Gonzalez

[Thants]

Or maybe even visiting his family.

 

No!

[El Rojo]

Or maybe even visiting his family.

 

Nope. Check your calendar. If it's between May and August, we'll put reason to the side and go with the spurious, doubtful and downright ridiculous.

 

In two weeks time, this place will be clogged with 48 page threads entitled 'Adriano Link?' or 'Rafa Wants Out'. It's time to practice.

[coop]

Nope. Check your calendar. If it's between May and August, we'll put reason to the side and go with the spurious, doubtful and downright ridiculous.

 

In two weeks time, this place will be clogged with 48 page threads entitled 'Adriano Link?' or 'Rafa Wants Out'. It's time to practice.

 

Ah shit forgot we were now in May :wallbutt:

[Jay Glover]

He Does look like a fuckin cracker, the lads attitude seems to be spot on aswell.

 

Rafa is a genious, by getting him in the paper every week, his profile is increasing all the time!!!!!

[Brownie]

Rafa was in Madrid collecting that Spanish managerial award he received.

[Thants]

Rafa was in Madrid collecting that Spanish managerial award he received.

 

Picking up an award, buying Ronaldo, seeing his family AND sounding out the Madrid job.

Jeez, will the guy ever let up?

[coop]

Gonzalez or Kewell on the left - Gerrard or Pennant on the right

 

Shaping up already to looking like next season we are going for the league - just need the 2 strikers sorted and thats it 19 and 6 it will be.

[Thants]

Mark Gonzalez has been explaining how he managed to secure a move to Anfield.

 

A cruciate ligament injury made him fear his chances of becoming a Red were doomed but in an interview in the official LFC magazine, Mark tells how Rafa remained in constant touch with him before offering him a new deal.

 

The player said: "At first, the news of Liverpool's interest in me was through the usual rumours that you hear about.

 

"There'd been quite a lot of talk about how well I'd been doing and in spite of Albacete's league position, and that I was a player who'd always stood out - maybe for my speed and my style of play. This was my first season in Europe and Albacete were in the Primera Liga.

 

"So gradually these rumours became more serious and there was also talk of interest from Arsenal and I'm not sure who else.

 

"So I was aware about Liverpool's interest and I was really motivated and playing well up to the point everything had been agreed and I was going to sign a contract to go and play for Liverpool.

 

"There were just six games to go until the end of the season and that's when I got injured. It was really bad luck.

 

"Things were made much more difficult for me because I was due to sign my contract the week after I got injured. It was very complicated in the sense that I got the injury just at the time I'd got the chance to leave Albacete and just when I saw that my future was at Liverpool.

 

"Obviously everything cools off at that point, you're injured and the contract suddenly seems very far away. You say things to yourself like, "that's it, I won't be going to play for Liverpool now. So just when you thought you had the chance to go and play for a big club, you begin to think about all kind of things.

 

"Psychologically it's a huge blow and in really starts to eat away at you. However, about a month and a half from when I first got injured, Rafa Benitez called me to see how I was doing and to see if I was feeling positive and motivated.

 

"It was at that time that Liverpool renewed their interest in me and offered me a new one year contract with an option to buy.

 

"Now they were showing interest in me once again and keen to offer this one-year contract with an option to buy, which of course was understandable, because I was still injured and you never know what's going to happen.

 

"So I knew about this renewed interest from the club when Rafa Benitez called me on the day of the semi-final or maybe it was the final of the Champions League, asking how I was and all the rest of it, and if I was motivated.

 

"I said that I was, big time, after all that had happened with the injury, and now my chance had come again, it was something really important for me. So we hung up and there I was, was made up.

 

"All I wanted to do from then on was recover from the injury and get back playing again. So from then on you can't imagine how my confidence and spirits were lifted.

 

"Then as time went on they decided to offer a long term contract, something of a gamble to take a risk with me because there are lots of cases where players with knee injuries have not recovered or not been the same player as before.

 

"So as things stand I'm thankful because as time goes on I'm more and more convinced that I'm the same player as before and still improving."

 

Work permit problems have so far prevented him from turning out for the Reds but everything should be resolved in time for next season.

 

He added: "We're looking at two different ways of getting Spanish nationality and with that, an EC Spanish passport.

 

"Firstly, through residency and the time I spent with Albacete and now with La Real, you need to have been here two years in total.

 

"Secondly, through Spanish descendants on my father's side of the family and we have an application for a Spanish Passport currently being processed.

 

"I've heard that apparently that the application is progressing quite well and so let's hope I can get the EC Spanish Passport which I think then might be enough to be able to play here without needing a work permit."

[Captain]

Good read that. Fingers crossed, his Spanish passport will be a reality soon.