Biscan: I was not good enough at Liverpool

Igor Biscan has given a frank assessment of his time at Liverpool.

The Croatian international came to the Reds in December of 2000 from Dinamo Zagreb for around £5.5 million.

He made a number of handy appearances during that treble season including the famous win at Old Trafford and in the League Cup final against Birmingham City, however being cup-tied, he couldn’t play in the successful UEFA Cup campaign.

He was rarely used for the next two seasons (22 appearances in all), but was back in favour for the 2003/4 campaign which ended up being his most prominent of his Liverpool career with 39 appearances.

In a interview with the Official site republished in the Echo, Biscan who won four trophies in his Liverpool career documented his Reds journey with true honesty.

“I wasn’t good enough, to be honest.

“It took me some time to really adapt and understand and find my place in the team, within the team in this type of football.

“It wasn’t easy and I didn’t play much. 

“I just needed to change some things about the way I think about the game; then I did it and when I did it, when I changed some things, of course I still had to be patient and give myself a little bit of time.

“Then it was OK, I felt much better and felt I could play much easier."

While Biscan only played one season under Rafa Benitez, he said it was his most enjoyable where he was able to play in his preferred position.

And the results were clear for everyone to see as the cult figure played a key part in the Reds successful Champions League run.

“When he (Benitez) first spoke to me, he asked me which position I preferred to play and I told him I’d like to play as a central midfielder or defensive midfielder.

“At least that’s what I thought And I contributed the way I expected myself to contribute during the whole period I was there. 

“Sometimes it just happens like this. Fortunately for me, I managed to reach at least that level of quality that I could play a part."

While Biscan did not get to play a minute in the iconic final, he did not take the decision to heart.

“You want your team to win, your club to win because it’s the final, probably the biggest game in club football.

“Inside yourself you feel a little bit disappointed but, ,it’s just too important a game to have any selfish thoughts or any type of thoughts like this. 

“You just don’t think in that way.”

Biscan talked a bit about that European run in the 2004/5 season and the emotion that he felt when Jerzy Dudek saved Andriy Shevchenko’s penalty.

“It (the final) was crazy. After the last penalty kick… it’s difficult to explain because of the way we won it, not only this game – that game is a separate story and the most amazing one - but the whole season and especially in that competition, where we struggled a bit and it looked like we weren’t going to make it through the group stage.

"But once we managed to get from the group stage we just looked solid – very solid and tough. It looked like nobody would beat us.

"The celebrations in the stadium, after in the hotel and when we came back to the streets of the city, it’s difficult to explain really. It’s a blur, it’s so emotional – really, really emotional. Unbelievable."

Since retiring, Biscan has turned to management and won his fair share of honours along the way including the Slovenian Prvaliga with Olimpija Ljublana.

Currently Biscan is the Croatian U/21 manager, a role he is enjoying greatly.

“It’s a different job to club football. 

“You have more time, you can spend more time with your family, you can spend more time going around watching games, thinking about football. It’s a nice change for me.

Biscan says his main aim is to challenge himself and be the best manager possible.

“I try to learn, just to learn. 

Every period of time that passes by, I try to learn more and be a better coach. It’s a very complex job. 

“The results will say how good I am. 

“So far with Croatia, so far so good, I would say. 

“My intentions are to test myself on a high level so we will see.