We are closing the first decade of the century, and thus it is as natural as Ian Rush poaching on a loose ball in the six yard box to look back, reminisce and evaluate. Football, particularly that English, and specifically the Premiership carried on what was started in the nineties. I think it was during the nineties where English football was revolutionized, with the emergence of Sky. It was during the nineties where football on television and thus adjusted times for kick-offs became the order of the day. It was during the nineties where truly big money signings and unheard of weekly salaries for the players made their start. It is apt that this decade is now referred as the noughties, as basically it was a decade where noughts and more noughts have been added to both transfer dealings and weekly contracts, to the point of either ridiculousness, obscenity or both. In such a scenario, millionaires who know and feel the game as much as Mancs know the words and how it feels to sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ in the Kop made their entrance and bought clubs. Some needed new publicity, others a new toy, most a quick buck. And with that, the soul of football clubs got torn away like a paper does when it gets soaked, with its ink like true fans feeling all over the place. Damning, sad and grievous.
Like the aforementioned, the Champions League went from strength to strength and became very exclusive. Loosing its membership card, even for a year made you a social pariah. It made rich clubs richer and widened the gap between the haves and the have-nots. The top four places in the Premiership for a start became repetitive. Clubs outside this group were finding it close to impossible to bridge the gap. The financial muscle Champions League football gives simply knocks out the others in a few rounds.
In the world of Liverpool Football Club, qualification for Champions League football became the new mantra. Acquiring the fourth place became more important than winning the FA Cup or the League Cup. Liverpool started the decade without ever tasting Champions League football, but since the 2001-02 season, Liverpool missed out only once. More than that it provided the greatest moment in this decade and may I also add the club’s whole history as from three down, they drew the Italians AC Milan in six minutes and went on to win the nicest, the shiniest of cups and being the fifth triumph acquired the right to keep the cup for good. It was an irrational night that explains the madness and magic that still nobody can take away from football. And when there’s something madly romantic, bet your mortgage that Liverpool will be there. The decade was started with a lack of European football, as in a transitional season where a managerial partnership was tried and failed, European football was the least of the Kop’s worries. In his full second season in charge, though the Frenchman more than atoned for it, as he led his boys to a UEFA Cup victory in Dortmund against the Spanish side Alaves with a 5-4 victory. It feels so far away, and in a way a cup reserved for underachievers but believe me do, that night felt really good and we did dance with joy as for the first time in seventeen years, Liverpool won a European trophy and made it a treble winning season when four days earlier the FA Cup was won, after back in February the then Worthington Cup was secured.
Most of the times, European football proved to be an alienation from the domestic front. Liverpool properly challenged for the league title just twice in a whole decade. Admittedly, qualification for Champions League football proved to be a get-out clause for both Houllier and Benitez when assessing their domestic duties. Shankly claimed the league was the bread and butter and at times league matches tasted exactly like that as sometimes whole runs were devoid of creativity and games were just scraped through. Even though for most of the times, Liverpool made part of the exclusive Champions League club, the finances invested in the squad were always modest and opposition managers were at times splashing out three times as much on defenders as Liverpool were doing on their strikers. It was a decade where the concept of having a big squad became paramount, and the word rotation made its way into the football jargon. The bench became as important to any side as it is to a workman. The five substitutes were also increased to seven, something which gave another edge for those with bigger squads over the others.
While looking back at all this, I felt the urge to put on my XI for Liverpool during this decade, and I emerged with this side: Pepe Reina, Markus Babbel, Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyypiä, Fabio Aurelio, Yossi Benayoun, Dietmar Hamann, Xabi Alonso, Dirk Kuyt, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
Liverpool used mainly four goalkeepers during this decade. They started with Sander Westerveld, then there was the strange double signing of Jerzy Dudek and Chris Kirkland on the same day and presently the Spaniard. I probably think that most would choose the Polish over Reina for his antics during Istanbul alone. I had to wrestle with that but ultimately I think Reina has been the most consistent of all. And in that position, that’s what you’re looking for above everything. Reina won the Golden Glove award for three seasons running as he kept the most clean sheets in the Premiership in those seasons. He has also a very impressive ratio on penalties and he looks to be growing bigger and bigger. At times this season, he looked to be the guy his team-mates look up to. Something he definitely has over Jerzy is his leadership qualities.
On the right back I had to almost plunder down memory lane, but I am sure Markus Babbel is deserving of the place. He arrived in Liverpool on a free transfer due to the Bosman ruling. He was solid, he was elegant and he could raid forward and like the legendary Phil Neal he found the net on a European final. He was one of Houllier’s main assets during the treble winning season. Tragically, he was diagnosed by the Guillain-Barrè syndrome and for some time rather than his playing days his living days became numbered.
The centre-back pairing I believe has chosen itself. Hyypiä is definitely Houllier’s best signing. Carragher deserves his place even for his commitment alone. The Finn has been a bargain buy and if Shankly thought Ron Yeats is seven foot tall, Houllier must have thought he got himself an ice such was the coolness and elegance of his buy. Hyypia gave ten years of service to Liverpool and Carragher has over 500 caps to his name. Carra complemented the Finn’s coolness perfectly with his no-nonsense and in-your-face last ditch tackles.
I slotted the Brazilian Aurelio into the left-back position, and this has been a very difficult decision, honestly not because I was spoilt for choice but to the contrary because it was a position that proved very problematic and nobody really made it his. I think the last left-back that really has shone in Liverpool’s colours is Steve Nicol. Still, I think Aurelio is very under-rated, he can be solid and has got a left peg on him that can open a can. He is one of the better crossers and can deliver very penetrative balls. He has been let down with injuries but when in the side his presence makes it the better for it.
In the middle of the park, I would pair Hamann and Alonso together. For someone who does the dirty work, Hamann’s class was unbelievable. He had the knack of covering every single ball, could tackle without sliding and for a defensive midfielder he was really comfortable with the ball and could strike one too, as his tally of eleven goals shows. A player who you mostly appreciate when he’s missing, as the first forty-five minutes of Istanbul reminds us. My over-riding memory of Didi though is the dying minutes of a match where the reds have got a slender advantage. He’ll get the ball, walk with it rather than run, cover it with his long legs and ultimately winning a foul. Why Xabi Alonso, when he left when we got so close to the pinnacle. Yes it hurts, but I am not going to debate the issue here. But I admit I never saw a better passer of the ball than him. As for his vision, while some can see, he could watch, where some could hear, he could not only listen but also understand. Plus two goals from his own half. Not the stuff of the ordinary, that’s for sure.
On either wings I went for the current Benayoun and Kuyt. These alongside the left-back position were the ones that I had to really think hard about. Some might argue Kuyt is there only as a square peg in a round hole. And yes, for a wide position I opted for Kuyt for his hard work rather than his flair. But forget a bit about his late form, and remember his tireless matches, particularly in Europe. And he’s never shy in front of goal either since a striker is always a striker. The Israeli, on the other hand is thin. Got sparrow legs. But they can surely play. They are skillful. They can open defences. They can score.
So, the two main men of the side. The question about Gerrard was where I’d place him. And I’d just put him slight behind Nando’s shoulders for the simple reason that the telepathic understanding he carries with the same Spaniard should be a compulsory study for psychology students. The captain, 500 and counting caps to his name. We are blessed to have him in our side. As for Torres? While his goal scoring record speaks for itself, the defenders facing him get tongue-tied.
This, I believe is a formidable eleven. This will be a side which will be very hard to beat. It has a very strong core, but can be a bit narrow. The Academy never nurtured a true out-and-out winger, and the reality is high quality wingers will be most of the time above Liverpool’s budget. This is a stark reality of this decade for Liverpool. Four of these eleven cost the club nothing. Babbel and Aurelio arrived through a free transfer. Carra and Gerrard were products of the Academy. The noughties could never be talked in the same breath of the eighties and to a lesser extent of the seventies. But when you think what the nineties offered, particularly the Spice Boys era, this is a side that is honest and brave that will fit properly with the Liverpool way.
