Aquilani to Liverpool

So they've replaced Alonso with a worse version of him, and in no way are they changing their tactics to cope.

They're fecked.
 
A good signing for them, all things considered. Not as good as Alonso though and they only have themselves to blame for that. If he stays fit he could be a decent player for them this season.

But Liverpool have certainly become weaker in midfield now.
 
Brwned said:
So they've replaced Alonso with a worse version of him, and in no way are they changing their tactics to cope.

They're fecked.
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In Aquilani they've also signed a fascist sympathizer who collects statues of Mussolini (allegedly). I'm sure the Liverpool fans will be delighted.
 
Hopefully all of the people already laughing off this signing wont come to regret their comments. Its a bit early to judge dont you think?
 
I'm suprised how many of you underrate Aquilani, IMO he might prove to be a very quality signing for them.
 
Brwned said:
So they've replaced Alonso with a worse version of him, and in no way are they changing their tactics to cope.

They're fecked.
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It would be quite easy to say the same about us re: Ronaldo/Valencia. I know people claim we didn't rely on Ronaldo as much as the scousers relied on Alonso, but they would be wrong.

It's really difficuly to separate the top three on paper right now, with Chelsea perhaps edging it.
 
evil_geko said:
I'm suprised how many of you underrate Aquilani, IMO he might prove to be a very quality signing for them.
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That's because you're one of those technique-obsessed weirdos.
 
djemba's arse said:
It would be quite easy to say the same about us re: Ronaldo/Valencia. I know people claim we didn't rely on Ronaldo as much as the scousers relied on Alonso, but they would be wrong.

It's really difficuly to separate the top three on paper right now, with Chelsea perhaps edging it.
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Except for the fact we have changed our style of play and Valencia's nothing like Ronaldo.

I was referring to some people who were thinking Liverpool might use that money to either buy a new centre mid who's a bit more adventurous than Alonso to go to a more attacking style of play, or bring in someone like David Silva to really improve their attacking line.

Turns out they're doing neither, and they're not doing much to compensate besides signing an inconsistent pansy. A talented one, but still.

I'm really quite happy with what's gone on at Liverpool and Arsenal in terms of transfers out, but while Liverpool are just standing still(at best) Arsenal are trying to adapt and are seemingly going with a new formation to cope, a bit like us.

Might say something about each manager. Maybe.
 
I_live_cement said:
I think if he can keep himself fit he can become a better player than Alonso, temperament permitting.
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a) Not a hope he'll keep himself fit. He's 25 and made 102 appearances for Roma who are a good but not great team. 64 starts I think.

b) He isn't as talented as Alonso anyway I don't think. Alonso's passing is top class.
 
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http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/engla...ly-slams-liverpool-target-aquilani-as-the-new

Goal.com Italy Slams Liverpool Target Aquilani As 'The New Dossena'
The speculated transfer of Aquilani to Liverpool would not be a good move for the Reds, opines Sergio Stanco from Goal.com Italy.

Xabi Alonso's potential move to Real Madrid could pave the way for AS Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani to join Rafael Benitez's Liverpool ranks, but Goal.com Italy's Sergio Stanco has warned Anfield fans that they could be chasing "another Andrea Dossena".

Stanco has reservations about the Liverpool target, as he feels that it is high time that the 25-year-old has converted his much-publicised potential into top-level performances.

He told Goal.com International, "In Italy, we said that Aquilani has a great potential and each year should be the one where he explodes, but we are still waiting."

He was swift to add, though, that, "No one is so stupid to say that he can not become a great player, but at the moment he still is not."

Stanco also pointed to the differences in England and Italy about fielding young players. A case in point is the way players such as Wayne Rooney and now more recently Jack Wilshere are brought through into the first-team at 16 or 17-years-of-age, while in Serie A, players such as Sebastian Giovinco and Riccardo Montolivo are still considered young.

The reason for this, Stanco suggests, is to alleviate the risk of "burn-out", so while there is still time for Aquilani to raise his game further, which Stanco hopes as "everybody knows how Italy needs
a good midfielder", but the onus has instead turned to the nation's younger crop.

Goal.com Italy had further criticisms about an Aquilani switch. "He does not have the personality to conquest the Premier League. I think he will be a new Dossena who wants to come back to Italy after one year because he doesn't enough."

Alan Dawson, Goal.com
 
Man Of The Match
You'd like to think that with the staggering sums of money being chucked around for transfers these days, managers would do their research thoroughly.

And it certainly looked that way yesterday, when Rafa Benitez was discussing potential Liverpool new boy Alberto Aquilani.

"I always remember one game - England versus Italy U21s at Wembley, and he was man of the match in a 3-0 win," said Rafa.

Sounds convincing. The only problem with that is England and Italy's Under-21s have played each other once at Wembley. That was the first game at the new stadium - a game that finished 3-3.

We suspect Giampolo Pazzini would be pretty peeved if he didn't get the man of the match award in that one, given that he scored a hat-trick.

And he'd be even more peeved to miss out to Aquilani, given that he didn't play that day.

Good to see Rafa has his thumb on the pulse. Good job he hasn't been given sole charge of Liverpool's transfer policy, eh?
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http://www.football365.com/mediawatch/0,17033,8749_5476091,00.html

If true, then that's pretty darn funny.
 
:lol:

Someone do a search and see if that game really happened? It's possible Rafa saw some other game and mixing up the venues. It'd be beyond hillarious if he's mixing up the players.
 
Arriving in a city famous for its left-wing, working-class culture, Alberto Aquilani will hope that one embarrassment in particular can be put behind him as quickly as possible. Last year Liverpool's new £20m signing admitted a grudging admiration for Italy's former fascist dictator Benito Mussolini which might yet take some explaining to his new fans.

In an interview in Gazzetta dello Sport in March last year, Aquilani, 25, was asked to clear up a rumour that he had a marble sculpture of the Italian leader who sided with Adolf Hitler in the Second World War. He answered with an alarming naivety: "My uncle is very keen on him and he gave me something to do with Mussolini but as for me, I don't know anything about politics".

The existence of Aquilani's marble sculpture has never been confirmed and the comments caused a stir for a while in a nation where politicians from the extreme right and left are still active in mainstream politics.
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Nevertheless, Aquilani comes from Roma, a club more commonly associated with left-wing politics. Francesco Totti, Roma's star player and captain, is of a left-wing persuasion; he was understood to have been unimpressed by Aquilani's comments. But that would be nothing compared to the tirade he could expect from Jamie Carragher, Anfield's original working-class hero and Labour voter.

Signing Aquilani is a coup in football terms for Benitez because he is one of three players in the Roma team who come from the city and have progressed through the youth ranks – the others being Daniele de Rossi and Totti. Aquilani comes from the city's Monte Sacro district and his connections with the club runs deep.

His father Claudio is a paramedic and his profession has given him the chance to watch his son's career at Roma from very close quarters. Aquilani Snr is the man who runs the ambulance service for injured players – and the occasional fan – in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome and is on duty for all Roma's home games.

One of the key considerations in today's medical for Aquilani will be the question marks about his fitness and, in particular, a series of ankle injuries over the last two years. He has not played since an injury against Arsenal in the Champions League on 11 March and the problem became so bad that he was sent to West Ham to recuperate, where Gianfranco Zola has taken some of the best medical staff in Italy to work.

As well as technical director Gianluca Nani, West Ham boast one of the best physiotherapists in the business – Marco Cesarini, formerly of Brescia – and he has treated Aquilani. He might even have been in England earlier because Chelsea tried to sign him when Claudio Ranieri was manager after – at the age of 16 – he starred in the Viareggio youth tournament in 2001. Aquilani's father Claudio refused to allow his son to be sold.

Aquilani is set to contribute fully to English football's WAG culture – in fact his girlfriend, Michela Quattrociocche, might even give Steven Gerrard's wife Alex Curran a run for her money in the celebrity stakes. The couple's on-off relationship has filled countless glossy magazine pages in Italy.
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He's got a proper WAG, alright.
 
he had a good game against england when the match ended 2-2
lita scored in that goal .. lita to liverpool for 20m next ?
 
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