South Americans At Liverpool - A Short Tribute

 Our main match winner this season has been Luis Suarez, the player that's most recently made an impression is Philippe Coutinho and whenever we win Lucas Leiva's return to fitness is always mentioned as a factor, so I thought it was about time I had a look at the South Americans we've had in our ranks.

 In the past when somebody mentioned South American footballers we'd think of Brazilian flair and Argentinian steel and it would be an exciting thought, imagine the prospect of having a player from somewhere like that in your team. Since Rafa Benitez took over at Liverpool in 2004 we've signed a steady stream of players like that who have got the fans excited. Okay, they haven't all worked out but it's still an exciting feeling to have a new South American in the side. Other clubs have gone for the shirt selling ability of players from Asia but we've gone for men from real footballing countries, people who grew up on the streets living and breathing the sport.

 We could field a team of Alexander Doni, Fabio Aurelio, Mauricio Pellegrino, Sebastian Coates, Emiliano Insua, Mark Gonzalez, Lucas Leiva, Javier Mascherano, Philippe Coutinho, Maxi Rodrigez and Luis Suarez. The only others I can only think of that I haven't already mentioned are Diego Cavalieri and Gabriel Paletta and neither of themmade much of an impression. But we've still managed still an entire side of first team players.

 I thought Doni was a good 'keeper, certainly not good enough to take Pepe Reina's place but definitely an able deputy. He had big health issues last summer and is currently on the mend whilst trying to revive his career in the Brazilian lower leagues. Aurelio had a great left foot and was a cultured footballer, though he has been blighted by injury problems for a few years now. When he played he did okay for us and the free kick he scored at Old Trafford will be remembered forever. Pellegrino only spent six months with us as a player towards the end of his career but came back as a coach and from what I can gather was a popular person around the club. Coates is young with potential but needs first team football which he isn't getting at the moment. I suspect we'll cut our losses and move him on but I wouldn't be surprised if he goes on to have a decent career. Insua had some good games for us and some poor ones, he's still only 24 years old and can proudly point to having Liverpool, Galatasaray, Sporting Lisbon and Atletico Madrid on his CV.

 Gonzalez, the only Chilean we've had, promised much but delivered little. After Rafa spent so much time enthusing over his latest signing we were expecting a lot from him but it never really worked out. He wasn't awful but never really stood out and wasn't missed when he left. Mascherano was a terrier for us, in the best possible way, always enthusiastic, tough in the tackle and with a real desire to win, he was one of the first names on the team sheet every week. The way he forced his departure from Liverpool wasn't good, certainly not something a professional should be proud of but he attempted to smooth his relationship with the Liverpool fans by dedicating Barcelona's Chamions League victory over Man Utd to us. It might have worked..... Lucas has divided opinion between Liverpool supporters more than any other player in recent memory but currently he has many more people on his side than against him. He's not the typical Brazilian skillful midfielder we all long for but he plays an important part in the way the team works. Probably a more stereotypical style Brazilian creative player is Coutinho who has contributed goals and assists already since his arrival in late January. He still has to do it over a long period of time but the start he has made has been as good as we could have hoped for.

 Maxi was a very popular player, the fans loved him and so did his team mates. He scored vital goals and put in a few man of the match performances, managing two hat-tricks in one memorable fortnight. When the team was struggling he wasn't the player to get things going but when the side was playing well his one touch play and constant forward thinking gave our attacks an extra edge.

 Which all brings us nicely to Luis Suarez, 'El Pistolero'. There's not much I can say about Suarez that hasn't already been said, the good, the bad and the ugly. He's probably generated more column inches in the British press over the last couple of years than any other footballer. And he's also scored more goals this season than any other player in the league. He's tenacious, skillful, combative, determined to win and popular amongst his team mates. Much was made of Liverpool's decision to spend £35 million on Andy Carroll but in reality what we did was trade Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel for Carroll and Suarez. Ask any manager right now which of those pairs he would prefer to have and they will all go with the choice Kenny Dalglish made. Suarez is a top drawer player, he's box office, some love to hate him, we love to love him, and we just can't get enough.

 It will be interesting to see if we sign anyone else from that part of the world in the near future, the money on offer in the Premier League is attractive to anybody and I think as long as work permit issues don't get in the way it won't be too long before another Argentinian or Brazilian graces the turf at Anfield.