[lfc-news] Gerrard cheer for Benitez - Telegraph

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Daily Telegraph, 22 Nov 2004
Gerrard cheer for Benitez
By Sam Wallace in Monaco

As he tried to put his injury crisis into perspective, Rafael Benitez
recalled the time when he went to Pamplona with a Valencia side who were
missing 13 first-team players. But nothing was as reassuring for the
Liverpool coach as the sight of Steven Gerrard, the raging bull of their
midfield, boarding the plane for France.

Gerrard, who broke a metatarsal bone 62 days ago, is certain to start
tonight in a match against Monaco that could decide Liverpool's future in
the Champions League. If Benitez can coax victory from his depleted squad
against last year's finalists, who have plenty of problems of their own, he
will earn a place in the next round that will vouchsafe the money he needs
so much in the January transfer window.

Even the cautious Benitez could barely conceal his relief at the return of
Gerrard, who came on in the second half of the 2-0 defeat to Middlesbrough
at the weekend. "Steven is not only a good player on the field, but he is
important to us as a captain and the way he affects the mentality of the
team," Benitez said.

Didier Deschamps, the Monaco coach, made the point a little more bluntly:
"Liverpool are not the same without Gerrard."

Deschamps is not easily impressed, but the World Cup-winning captain of
France did not hold back in his assessment of Gerrard. "He's someone who
encapsulates the team's energy in his style and he sets the tempo of the
match," Deschamps said. "I am serious when I say that he has the potential
to be one of the best players in the world."

This weekend's result revealed, as if Benitez needed reminding, that his
side were hopelessly short of an in-form striker after Milan Baros's
hamstring injury playing for the Czech Republic last week. It means that
Gerrard is more likely to return to a midfield of five behind a lone
striker; that will be one way at least of masking the problems Liverpool
have in attack.

"If you cry, you won't achieve anything," Benitez said. "What you can do is
analyse the squad and work with what you have and you need to be calm. Look
at the starts that other coaches made at their clubs. They needed time and
it's the same for me. You work for a week to try to win, and then go back
to work again after the game."

This is not a manager who requested any sympathy as he first lost Emile
Heskey, then Michael Owen as the transfer window shut, before Djibril Cisse
and Baros succumbed to injury. As they did so adeptly against Deportivo La
Coruna three weeks ago, Liverpool will attempt to close the door on Monaco
rather more firmly than they managed against Middlesbrough. Benitez still
proffers genuine bewilderment when he is linked to new players, but
Malaga's defender Juanito is the latest on the list that already includes
David Villa, the Spain Under-21 striker at Real Zaragoza.

When Liverpool beat Monaco in September, they did not have to deal with the
former Barcelona striker Javier Saviola, who is back in Deschamps' side
with Mohammad Kallon. But, a season after they beat Chelsea in the
semi-finals, the principality is not quite so enamoured of its brave little
team. For the 3-1 defeat to Sochaux on Friday night, only 2,000 spectators
bothered turning up at the Stade Louis II.

Deschamps does, at least, have five fit first-choice strikers, which is
four more than Liverpool.

Team details
Monaco (probable, 4-4-2): Roma; Maicon, Squillaci, Givet, Evra; Saviola,
Zikos, Plasil, Kallon; Chevanton, Nonda.

Liverpool (probable, 4-5-1): Kirkland; Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore;
Finnan, Alonso, Gerrard, Hamann, Riise; Kewell.

Referee: C Larsen (Denmark).


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