The last few months have seen Liverpool shot stopper Pepe Reina linked with a move away from Anfield.
Having come through the ranks at Barcelona, speculation has been rife that this summer could see him return to Tito Vilanova’s side. The transfer talk coincides with recent questioning over the 30 year olds form, but I strongly believe Reina is the perfect keeper for Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool side.
A lot has been made of the strictness of Brendan Rodgers’ strategies as a manager. For instance, one of the main things the Northern Irishman encourages is to play the ball out from the back through the midfield, as opposed to taking the direct route straight up to the forwards. Reina is ideal for this, as one of his main attributes as a goalkeeper is his distribution. He does not panic with the ball at his feet, he is comfortable using both his right and his left foot, and his passing is often faultless. Many of you who watched the controversial TV series ‘Being: Liverpool’ in the summer would have seen the outcome when manager Rodgers challenged Reina to a wager to hit the crossbar in preparation for Liverpool’s Europa League tie at Tynecastle. “Twenty quid, eh?” Rodgers said. Without even replying, Reina immediately approaches the nearest ball and strikes it from the halfway line. The Liverpool boss begins to realise the mistake he’s made when the ball is in mid air. “Wow” was the word Rodgers muttered in total disbelief. Sure enough, the ball rattles the crossbar, and Reina, with a huge grin across his face, proceeds to walk off the pitch by shaking Rodgers’ hand and shouting “Thank you! Twenty quid!” A small glimpse in to the talent Reina possesses with the ball at his feet.
Reina can often play a big part in the build up to some of Liverpool’s goals, a good example being Stewart Downing’s goal at the DW stadium in the Reds’ 0-4 win over Wigan. His upbringing at Barcelona also means that he is used to a very similar style of play to the one Rodgers encourages, and he recently admitted that he enjoys having more of the ball. “There’s no doubt I am involved more with my feet than before but so is the team. The amount of passes in every game is going higher and higher compared to last season. It’s a different style and philosophy – I am happy about it.”
Reina’s influence in the dressing room is another attribute of his that should not be underestimated. He is a strong character, the type of character that Rodgers has recently stressed a desire to add more of to the group. Having been at the club for seven years now, Reina is fully aware of the size of the club, and what it means to wear the red shirt. He has a lot of experience, and is certainly someone that the younger players look up to.
I’ve come across several Liverpool fans that believe this season should be Reina’s last at the club. I do not believe there is a keeper on the market that the club could bring in that’d do as good a job as Reina does. There’s certainly nobody out there that’d do better. I think Reina is an integral part of what Rodgers wants to do, and I’d be livid if he was to leave this summer.
As for his form, I for one don’t think he’s been as bad as a lot of people claim. His performance level has gradually improved as the season has gone on. Earlier in the campaign, Rodgers mentioned once or twice that Reina had been put on a new training regime in an attempt to regain his old form whilst maintaining a good level of fitness. The Liverpool manager also stressed his delight at how the Spaniard was responding to this new way of work. Even whilst Reina has been ‘out of form’, his shot stopping has still been very good. The things that people believe have been letting him down have been his decision-making, as well as several uncharacteristic unforced errors. Whilst I feel he has made some mistakes, for certain goals conceded, I think that talk of a dip in form has lead people to be too quick to lay the blame upon Reina’s shoulders. Whereas in reality, other players in the team have been equally or even more at fault. There are quite a few Premier League keepers who make extremely noticeable errors game after game, and Reina certainly isn’t one of those.
At 30 years of age, Reina is still relatively young for a goalkeeper, and Rodgers has reiterated on several occasions that he believes Reina’s best years in football are ahead of him. Unless Reina has a desire to leave the club, I believe Liverpool would be making a huge mistake if they were to sell him.
