Is this ordering fair…?
Liverpool Xtra have ranked their ten greatest ever Spaniards, and while we think there’s little argument with the selections, we’d order them a little differently…
Here’s how we’ve ranked them:
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10) Suso
What could have been, eh? Undeniably talented – but the diminutive playmaker left Anfield this January to join Serie A behemoths AC Milan, having scored just the one senior goal for us. While his ability has never been questioned, his attitude occasionally was – and we’ll have to wait and see whether or not we’ll regret allowing him to move on…
9) Alberto Moreno
We’re pretty sure the 22-year-old Spaniard is going to significantly climb this list during his Liverpool career… Not since John Arne Riise have we had such an exciting, attacking left-back – and his marauding runs are going to be a prominent at Anfield for years to come.
8) Fernando Morientes
A legend of European football, Morientes joined us after his peak, and he never truly got to grips with the pace of English football. He did however notch 12 goals in all, and played his part in our 2006 FA Cup triumph.
7) Jose Enrique
Injuries have curtailed the progress of Enrique, who during his first two seasons with us, was a fixture in the side on the left of defence. Perhaps most famously, he played the brilliant ball for Luis Suarez’s goal versus Newcastle, the club we bought Enrique off in 2011.
6) Albert Riera
For us, terrifically underrated – by neutrals and Liverpool fans alike. Riera was part of the Liverpool starting XI which so nearly won the title in 2008/09, playing on the left, with Dirk Kuyt on the right, and Steven Gerrard behind Fernando Torres, who appears slightly further up this list…
5) Alvaro Arbeloa
If you move from Liverpool to Real Madrid, you’re a mighty fine player. Arbeloa made a memorable debut at home against Barcelona, and he completely nullified the threat of Lionel Messi. Making 98 appearances in total, our main regret will always be the nominal fee we received in 2009.
4) Luis Garcia
A true, true cult-hero, and scorer of one of the most famous goals in our history, bagging with a real net-buster against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final… (Ask Jose Mourinho if you don’t believe us.) Garcia was more than capable of dire performances, but his occasional brilliance made up for it, and some.
3) Pepe Reina
The likeable stopper was once one of the top two or three keepers on the planet, and it’s a shame his form dipped and he isn’t still at the club. During his nine-year Liverpool stay, Reina won the Premier League Golden Glove on three occasions, winning the FA Cup in 2006 and the League Cup in 2012.
2) Fernando Torres
Many fans are still bitter about Torres’s departure, and perhaps rightly so considering the fact he joined rivals Chelsea – but it’s impossible to deny his brilliance while at Liverpool. 81 goals in 142 appearances made him recognised as the best out and out centre-forward on the planet at one point in the mid-noughties, and it’s a little sad to remember that when you consider what he’s become.
1) Xabi Alonso
The best passer Liverpool have had in the Premier League era. Alonso has won La Liga, the Champions League, the European Championships and the World Cup, and is a true legend of the modern game. Memorably, Alonso scored from beyond the halfway line on two different occasions for us, and scored our third goal of the comeback against AC Milan in 2005. A genuine Merseyside hero.
