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FROM BANFIELD TO ANFIELD
We are delighted to have added another talented young defender to our ranks in Argentinean Under 20's star Gabriel Paletta who, fittingly, comes from Banfield to Anfield!
Gabriel's club with the distinctly English sounding name suggests he was almost fated to join us.
The player, 20, helped Argentina win the Under 20 World Cup in 2005. Rafa Benitez identified his potential and in the end the deal was fairly straightforward which is not always the case when you are signing players from South America.
It can sometimes be quite complicated because of the way things are structured over there with a number of parties claiming shared ownership of players.
To be fair to Banfield and their president Carlos Portell, this deal went very smoothly. When the player came over for his medical he was accompanied by his brother and key people from his club.
It meant we had everyone round the table who could influence things and we were able to complete the technicalities with the minimum of fuss.
The fact that the club were heavily involved, rather than just one agent, made it easier to agree the terms.
I have to say that one or two Argentinean clubs were extremely disappointed that Gabriel was determined to join Liverpool.
The famous River Plate were keen to sign him. I also had a conversation with the president of Boca Juniors who wanted the player.
Clearly, there is genuine South American disappointment that we have been able to secure such a good young player. All the reports about him have been very positive.
Gabriel is a player we have been tracking for quite some time. He is tall, aggressive and strong. We see him as one for the future like Daniel Agger, although possibly just a little bit behind Daniel in terms of age and development.
He is still one we are excited about because of the praise he received at the Under 20's World Championship.
There are some incredibly talented Argentinean players in Europe, especially in Spain. Fans might remember our interest last summer in Real Zaragoza's Gabriel Milito. Ironically, he actually has the same agent as Paletta.
However, when you are trying to sign established players of Milito's calibre, men in their mid 20's and already operating in Europe, they can be incredibly expensive.
We felt that the key was to find the next Milito by looking at the younger talent in Argentina. Rafa felt that Gabriel Paletta was one who fitted the bill.
He worked with Argentineans at Valencia and has an understanding of their temperament and work ethic. He sees this as a good deal, so hopefully we have got the next great Argentinean defender early and at a good price.
He has gone back to South America and will be back to link up with us in the summer.
It was interesting to see the people from Banfield enjoying Anfield. The Argentinean club is 100 years old and, as their name suggests, an Englishman founded them. They were all genuinely excited to be at Anfield and insisted on walking around the stadium and taking in the museum tour.
Back in business in a big way
Since my last column we have picked up two very good Premier wins against Wigan Athletic and Arsenal, beaten Manchester United in the FA Cup and lost narrowly to Benfica in our Champions League first leg clash in the Stadium of Light.
The disappointing results immediately before re-emphasised that expectations were beginning to run a little bit too high on the back of our 17-game unbeaten run in domestic competition. It all had to end sometime.
The defeat at Manchester United, although immediately followed by a solid FA Cup victory at Portsmouth, led into those disappointing results against Birmingham, Chelsea and Charlton.
It was disappointing to drop points, but we bounced back with those good wins over Wigan Athletic and Arsenal.
You could say they were each six pointers in the battle for Champions League qualification. The win over the Gunners left us looking down on them with a ten-point advantage. It's a long time since that has happened and it highlights our improvement.
Again, it's only February and so now is not the time to reach any conclusions. We will count the points at the end of the season.
Nevertheless, we have to be encouraged.
World brand to match the club
The adidas deal has finally gone through which means we will have a new name on our kit from next season.
We had a long and successful relationship with adidas in the Eighties and Nineties. We are excited to be back with them because they are a fantastic football brand with a worldwide reputation.
It will be exciting for us going forwards although it's not a new deal with different rewards at this point. Adidas have taken over Reebok and our arrangement remains in place until 2009.
However, we are aware of the status of adidas in the business. They will be very good for us. |
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