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Xabi on 2009 team

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Aidan O' Neill

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Xabi Alonso has hailed Liverpool’s team in the 2008/09 season as “the best I’ve played in”.
Alonso spent five years at Anfield after joining the club in 2004, helping them win a Champions League and an FA Cup during his time there.
The Spanish midfielder left for Real Madrid in a £30million deal in 2009, before going on to join Bayern Munich in 2014.
The 34-year-old has won a further Champions League since leaving Liverpool, as well as eight other titles during his time in Spain and Germany.
But, in an interview with The Guardian, Alonso has praised the Liverpool side which finished second in the 2008/09 Premier League as the best he has played in.
“To win the league you need to have everything,” he said. “These were my happiest times at Liverpool: Pepe [Reina] to [Daniel] Agger, Agger to me, me to Stevie and Stevie to [Fernando] Torres. Sometimes it would take less than 10 seconds. The spine in that team was the best I’ve played in.
“You also have Carra and [Javier] Mascherano in the side – top-class players. There was skill, steel and speed; it was very competitive, very intense. Very, very determined and committed.
“This side did not win anything together but we felt we could win everything.
“We had a few stupid draws at home and in the end that’s why we did not win the league. We always had that feeling, that belief and confidence.
“Nobody scared us. We went to the Bernabéu and won. We went to Old Trafford and won. We went to Stamford Bridge and won: big games, big occasions that define seasons.
“It frustrates me so, so much. In 2005, we won the Champions League with a not-so-good team. In 2007, we lost the Champions League final with a better team and a more convincing performance. In 2009, we played the best football and lost the least amount of games but still did not win the league. That is the beauty of football, I guess. It is not a straight line.”
 
While this hardly validates anything at all regarding Agger, I'm confused about who actually 'hates' Agger.

Anyone?

Good player. Overrated by some, underrated by others, perhaps. But nobody hates him, or thinks he was rubbish.

OK, some zealous divvies may have overplayed his importance and excellence, which in turn led to some overly negative reaction to their stupidity, but strip all that away and you're left with 'a good player'

We've had plenty of those, and he isn't going to ever be considered a defensive great like Hansen, Lawro, Smith, Hughes, Carragher, Yates or Hyypia et al, but he was good.
 
Reading that just brings back bad memories regarding some bizarre Rafa moments .

Xabi is right , it was the best side we've had in the premier league era. It didn't last anywhere near as long as it should and it wasn't successful , unfortunately Rafa was instrumental in both of those failures
 
Xabi is right , it was the best side we've had in the premier league era. It didn't last anywhere near as long as it should and it wasn't successful , unfortunately Rafa was instrumental in both of those failures

I'd say G&H were a bit more instrumental to that
 
Xabi's team always lacked wide players with pace and skill. It was why Rafa didn't win anything when we were at our strongest.

Jermaine Pennant. Fucking hell.
 
Suarez made the Suarez side better...for the better past of last two decades we had some form of one man team...or at best two man team, but that Rafa squad was the first time I thought our first team was incredibly strong.

I'd replace any of the fullbacks we have had in the last five years with Raise, Finnan and Arbeloa....The spine that Alonso mentioned was the best in the world at the time, the only weakness was in the wide forward roles....but we had some interesting options with likes of Bellamy and Garcia.
 
Suarez made the Suarez side better...for the better past of last two decades we had some form of one man team...or at best two man team, but that Rafa squad was the first time I thought our first team was incredibly strong.

I'd replace any of the fullbacks we have had in the last five years with Raise, Finnan and Arbeloa....The spine that Alonso mentioned was the best in the world at the time, the only weakness was in the wide forward roles....but we had some interesting options with likes of Bellamy and Garcia.

Garcia?
 
The Suarez side was better

As on overall team I'd disagree, that was a very strong side who went deep in the Champions League a couple of times. In 2013-2014 Aly Cisohko played a lot of games, as did Toure and we had Mignolet in goal all season.
 
The Suarez side was better
Hahaha no way man.
The Suarez team was Suarez vs the rest most of the time. Waning Stevie G and Sturridge and Sterling chipping in.
The 2009 side was boss.
Alonso, Mascherano and Gerrard.
It was dope.
 
You lot ate smoking crack. Reina Mascher and carra wouldve gobbled up Suarez whilst torres, xabi, dirk and stevie smashed that weak ass back 5 Rodgers had.

It'd have been a text book rafa in the champions league performance
 
Not really. Rafa's blind spots and poor buys were.
Rafa almost never got his primary targets so it's harsh to blame him, and we're talking about Alves, Vidic, Aguero, very decent players that he was interested in.
That's on G&H, and besides it's a bit silly to say that world class players that were brought in by Rafa, left because he didn't bring in any world class players.
 
Alonso leaving was the start of our decline. Forget replacing him, we haven't found anyone with 60% of his ability to play midfield since.
 
Let's take a moment to ponder who Alonso was replaced by....


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The Suarez side was better

Disagree. From 1 to 11 we were so so strong in 2008-2009. Players in their pomp, proper men and leaders, and an abundance of quality all over the pitch.

The 13-14 season was the most thrilling and exciting I witnessed as a Liverpool fan but I just didn't have the same trust and faith in it as the 08-09 side.
Unfortunately in that season we came up against one of the best sides ever seen in the Premier League at that time...in the form of them Manc cunts...Van Der Sar Ferdinand Vidic Evra Scholes Giggs Tevez Rooney Ronaldo etc. Shower of fuckdogs.
 
I'm still pissed off about that time both Alonso and Mascherano fucked off myself. I'm sure we all are.
 
Disagree. From 1 to 11 we were so so strong in 2008-2009. Players in their pomp, proper men and leaders, and an abundance of quality all over the pitch.

The 13-14 season was the most thrilling and exciting I witnessed as a Liverpool fan but I just didn't have the same trust and faith in it as the 08-09 side.
Unfortunately in that season we came up against one of the best sides ever seen in the Premier League at that time...in the form of them Manc cunts...Van Der Sar Ferdinand Vidic Evra Scholes Giggs Tevez Rooney Ronaldo etc. Shower of fuckdogs.
And yet I doubt they would have won the title except for that poxy cunt Macheda.
 
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