equalised. But he put in a solid display in the league game against Chelsea, making several good clearances and interceptions, and was voted Man of the Match by the Liverpool supporters on their official website. Liverpool fans have begun to warm to Škrtel since his man of the match performance and he is now considered an integral part of Liverpool’s future after turning in several more solid performances at centre half, especially in both UEFA Champions League quarter-final legs against Arsenal FC.

Škrtel was voted Man of the Match by Liverpool supporters on Liverpoolfc.TV, for his performance in the 1-0 derby win over Everton at Anfield on March 30, 2008, Škrtel’s first ever appearance in a Merseyside derby.

Škrtel made a bright start to the 2008 campaign, starting all but one Premier League match and reducing out of favour Daniel Agger to the bench. He put in a number of strong performances with defensive partner Jamie Carragher against many top teams, Manchester United, Everton FC and Olympique Marseille

On October 5, 2008 he suffered an injury in Liverpool’s 3-2 victory against Man City in the City of Manchester Stadium in which he attempted to clear the ball away and fell awkwardly on his right knee and was removed from the pitch on a stretcher. Martin was in such pain and shock, whilst he was being removed from the pitch, he had to receive oxygen. It was later revealed he had damaged his posterior cruciate ligament and is expected to be out until Christmas 2008.

[International career

Škrtel played international football for Slovakia youth teams.^[4] In 2004, he made his debut in the Slovakia national football team. As of September 2008, Škrtel has played 27 times for Slovakia and has scored five goals.^[11]

Javier Mascherano
Personal information
Full name	Javier Alejandro Mascherano
Date of birth	8 June 1984 (1984-06-08) (age 24)
Place of birth	San Lorenzo, Argentina
Height	1.69m (5ft 7in)
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Liverpool
Number	20
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2003–2005 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007–	River Plate Corinthians West Ham United Liverpool	46 (0) 17 (0) 05 (0) 34 (1)
National team2
2003– 2004– 2003	Argentina Argentina U23 Argentina U20	45 (2) 18 (0) 22 (1)

Javier Alejandro Mascherano (pronounced IPA: [ˌmaskeˈɾano]) (born 8 June 1984 in Santa Fe) is an Argentine football player who currently plays for Liverpool. He joined the club on loan from Media Sports Investments in January 2007 and later signed permanently for Liverpool in February 2008. Mascherano holds an Italian passport due to his ancestry.^[1] Mascherano’s two most used nicknames (in Argentina) are Masche^[2] and Jefecito (Little chief).^[3]. Mascherano is a double Olympic-gold medalist, the first male footballer to achieve this since 1928. Known for his commmanding presence and pinpoint tackling, Mascherano is frequently regarded as one of the best holding midfielders in the world.

Club career

River Plate (2003-2005)

Mascherano came through the youth ranks at River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina. However, before making his club debut he made his name representing Argentina.

His River Plate league debut came on August 3, 2003 against Nueva Chicago. River won 2-1. After returning from the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship, Mascherano was straight back into action for River in the 2003 Copa Sudamericana final. Over the two legs River were beaten 4-3 by Peruvian club Cienciano.

Mascherano won his first silverware when River won the 2003-04 Clausura (Closing) championship. In the 2004 Copa Libertadores River reached the semi-final, but lost on penalties to arch-rivals Boca Juniors.

Around this time several clubs including Real Madrid, and Deportivo de La Coruña declared an interest in signing Mascherano, but River Plate turned down all offers, saying that none of the interested parties were prepared to pay enough.

2004-05 was not a successful season for River, finishing 3rd in the Apertura Championship and only 10th in the Clausura. In the Copa Libertadores River again lost in the semi-final, this time to São Paulo.

After the Confederations Cup in Germany, Brazilian club Corinthians acquired Mascherano from River Plate for US$ 15 million.

Corinthians (2005-2006)

The Brazilian Série A runs from April, so Mascherano joined Corinthians in mid-season. After playing only nine games for his new club, on September 2005, Mascherano suffered a stress fracture to his left foot causing him to miss the end of the season. He went back to Argentina to be operated on by the National team doctor and recuperate.^[4][5][6][7] However, Corinthians still claimed the 2005 Série A championship with the team captained by Mascherano’s Argentine compatriot, Carlos Tévez.

In total, Mascherano was out of action for six months, only returning on 5 March 2006.^[8] Corinthians were forced to start their 2006 Copa Libertadores without Mascherano, but he returned in time for the Round of 16 tie against River Plate, which Corinthians lost. The 2006 Brazilian Série A also went badly for Corinthians, and at one stage they were battling against relegation. In June, the league season was interrupted for the 2006 World Cup.

Although his performance drew the attention of European clubs, he stated his desire to remain with Corinthians, to help with the relegation battle, and postponed any transfer until January at the earliest.^[9] However, hours before the summer 2006 transfer window closed, Mascherano joined West Ham United for an undisclosed fee along with team-mate Carlos Tévez.^[10]

West Ham (2006-Jan 2007)

During the summer of 2006 Mascherano was linked with top clubs around Europe, he stated he would relish playing in Spain for Real Madrid or Barcelona but eventually he signed for West Ham United in the English Premier League. The move to West Ham was seen as surprising, with many of Europe’s top clubs having been linked with Mascherano all summer. There were many rumours about the nature of the transfer, primarily regarding Media Sports Investment’s interest in buying-out West Ham. Rumours included speculation as to whether West Ham truly owned the players, and also that if a high enough (£112 million was touted) offer was received West Ham would be forced to sell.^[11] (It has since been discovered that Global Soccer Agencies and Mystere Services are the companies that owned Mascherano.)^[12]

Before Mascherano joined, West Ham had won one game, drawn one and lost one. However upon his arrival the team went into freefall, losing eight games and drawing one game in all competitions before their next win on 29 October. During this time, Mascherano rarely featured in the team, despite their struggles, prompting rumours about financial clauses related to the amount of time he was actually played. In October, the Argentina national coach, Alfio Basile, declared that he hoped Mascherano would leave West Ham “as soon as possible,” and “I hope for God’s sake that Mascherano can go to Juventus.”^[13]

On 16 January 2007, Liverpool requested clearance from FIFA to take Mascherano on loan from West Ham.^[14] FIFA’s rules state that no player can play for more than two different clubs between 1 July and 30 June the following year, but Mascherano had already played for both Corinthians and West Ham during this time.

FIFA approved the deal on 31 January 2007.^[15] However, although Liverpool submitted his registration details before the midnight transfer deadline, England’s Premier League did not immediately announce whether it would allow Mascherano to play for Liverpool, saying that it wanted to “take time to satisfy itself with the proposed arrangements”.^[16]

In a further twist, it was announced on 2 March that the Premier League were charging West Ham with breaking rule B13, concerning acting in good faith, and rule U18, which concerns the influence of third-party ownership.^[17] On 27 April the Premier League issued West Ham a world-record fine of £5.5 million.^[18]

Liverpool (Jan 2007-Present)

Mascherano in action for Liverpool

On 10 February, Liverpool added Mascherano to their Champions League squad and gave him the number 20 shirt. Eventually, on 20 February 2007, Mascherano’s move to Liverpool became official after the Premier League accepted Liverpool’s request to register the player at Anfield.^[19]

Mascherano made his debut for Liverpool against Sheffield United on 24 February 2007,^[20] and was praised by the Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez and team captain Steven Gerrard after Liverpool’s 4-0 victory. After playing in a match against Arsenal on 31 March, Benitez called Mascherano a “monster of a player”.^[21] His first Champions League appearance came in the quarter-final first leg against PSV in Eindhoven on 3 April. Hastily establishing himself as a starter at the club, Mascherano played in the Champions League Final that year against AC Milan, which Liverpool lost 2–1. He was voted Liverpool’s man of the match by the fans on the official Liverpool website.^[22]

Following months of speculation, Mascherano signed a four-year permanent contract with Liverpool on 29 February 2008, ending his association with Media Sports Investments.^[23] The transfer, which reportedly cost Liverpool £18.6m,^[24] was allowed to go through as Mascherano was not contracted to another club, making him exempt from the rules of the transfer window. He scored his first Premier League and Liverpool goal on March 15 2008, with a 25 yard strike against Reading. Javier Mascherano is now considered to be one of the best defensive midfield players in football due to his performances since joining Liverpool. His speed and willingness to run even into the dying minutes of game who’s conclusions are already drawn mean that he is quickly becoming a fan-favourite at Anfield, he is referred to as “The Masche” (pronounced Mask) ^[25], “Monster Masche”, or “Tommy” ^[26]

Old Trafford Incident

In his first game at Old Trafford against Manchester United he was sent off after collecting two yellow cards.^[27] He was initially booked for a poorly timed tackle on Paul Scholes, and later dismissed for running towards the referee to protest a yellow card shown to Fernando Torres. Mascherano had to be pushed from the field of play by Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso. Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez was also forced to leave the dug out and plead with Mascherano to leave the field. He was also escorted down the tunnel by Peter Crouch. The Football Association ruled that the usual one game suspension be extended to three games for improper conduct. ^[28] Mascherano admitted the improper conduct charge levelled at him, but appealed against the further two to three match suspension^[29]. However, this appeal was denied by the Football Association ^[30], and Mascherano was also fined £15,000. However he demanded that this fine would be paid to a charity.^[31]

International career

In September 2001, Mascherano was part of the Argentina team that finished fourth in the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship. His impact at youth levels was such that he made his senior international debut before playing a single minute for River Plate’s first team. That international debut came in a friendly against Uruguay on July 16, 2003.^[32]

Halfway through the 2003-04 Apertura (Opening) championship Mascherano was called up to play in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship. Argentina again finished fourth with Mascherano the team’s outstanding player.^[33] Mascherano was however suspended for the third place match.

In January 2004, Mascherano joined up with Argentina’s under-23 team for the South American Pre-Olímpico tournament in Chile. Argentina won the tournament.

At the end of the 2003-2004 season Mascherano was included in the squad for the 2004 Copa América. Argentina lost to Brazil on penalties in the final, but Mascherano impressed enough to be voted Argentina’s player of the tournament by his team-mates.^[33]

In August 2004, Mascherano was part of the gold medal-winning Argentine team at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

In June 2005, Mascherano joined up with the national team for the Confederations Cup in Germany. Argentina met Brazil in the final and lost 4-1.

In the 2006 World Cup, Mascherano played every minute of every game for Argentina.

He was sent off whilst playing for Argentina against the USA in a friendly at Giants Stadium for a foul challenge on Freddy Adu on 87 minutes.

In July 2007, Masche scored his first two goals for the senior Argentina’s team during the Copa América 2007 and was widely selected as the best Argentine player in a squad full of stars.^[34]

In 2008 Mascherano was selected to represent Argentina in the Olympic games in Beijing as one of their over-23 year old players. Mascherano was thrilled at the call up saying “It’s important for any athlete to defend the gold medal. I might be the only person from my country ever to do it and I’ll go down in history.”^[35] Argentina won the tournament making Mascherano the second Argentine sportsman ever (after polo player Juan Nelson) to win two Olympic gold medals.

Ryan Babel
Personal information
Full name	Ryan Miguel Guno Babel
Date of birth	19 December 1986 (1986-12-19) (age 21)
Place of birth	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Playing position	Winger,Striker
Club information
Current club	Liverpool
Number	19
Youth clubs
1998–2004	AFC Ajax
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2004–2007 2007–	AFC Ajax Liverpool	73 (14) 33 0(5)
National team2
2002–2003 2003–2004 2004–2005 2005–2007 2008 2005–	Netherlands U17 Netherlands U19 Netherlands U20 Netherlands U21 Netherlands U23 Netherlands	06 0(3) 06 0(2) 04 0(2) 05 0(2) 05 0(2) 28 0(5)

Ryan Miguel Guno Babel (born 19 December 1986 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch professional footballer who currently plays for Liverpool. He is right footed and plays as a winger, but can also play as a striker. Babel began his career at AFC Ajax in 1998, working his way up through the youth team and into the senior squad. He played three seasons for the first team before he was transferred to Liverpool in mid-2007. He has been part of the Netherlands national football team since 2005 and has represented his country at all youth team levels.

Club career

[Ajax

In 1997, Babel attended a youth selection day with AFC Ajax. He made it through the first selection round, but failed to progress any further.^[2] However, the next year Ajax did take him on and he played the 1998–99 season for their D1 team.^[2] After having also passed through the C1, B1 and A1 teams, Babel signed his first professional contract in January 2004.^[2]

On 1 February 2004, just one and a half months after his 17th birthday, Ajax coach Ronald Koeman gave Babel his first team debut in Ajax’s 4–0 home win over ADO Den Haag in the Eredivisie.^[3] Ajax went on to win the Dutch league title, but Babel didn’t feature again that season. Nine months later, on 20 November 2004 Babel scored his first senior goal against De Graafschap in a 5–0 victory.^[4]

Babel at a post-game press event for Ajax

In July 2005, Babel signed a new contract with Ajax. He started the new season by scoring the winning goal in Ajax’s 2–1 defeat of PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Super Cup. Babel scored in both legs of the Champions League third qualifying round against Brøndby as Ajax made it to the group stage. 2005–06 was a tougher season for Babel in general though as he managed only two league goals. He did however continue to feature for the national team, and scored his second goal against Italy in November. At the end of the season, Babel came on as a second-half substitute in Ajax’s 2–1 victory over PSV in the Dutch Cup final.

Babel marked the start of 2006–07 with another Dutch Super Cup winners medal, as Ajax defeated PSV 3–1. Babel was linked with Arsenal and Newcastle United during the January transfer window of the 2006-07 season but no move materialised.^[5][6] Amidst the transfer speculation, Babel agreed to a new three-year deal with Ajax on 2 February 2007.^[3][7] In May, Babel got another Dutch Cup winners medal as Ajax successfully defended the title. The match against AZ went to a penalty shoot-out, but Babel was substituted off after 120 minutes.^[8]

Liverpool

Ryan Babel

On 10 July 2007 it was reported that Liverpool F.C. had made a £14 million offer to the Amsterdam club.^[9] On 12 July it was reported that Liverpool and Ajax had agreed a fee in the region of £11.5 million, and later Liverpool confirmed that Babel would sign a five year contract on 13 July.^[10] He was unveiled on 13 July with Yossi Benayoun. Babel was handed the number 19 shirt. He made his debut on 17 July against Werder Bremen in a friendly. He was due to play in the first round of the Barclays Asia Trophy 2007 but for a delay in the granting of international clearance. This was sorted out in time for the final against Portsmouth.^[11]

He made his Premiership debut in the 2007–08 Premiership curtain raiser against Aston Villa away after coming on off the bench. A week later and he made his Anfield debut, coming off the bench against Chelsea. On 1 September Babel scored his first goal for Liverpool against Derby County. Babel scored his first Champions League goal for Liverpool on 6 November against Beşiktaş J.K. after coming on as a substitute. He netted twice in the game and almost completed a hat-trick, from a header from a Harry Kewell cross, but was denied by the crossbar. Babel scored the fourth and last goal in Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League 2007-08 group stage match against Olympique de Marseille, which they needed to win. He came off the bench in the second leg of the quarter final against Arsenal in the Champions League to win a penalty and score a goal, with Liverpool winning the game 4–2 (5–3 on aggregate). He also came on as a substitute against Chelsea in the semi-final and despite scoring a goal, Liverpool lost 3–2 in extra time.

Liverpool and Celtic legend Kenny Dalglish has said that Babel has the ability to terrorise defenders in the Premier League with his pace and trickery with the ball.^[12] On 13 September 2008, Babel came off the bench to score the winner for Liverpool in a 2–1 victory over Manchester United, his first goal of the 2008–09 season.^[13]

International career

Babel playing for the Netherlands

Babel took part in the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Babel scored two goals in four games as the Netherlands reached the quarter-finals. There they were defeated by Nigeria, 10–9 in a penalty shoot-out (Babel scored his penalty).^[14]

Later that season, Babel made his international debut on 26 March 2005, away against Romania. He entered the game as a first-half substitute for Arjen Robben and went on to score the second goal in a 2–0 victory.^[4] The goal made Babel the youngest goalscorer in 68 years for the Netherlands^[4] and the fourth-youngest of all time.^[15] Babel had been a first team regular with Ajax in 2004–05 and finished with seven league goals in 22 appearances.

In 2006, Marco van Basten included Babel in the Dutch squad for 2006 FIFA World Cup. Due to a knee injury however,^{[citation needed]} Babel only featured once, as a second-half substitute for Ruud van Nistelrooy in the group match against Argentina.^[16] Van Basten has been quoted as saying Babel “has all the potential to become the next Thierry Henry“.^[15]

In June 2007, Babel was part of the Netherlands under-21 team competing in the UEFA Under-21 Championship, being held in the Netherlands. In the group stage, Babel scored a penalty against Portugal, helping the Dutch to secure a semi-final spot and thus qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. His second tournament goal came during his man of the match performance in the final as the Netherlands defeated Serbia 4–1 to retain their title.^[17]

In May 2008, Babel was selected for the Dutch squad which will compete in the Euro 2008 Finals. On 31 May it was announced that Babel had been withdrawn from the squad after tearing ankle ligaments in training. Van Basten added Chelsea F.C defender Khalid Boulahrouz to his squad in place of Babel.^[18]

Álvaro Arbeloa
Personal information
Full name	Álvaro Arbeloa Coca
Date of birth	17 January 1983 (1983-01-17) (age 25)
Place of birth	Salamanca, Spain
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position	Full Back/Centre Back
Club information
Current club	Liverpool
Number	17
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2002–2003 2003–2006 2006 2006–2007 2007–	Real Madrid C Real Madrid B Real Madrid Deportivo de La Coruña Liverpool	01 (0) 50 (1) 02 (0) 20 (0) 43 (1)
National team2
2008–	Spain	03 (0)

Álvaro Arbeloa Coca (born 17 January 1983) is a Spanish football player who is currently playing for English Premier League side Liverpool. He is a right back, although he can play as a central defender and he started most of his early games in the 2007-08 season as left back.

Club career

Real Madrid

After signing as a teenager for Real Madrid C.F., Arbeloa then played for the youth team. He then graduated to the reserve team, and played for the first team twice.

On July 24, 2006 Arbeloa signed for Deportivo de La Coruña, following in teammate Roberto Soldado’s footsteps. Arbeloa said: “This is a strange situation for me, I have been playing for Real Madrid for a year, since I was 16 years old. Real was nothing but good to me, but it’s time for me to go. Madrid have the best players in the world and although that is great for the club, unfortunately that’s not so great for cantera players; only a few of us can find their place in the first team, and even those who do find their place in the first team like Álvaro Mejía and Paco Pavón are only third or fourth pick and that is why I want to leave the club to a club where I can get some regular playing time, in La Liga of course. Deportivo de La Coruña is one of the best clubs in Spain and with Joaquín Caparrós as head coach I will certainly get more experience, and get better, what is most important is that he will have confidence in me. I have enjoyed my time at Real, and I thank everybody who helped me. I’m leaving Real Madrid to play more football, no other reason.”

Liverpool

On 31 January 2007, Arbeloa signed for English FA Premier League club Liverpool F.C., for a fee of around £3 million, with Real Madrid receiving 50% of the fee.^[1] He made his Premiership debut on February 10^[2] against Newcastle United, coming as a substitute for Jermaine Pennant. He made his full debut against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League at the Nou Camp, where he was employed as a left-back. This was done by coach Rafael Benitez for tactical reasons, as his stronger right foot could stop Lionel Messi, because Messi has a tendency to cut his runs towards the center of the field. His part in keeping Messi quiet helped Liverpool to a 2-1 win over the defending champions. He scored his first goal for Liverpool against Reading on April 7, 2007, becoming both the first Liverpool number 2 to score in a competitive match since Mike Marsh scored in a League Cup 4th Round replay against Crystal Palace on 16 December 1992 and the first Liverpool number 2 to score in the Premier League since Mike Marsh scored against Crystal Palace on 28 November 1992.

Arbeloa’s squad number changed from 2 to 17 as a personal preference for the 2007–08 season. This number had previously been occupied by Craig Bellamy.

International career

On February 1, 2008 he was called up to the full Spanish national team squad for the first time, to play France in a friendly in Malaga on February 6, although he was forced to pull out because of injury.^[3] He made his international debut on March 26 against Italy. He was selected for the Spain squad for Euro 2008, starting the first round match against Greece.

Jermaine Pennant
Personal information
Full name	Jermaine Lloyd Pennant
Date of birth	15 January 1983 (1983-01-15) (age 25)
Place of birth	Nottingham, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Playing position	Right Winger
Club information
Current club	Liverpool
Number	16
Youth clubs
1993–1998	Notts County
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1998–1999 1999–2005 2002 2002–2003 2003–2004 2005 2005–2006 2006–	Notts County Arsenal → Watford (loan) → Watford (loan) → Leeds United (loan) → Birmingham City (loan) Birmingham City Liverpool	00 (0) 12 (3) 09 (3) 12 (0) 36 (2) 12 (0) 38 (2) 54 (3)
National team2
2001–2004	England U-21	24 (0)

Jermaine Lloyd Pennant (born 15 January 1983 in Nottingham) is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool. He signed for them in June 2006 having previously played for Notts County, Arsenal, Watford, Leeds United and Birmingham City.

He gained notoriety in 2005, when he had to play a match while on probation, wearing an electronic tag, following a drunk-driving conviction.

Biography

Pennant is of Jamaican descent, but has opted to represent England internationally; although he has played at under-21 level, he has not yet played for the senior team.

Arsenal

Pennant was signed at the age of 15 by Arsenal from Notts County for £2 million, a record fee for a trainee at the time, but failed to fulfil his promise amidst a string of disciplinary problems. These included being sent home by England Under-21 coach Howard Wilkinson for breaking a curfew before an important game against Turkey, and being sent off for punching Niko Kranjčar in a game against Croatia under-21s. However, he did manage to make 24 appearances for the U21s in total, making him one of the five most-capped Englishmen at this level.

Pennant’s career seemed promising following his move to Arsenal. He made his debut aged 16 years and 319 days against Middlesbrough in the League Cup on November 30, 1999, at the time making him Arsenal’s youngest-ever first team player, beating Gerry Ward’s long-standing record by two days; Pennant’s record has since been surpassed by Cesc Fàbregas. He continued to make League Cup appearances over the next few season, but had to wait two and half years for his league debut, as a substitute against West Ham United on August 24, 2002 in the FA Premier League

He scored a hat-trick on his full league debut, against Southampton in May 2003. However, these were also his only Arsenal league goals (as Arsenal would go on their run of 49 straight games without a loss) and he did not manage to secure a regular place in the Arsenal side; Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger appeared to have eventually lost patience with Pennant, who had a history of turning up late to training. Pennant spent spells on loan to Watford, Leeds United. It was at Leeds where Pennant got noticed. He was one of the only highlights of Leeds United’s dismal relegation season. Pennant became a Leeds fans favourite scoring fantastic goals against Chelsea and Charlton. Leeds fans were even offering their own money for United to sign him permanently.

Birmingham City

Pennant was loaned to Birmingham City for the 2004/5 season. In light of his drunk driving conviction, he signed for them permanently in April 2005. In the 2005-06 season, Birmingham City were relegated to the Championship (the second level of English football), and speculation grew that Pennant would leave the club.

Drink-driving conviction

On 23 January 2005, Pennant was arrested and charged with drink-driving after crashing his Mercedes into a lamp-post in Aylesbury, while serving a sixteen month driving ban and uninsured. Upon being arrested, Pennant initially gave his name as that of Arsenal teammate Ashley Cole.^{[citation needed]} Pennant pleaded guilty to drink-driving and driving whilst disqualified, and he was sentenced to ninety days in prison on 1 March.^[2] He was released on parole after 30 days and immediately returned to playing for Birmingham, although he had to wear an electronic tag at all times, including while on the pitch.

Liverpool

Pennant signed for Liverpool on 26 July 2006, on a four year contract for a fee of £6.7 million, potentially rising to £8 million with add-ons.^[3] It is understood that Arsenal will receive around 25% of the fee.

After impressing in pre-season, Pennant made his Liverpool debut against Maccabi Haifa in a Champions’ League 3rd round qualifying match at Anfield where he went on to win the fans’ Star Man award.^[4] Such an impressive start to his Liverpool career has seen him being compared to his boyhood heroes John Barnes and Robbie Fowler.^[5] On 20 January 2007, he scored his first goal for Liverpool in their 2-0 home victory over Chelsea in the premiership. Pennant would later go on to produce an excellent performance against former club Arsenal F.C. playing a key part in three of the four goals the Reds produced as they cruised to a 4-1 victory. After not being chosen for the England squad to play Israel and Andorra in March, 2007, Pennant expressed the lack of recognition from England manager, Steve McClaren, as ‘frustrating’.^[6] Pennant was critically acclaimed for his performance against AC Milan in the 2007 Champions League Final. Arguably one of the best players on the Liverpool team that night, Pennant made dashing runs on the right flank, and supplied a number of good crosses in towards the strikers. This allowed him to receive the man of the match award for the Champions League Final. Following this performance, it was confirmed he will remain at Liverpool next season, along with few of his current team mates, as Rafael Benitez claims he will make major changes to the clubs squad.

Pennant started the 2007/08 season in the same fine form that he had finished the previous season with, putting in good performances on either flank as Liverpool surged to the top of the league table in the first month.^[7] He was however, again ignored by McClaren for the English team in their European qualifying matches against Israel and Russia, despite the backing of Liverpool manager Benitez.^[8]

As Liverpool struggled to regain their good early season form following the international break, Pennant too could not maintain his excellent start to the season, culminating in a needless sending off – the first red card of his career – against FC Porto in Liverpool’s opening Champions League match of the season. This was also Liverpool’s first red card in 5 years in the Champions League.

Off the pitch, teammates Alvaro Arbeloa and Peter Crouch recently revealed that Pennant was the joker of the club and often amused his teammates with his antics.^[9]

Pennant made his return from injury after being ruled out in November 2007 against Wigan, where he started the game and played until the 86th minute, when he was substituted for striker Dirk Kuyt. The match ended at a disappointing 1-1. He scored his second goal for Liverpool against Newcastle on March 8th 2008 in a 3-0 win.

He scored his third goal for Liverpool in the 0-2 away victory against Fulham on 19th April 2008..^[10]

Personal life

Following a domestic disturbance in July 2007, Pennant was arrested for a Section 5 public order offence — using words or behaviour likely to cause distress — for which he had to pay a fixed penalty fine.^[11]

Off the pitch, he is good friends with Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole from their time together at Arsenal.

Pennant is illiterate.^[12]

Until January 2008, Pennant was dating Hollyoaks actress Jennifer Metcalfe (Mercedes McQueen). However, Pennant was spotted in a bar in Leeds with Metcalfe in May 2008.^[13] He formerly dated topless model Amii Grove.

Yossi Benayoun יוסי בניון
Personal information
Full name	Yosef Shai Benayoun יוסף שי בניון
Date of birth	May 5, 1980 (1980-05-05) (age 28)
Place of birth	Dimona, Israel
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Playing position	Atacking Midfielder/Winger
Club information
Current club	Liverpool
Number	15
Youth clubs
	Hapoel Be’er Sheva Maccabi Haifa Ajax
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1997–1998 1998–2002 2002–2005 2005–2007 2007–	Hapoel Be’er Sheva Maccabi Haifa Racing de Santander West Ham United Liverpool	025 (15) 130 (55) 101 (21) 063 0(8) 058 0(11)
National team2
1998–2001 1998–	Israel U21 Israel	011 0(5) 068 (18)

Yosef Shai “Yossi” Benayoun (Hebrew: יוסי בניון‎, sometimes spelled Benayun, born Hebrew: יוסי שי בניון‎ on 5 May 1980 in Dimona, Israel) is an Israeli football player with Liverpool FC of the English Premier League. Benayoun plays as an attacking midfielder, occupying the space just behind the striker. In Israel he is nicknamed “The Kid”^[2] and “The Diamond”, and he is the captain of the Israeli national football team.

Early years

Jason Burt writing for The Independent described Benayoun’s youth years: “aged nine and he was spotted as a footballing talent. Aged 11 and the talent was labelled a genius. By 13 his face appeared on the front of magazines in Israel.”^[3] Benayoun started his career aged 9 with Hapoel Be’er Sheva. To attend training he regularly hitchhiked the 60km roundtrip with his father.^[2] After making a name for himself, he was scouted by Ajax Amsterdam. They invited the 15 year old Benayoun and his family to the Netherlands. By his 16th birthday, he was the Ajax youth team’s highest scorer and best player, and Ajax duly offered Benayoun a four-year professional contract.^[3] However, Benayoun and his family hadn’t settled very well in Amsterdam, and so he turned his back on the contract and returned to Israel after just eight months.^[3] In Israel he was criticized for letting go of a golden opportunity.^[3] He is well known for his skills of sucking penis’. It is believed that he has sucked over twenty isaeli males dicks.

Club career

Hapoel Be’er Sheva

At the age of 17½, he was promoted to the Hapoel Be’er Sheva senior team, but could not prevent the club from being relegated to Israel’s second division. In the last match of the season against Maccabi Haifa, Benayoun got a penalty kick in the 90th minute. Haifa’s goalkeeper, Nir Davidovich saved the shot but Benayoun scored the rebound. However, their relegation rival had won their match, meaning that his team would be relegated nonetheless.^[4]

Maccabi Haifa

After that season, Benayoun moved to Maccabi Haifa in a deal signed by Ya’akov Shahar (Maccabi Haifa’s president) and Eli Zino (the former Be’er Sheva president), and it was agreed that the two clubs would share the profits from selling Benayoun to a European club.

In 1998, under the guidance of Dusan Uhrin and Daniel Brailovsky, Benayoun and Haifa reached the quarterfinals of the Cup Winners’ Cup, and he scored against Paris Saint-Germain by the help of Reuven Atar in an unforgettable match and SV Ried.

In 1999, he confronted his manager Eli Cohen, when Benayoun allegedly refused to be substituted during a match. This incident, plus a bad month for the club, ultimately caused Cohen’s resignation.

In the 2000/2001 season under the guidance of Avram Grant, Benayoun led Haifa to a first championship after seven years and was chosen as the MVP of the season. The next season, Benayoun helped Maccabi Haifa win another championship, despite suffering from an injury in the beginning of the season. When he returned to play, he combined well with Giovanni Rosso, Raimondas Žutautas and Aiyegbeni Yakubu to win the championship.

Benayoun made 130 appearances for Maccabi, scoring 55 goals.^[4]

Racing Santander

In 2002, Benayoun moved to Racing de Santander in Spain, with his friends, Dudu Aouate, Omri Afek and Ilan Bakhar, where he became one of the big stars of the club and one of its leading scorers during the 2004/2005 season. He made 101 appearances for Racing, scoring 21 goals.^[4] Santander opted to cash in on Benayoun by selling him to his agents Pini Zahavi and Ronen Katsav for €3.5 million. Benayoun rejected a €5 million move to CSKA Moscow, preferring a move to England or to remain in Spain. This sparked a great deal of interest in the player with Newcastle, Tottenham, Liverpool, Bolton, Real Sociedad and Deportivo La Coruna seen as likely suitors.^[5]

West Ham United

West Ham completed the signing of Benayoun in July 2005 for £2.5 million with Benayoun signing a four-year contract.^[6]

He made his Premiership debut for West Ham on the opening day of the 2005-06 season (13 August 2005 against Blackburn Rovers) in West Ham’s 3-1 win.^[7] He went on to score his first Premiership goal for the club when he netted the closing goal in a 4-0 home victory over Aston Villa on 12 September 2005.^[8] More goals followed with him scoring two goals in a Premiership match against Fulham.^[9] Under manager Alan Pardew Benayoun flourished, producing skilful performances and goals on one of the world’s biggest football stages, including a stunning chip from the edge of the box against Fulham on 23 January 2006.^[10] He also scored a last minute goal that stopped West Ham’s bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur qualifying for the Champions League in the infamous food poisoning match.^[11]

Benayoun played in the 125th FA Cup Final for West Ham against European Champions Liverpool.^[12] West Ham lost on penalties to Liverpool after a 3-3 draw. Benayoun’s display was heralded in The Guardian, stating: “He never seemed to stop running over the course of the two hours and the sprightliness of thought was inextinguishable as well.”^[13]

In the last Premiership match of the season against Manchester United, he headed goalbound shots from Kieran Richardson and Alan Smith to safety. These saves ensured West Ham United stayed in the Premiership and avoided relegation.^[14] In 63 League appearances for the Hammers, Benayoun scored 8 goals.

Liverpool

Benayoun moved to Liverpool under controversial circumstances. Yossi had verbally agreed a new five-year deal with West Ham in May 2007, only to go back on the agreement in a bid to move to Liverpool F.C.^[15] The controversy was heightened on 10 July when the Israeli media reported that Benayoun’s agent, Ronen Katsav, had agreed a deal with Liverpool which would mean Benayoun taking a lower pay than the £50,000 a week offered by West Ham in May.^[16] On 12 July, Liverpool FC reported on their official website that the signing of Yossi Benayoun had been completed a £5 million deal with him signing a four-year contract.^{[17] [18]}

Benayoun was introduced as a Liverpool player along with Ryan Babel on 13 July, and was given the number 11 shirt. He made his first competitive start for Liverpool against Toulouse FC in the UEFA Champions League qualifier 3rd round 1st leg. His first goal for Liverpool came on the 25 September 2007 when he scored against Reading in the Carling Cup with a wonderful solo effort.^[19] Benayoun went one better by adding himself into the Liverpool history books by scoring a hat-trick against Beşiktaş J.K. in the Champions League. Not only did Liverpool win a Champions League record 8-0, but also Yossi netted the 500th goal in Liverpool’s European history.^[20] Yossi scored a second hat trick against a mismatched opponent in his first season against non-league side Havant & Waterlooville in the FA Cup, a team 122 places behind Liverpool on the league pyramid. Benayoun ended a successful first season having played 48 games scoring 11 goals in the process.

However, his performance was not enough to prevent transfer rumours in the summer of 2008. This led to the Israeli openly announcing his intention to stay, saying: “Liverpool is good for me and it was always clear I want to stay and Liverpool wants me,”^[21] Yossi was given his preferred number 15 shirt (which was occupied by Peter Crouch during the 2007-2008 season but was vacated when he moved to Portsmouth) for the 2008-2009 season. Benayoun had worn the number 11 during his first season at the club, but switched to the number he wore for West Ham and Israel.^[22] Benayoun had a fruitful pre-season, scoring in a 4 0 victory against Glasgow Rangers and netting again against Norwegian side Vålerenga with an “outstanding, high-quality goal”, according to The Guardian.^[23][24]. In the summer 2008 transfer window Yossi attracted much interest of top teams such as AS Roma, Rafa Benitez told the press he wasn’t leaving the club, 2 days later Benayoun told the L.F.C website that he desired to stay at Liverpool F.C.

International career

Benayoun was a member of the Israel U16 team that came third in the 1996 UEFA European Under-16 Championship.^[25]

He made his senior debut for Israel against Portugal in November 1998.

During the World Cup 2006 qualifiers, Benayoun became the leading player of the Israeli national team after equalizing against Cyprus at home (in a game that ended 2-1 to Israel) and scoring twice against Switzerland. In the away game in Cyprus, Benayoun assisted the winning goal after Nir Davidovich saved a crucial penalty. His strong performances gave Israel a chance at qualifying for the World Cup, but they missed out on goal difference.

Just prior to the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers, Benayoun was given the captaincy of the Israeli national team. In eight appearances in the qualifiers, Benayoun has scored two goals. Benayoun’s motivation and dedication to the Israeli national team is well documented. He puts his body on the line for his country, with one such example occurring in a Euro 2008 qualifier against the Croatian national team. Benayoun received several injections in order to be available for the match despite knowing the effects it could have in the following weeks. After the match, the injury worsened and he had to miss over three weeks of football for his team at the time, West Ham United.