Who is Liverpool’s most loved adopted Scouser of recent times?

By Joe Hale

Over the years, players have come and gone from Liverpool, however there are always some players that strike a chord with fans, and become ‘adopted Scouser’, players that the fans love, whether they are still at the club, or whether they have moved on.

One of the biggest names would be Pepe Reina, a firm fan favourite with Liverpool fans, due to his seven year, and counting, spell at the club. Even though as of recent times he has been linked to Barcelona, it is obvious that Pepe loves Liverpool, the way he speaks of Liverpool is with passion and pride, which is a very important thing to Liverpool fans, to see that the player loves the club he is playing for.

However it doesn’t have to be just players that have been adopted by the fans, and despite him currently managing Chelsea, Rafael Benitez is definitely one of them. Fans won’t forget him winning the Champions League in any hurry, especially after coming back from 3-0 down. But above that is not only the way he shows his emotions when it comes to the Hillsborough disaster, but also due to the fact he has donated large sums of his own money, for example £96,000 in 2010, to the Hillsborough families. His family still live in Liverpool, and he has said he would love to manage Liverpool again one day, which could reunite him with another ‘adopted Scouser’.

That would be Xabi Alonso, who fans still love despite his departure to Real Madrid in 2009. Since he has gone, he has numerously been linked with joining Liverpool again, and this summer is no different, and in fact looks more likely than ever. It is safe to say, that he would easily be seen as the perfect summer signing by many fans. For those that play FIFA, if they haven’t sold their old Xbox, Xabi is always a firm favourite to buy, to see him in that Liverpool strip once again.

And just to add to the list of Spaniards, would be Luis Garcia, currently playing for UNAM. Despite him only playing at Liverpool for three years, having left 6 years ago, and playing for 4 other clubs between Liverpool and UNAM, his love for Liverpool has not gone. He said “Signing for Liverpool was the most important decision I made in my career – one of the best things I’ve ever done,” and went on to say “Liverpool is massive – a very historic club. As my career has gone on I’ve missed playing for them. Liverpool will always be a part of me.”

Another player who was Liverpool through and through was Dirk Kuyt, who left last summer to join Fenerbahce. At his time at the club, he went on to be only the fifth person to score 50 or more goals for Liverpool in the Premier League, however it was his relentless and hardworking nature that made him so loved. You could see how hard he tried and how much it meant to him, which struck a chord with Liverpool fans, and why even now he holds a special place at Liverpool Football Club.

Obviously going further back there are other great adopted Scousers, such as Kenny Dalglish, through to Didi Hamann, Sami Hyypia, and there look to be current ones in the making, such as Daniel Agger, however who do you think are Liverpool’s ‘adopted Scousers’?