Liverpool FC Forum

by **anfieldadorer** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 8:10 pm

yahoo

January 7, 2005
LIVERPOOL, England (AFP) - Rafael Benitez has moved to reassure Sami Hyypia that he remains part of his plans, despite the arrival of Argentinian centre-back Mauricio Pellegrino at Anfield.

Reds boss Benitez was expected to rest the Finland centre-half for Friday's FA Cup tie at Burnley but insisted nothing sinister should be read into that.

"Sami has been playing very well for us, along with Jamie Carragher," the Spaniard said.

"He is good in the air, and that is important to us because in England it is crucial to have that ability in your defence. But we also know that to win games you need to score more goals than your opponents.

"That means you need a strong defence - because they give you a good base - and Sami helps give us that. If we have a team working hard in defence we can give Steven Gerrard the freedom to attack."

Benitez also dismissed suggestions that Hyypia's relative lack of pace made him a liability at the highest level.

"You can address the problem of pace if you are in the right position," he argued.

"Sami is working very hard in terms of tactical work to be in the right place all the time. Sometimes players are not very quick - but if they are in the right place they can stop goals."

Benitez pointed out that similar criticism had been levelled at Pellegrino, who has linked up with his former boss after a free transfer from Valencia.

"People say he is not quick, which is true. But he is always in the right position, and his tactical work makes him one of the best.

"(His arrival) gives me the chance to rest Hyypia or Carragher. They have played in every league game, and you cannot use players so often.

"Pellegrino can play different roles. But even when he is not in the team he will be working and encouraging the others and trying to pass on his experience to younger players."

by **A.B.** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 8:13 pm

Great move by buyinng Pellegrino, sooner or later Hyypia and Carragher will run out of gas and we need an experienced defender who knows the Zonal Marking sytem very well to come on of the bench and get the job done, and we got it now. Great work by Rafa.

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