21/09/2005, 01:32 AM
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| زعيــم مميــز | | تاريخ التسجيل: 19/07/2001 المكان: عرب ستان
مشاركات: 8,127
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[align=center] Sanz Luis Garcia - The Mystery
Kopblog
Xabi Alonso is Liverpool’s undisputed top scorer in the Premiership. With a grand total of one goal.
Depressing?
Not really, not four games into the season. It is far too early to start making a meal out of things.
Creativity and width have been components missing in Liverpool’s armoury for a very long time. While the relieving of Gerard Houllier’s duties might have removed the shackles which held down the Redmen on the field, it is possible that despite having more freedom, some of the current players lack the quality to use it extensively.
Sanz Luis Garcia has been the target of criticism after the lukewarm 0-0 draw at Anfield. I always saw him as a luxury player, one who would be the most likely to delight throngs of fans when things are going well, but just as likely to frustrate you when they are not.
His actions against Manchester United seemed wrought with uncertainty. It has always been a criticism directed at him that his decision-making is not often right on the money. He does have a tendency to choose the wrong pass, wrong flick, and wrong dribble, all at the wrong time.
‘He is the most frustrating player I have ever seen,’ has been repeated by Reds fans over and over again.
How did such a player make such vital contributions to a team that won the Champions’ League?
The only answer can be this – the class is there, but it is not shining through consistently enough.
Garcia is one big conundrum. He is perhaps, symptomatic of Liverpool’s inconsistency in the past year. So bright at times that he can be blinding, yet flitters in fits and starts at others.
It is well-known that foreign players coming into the English game need time to adapt. Robert Pires and Thierry Henry have been famous examples of flops coming good in a big, big way. Pires arrived from Marseille and had a disappointing first season, scoring a mere 8 goals. The next year, he went on to clinch the Player of the Year award. Henry has since gone on to become one of the deadliest forwards the English game has ever known under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger.
While the Spanish swashbuckler played a major role in Liverpool’s fifth Champions’ League triumph, it might be a little reckless to suggest he is in the same class as the French duo.
Yet, there has to be a reason why Frank Rijkaard was loathe to lose him at Barcelona, and why the Catalans expressed their disgust when the Badalona-born boy left to join Rafael Benitez’ revolution.
Maybe that reason was clear to us last season, as Garcia had an encouraging first season in which he grabbed 13 goals, 5 better than Pires’ haul at the first time of asking. There were signs, though, that he looked off the pace in some games, particularly those on the road.
The rumblings of discontent were first heard when Liverpool were beaten by two Silvestre goals last September away at Man Utd. Luis was an invisible figure that day. It was a performance that was to be replicated a few times during the season.
For every invisible performance, however, he seemed to produce a goal in the next game. It was always a spectacular effort too. Nobody will forget the volley against Juventus, and other efforts against Charlton, Tottenham and Norwich also come to mind.
He was so prominent in terms of goals, that he finally convinced Spain coach Luis Aragones to give him his international debut in a friendly against China in March.
However, it was one performance that stood out during the season. The home fixture against Everton, which Liverpool needed to win to keep within sight of fourth (let’s hope that’s a scenario not to be repeated this season), brought out the toughness in Garcia. Despite being injured in the first half, Luis soldiered on. When Baros was sent off, the dimunitive Spaniard had to lead the line all alone against men bigger than him.
That is what’s most confusing about Luis Garcia. The recent Nike advertisements have an interesting, if useful, concept - one man would be the determined competitor who never gave in, while the other was the complacent person who would take the easy way out. That day, he was the the first man, the man who never gave up. At other times, his persona takes the shape of the shirker.
Rafael Benitez has encouraged him to make better choices, to leave the fancy moves to further up the pitch. He has taken them on board, but not to the full extent yet. He likes time on the ball, as was evident in the Premiership games against Spurs and Man Utd, and it is not a luxury that will be afforded to him too much. In Europe, where the pace of the game is more unhurried, he is a free spirit who is in tune with his surroundings.
"He understands my game and inspires me with confidence more than any other coach did," Garcia says of Benitez. "I could follow him with my eyes closed."
He and Benitez have built a rapport from their days in Tenerife. The manager trusts the player, and the player trusts the manager. Both are now aiming at one goal – consistency.
Garcia also commented in the same interview that "though I'm pretty well built myself it took me a while to adapt to the style of play. "
On the evidence of Sunday, it would seem Luis still has to finish the adaptation process to stop the Kop from tearing it’s hair out in frustration..[/align] |
