This past Thursday marked a special day in Liverpool’s modern-day history – the eleventh anniversary of the day that we signed both Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia – two of the most influential Reds of their generation.
Both were Champions League winners for Liverpool and integral parts of the Rafael Benitez side which also won the UEFA Super Cup, the FA Cup and the Community Shield during the mid-2000s.
With this in mind, we’ve stuck together a list ranking all eighteen of the Spanish players to ever feature for the Liverpool first-team. Click through our order below to find out where Alonso and Garcia rank.
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Disagree? Let us know in the comment section below. Here’s the list:
18) Miki Roque
Roque signed for Liverpool in 2005 at the age of 17. Although he never made a Premier League appearance for the Reds, he featured as a substitute in a Champions League defeat to Galatasaray. Despite failing to make the grade at Anfield, Roque’s career looked to be thriving at Real Betis until his tragic death from pelvic cancer in 2012.
17) Antonio Barragan
Barragan signed for Liverpool that same summer and also made one appearance, again in the Champions League, during a qualifier against CSKA Sofia. He spent just a season at Anfield before moving to Deportivo in 2006. His career has since taken him to Real Valladolid and Valencia, where he is now a regular.
16) Daniel Ayala
Like Barragan, Ayala was a product of the Sevilla youth academy, and joined Liverpool in 2007. He made the jump up to the first-team two years later and made five Premier League appearances in between a series of loan spells. Now 24, the Spanish Under-21 international is playing in the Championship with Middlesbrough.
15) Dani Pacheco
Pacheco spent six years with Liverpool but was never able to make good on his immense potential. He made 14 appearances for the first-team in all competitions, failing to find the net in the process. He helped Real Betis earn promotion to La Liga last season but has since been loaned out to second divisions side Deportivo Alaves.
14) Luis Alberto
Alberto signed for Liverpool after impressing on loan with Barcelona’s B-team. Sadly, the midfielder struggled to make the step up to being a Premier League player and was only used occasionally by Brendan Rodgers during his one full campaign as a Red. He spent last season on loan at Malaga and is set to spend this year at Deportivo.
13) Iago Aspas
The striker scored just one goal during his time at Liverpool – against Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup. He spent last season on loan at Sevilla and has since sealed a return back to former club Celta Vigo. With Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge in scintillating form during his single season at Anfield, his chances were few and far between.
12) Suso
The young midfielder was thought of very highly for a time at Anfield, making 14 Premier League appearances. Sadly, Brendan Rodgers never seemed to rate him to the same degree and having struggled to get into the team under the Northern Irishman, the Spanish Under-21 international left for AC Milan at the start of 2015.
11) Josemi
The full-back’s Liverpool stay was short lived but he still managed to pick up a Champions League winner’s medal for his troubles, after being an unused substitute in Istanbul. He made seven appearances in total during that year’s European campaign, but eventually lost his place back to Steve Finnan and returned to playing in Spain.
10) Antonio Nunez
Another unused substitute that night was this midfielder, who is perhaps best remembered for being part of the deal that sent Michael Owen to Real Madrid. He made 27 appearances for us in all competitions during his single season at the club, with his one and only goal coming against Chelsea in the League Cup final.
9) Fernando Morientes
The experienced striker, who came to Liverpool off the back of a hugely successful spell with Real Madrid, very much flattered to deceive at Anfield – scoring just 12 goals in all competitions during his 18 month spell at the club. However, he did still manage to pick up an FA Cup medal in 2006, coming on in the final win against West Ham.
8) Alberto Moreno
Moreno joined Liverpool last summer and made 28 Premier League appearances during a mixed debut campaign at Anfield. His best moment came against Tottenham, where he scored a brilliant solo goal, but that was arguably overshadowed by a couple of costly mistakes in important games. He’s lost his place to Joe Gomez this season.
7) Jose Enrique
Moreno’s predecessor as Liverpool’s first choice left-back. The former Newcastle United man was a regular during his first couple of years at the club before a series of injury problems slowed his progress and restricted his number of appearances. He’s barely featured in two years now and looks to be well down the pecking order.
6) Albert Riera
Riera played 40 times and scored five goals in all competitions during his first full season at Anfield. However, he fell out of favour during his second campaign and managed just 15 appearances before he was subsequently moved on. At his best, he was a tricky presence for us out wide and always caused plenty of problems for the opposition.
5) Alvaro Arbeloa
One of the most underrated players in our recent history. His success at Real Madrid over the last few years has proved his quality and he was arguably someone who we didn’t make the most of when we had him. The right-back, who was infamously replaced by Glen Johnson, still played 98 times for the club and scored twice.
4) Luis Garica
He came from Barca to bring us joy… Garcia will always be remembered for two things – that volley against Juventus and the ghost goal against Chelsea – both strikes which ultimately would prove vital to us lifting the Champions League title in 2005. The ever popular Spaniard scored 31 times for us in total and played 122 games.
3) Pepe Reina
Our best goalkeeper of the Premier League era, Reina made a habit of winning golden glove awards and despite only winning two major trophies during his time with the Reds, he’ll always be looked back on as one of the greats. He made almost 400 appearances for us in all competitions before spells with Napoli and Bayern Munich.
2) Fernando Torres
The best Liverpool striker since Robbie Fowler, the number nine enjoyed the golden years of his career on Merseyside, notching a hugely impressive 81 goals in 142 appearances. While his qualities have since been overshadowed by the brilliance of Luis Suarez, El Nino still very much deserves his own slice of Liverpool history.
1) Xabi Alonso
Steven Gerrard’s partner in crime during a spell where Liverpool’s midfield – also containing Javier Mascherano – was arguably the very best in world football. The pass master made 210 appearances for the Reds and notched 19 goals, including one in the Champions League final, before being stolen away from us by Real Madrid.
