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Pepe Reina..

owenthomas

By owenthomas
in Liverpool FC

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owenthomas

owenthomas

Posted
Posted

i said to my mate after Torres had scored that Pepe had meant that ball for him - it wasn't a hit and hope ball.. Reina is fkin class.. :yes:

 

from de Echo

 

(Pepe) Reina has the highest clean-sheet to matches-played ratio of any Liverpool goalkeeper, even better than Anfield legends Ray Clemence and Bruce Grobbelaar, and boss Rafa Benitez added: “Reina is a goalkeeper with real game intelligence. He can read the game and play the kind of balls he delivered to Torres. He can play these passes to strikers if strikers move for the ball."

 

“A modern goalkeeper needs to be able to read the game like this. That is the difference. You can save 100 balls, but if you don’t do something more you will be a good goalkeeper – not a top class goalkeeper.”

Bigal

Bigal

Posted
Posted

I remember when garcia scored against everton in the 3-1 game at home, and they were telling Reina to pick out crouch, and he did, he flicked it on to garcia and lobbed richard wright, f***ing ace it was

The_Adder

The_Adder

Posted
Posted
Reina's been excellent all season. Him coming and plucking a cross out of the air with nonchalant ease is getting to be a regular sight.

 

There is no other goalkeeper on earth who I would swap him with, he is that good and not just that its his age!! Cannot believe how young he is.

owenthomas

owenthomas

Posted
  • Author
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nice little article from Prentice too........ dunno where he lifted it from mind...... ;)

 

ON the pitch they operate as far apart as it’s possible to be - Pepe Reina patrolling one penalty box, Fernando Torres foraging in the other. But off the pitch they’re infinitely closer.

 

The Spanish spine of Liverpool have formed a close friendship, and when they left Anfield together on Saturday night they were both still locked in conversation, Torres holding the man of the match champagne he took just 20 minutes to earn, Reina clutching something infinitely more precious, his baby daughter.

 

Between them the two Spaniards also hold the key to something else which is precious: Liverpool’s hopes of mounting a serious title challenge this season. Before you scoff, just look at the league table. Liverpool spent Saturday night just three points off the top. That’s three points behind an Arsenal team which has already played some of its best football of the season.

 

Just one win behind the Gunners after a spell when the Reds have, by their own admission, played like junkyard dogs. And just one success behind Arsene Wenger’s side after a period when influential figures like Xabi Alonso, Daniel Agger and Fernando Torres have all been missing.

 

It’s impossible to understate the difference Torres makes to this Liverpool side. While Kuyt, Crouch and Voronin all offer unstinting work-rate, impeccable attitudes and, in Crouch’s case, a solid goals return, Torres offers inspiration and imagination. We needed pace and Torres has pace,” said Rafa Benitez with an almost churlish dismissal of the finest goal scored in the Premier League all weekend, before adding: “I said well done to all of them, and he is one of them. His job is to score goals.”

 

Maybe. But not goals as exquisitely executed as Torres’ 80th minute breakthrough. The control on the chest from Reina’s clearance (it may even have been a considered pass) was sublime, taking two covering markers out of the equation and opening up the opportunity to run at the now exposed Aaron Hughes. The run was penetrating, forcing the Fulham skipper to back-pedal furiously, and when Torres dragged the ball around the Fulham skipper an unexpectedly early shot caught goalkeeper Niemi hopelessly flat-footed.

 

It was a truly breathtaking goal, and Reina charged the length of the pitch to offer his own personal congratulations to his mate, and claim the assist! Reina’s pass was a bonus, however, compared to the qualities he has brought to this Liverpool side.

 

Quietly, efficiently and without ceremony, Jose Manuel Reina has provided an enduring link with a glorious Anfield heritage. For 24 years, the Anfield goalmouth was inhabited by just two spectacularly talented goalkeepers. So successful was the Ray Clemence-Bruce Grobbelaar reign, that they claimed almost 1,300 games between them – and set a benchmark their successors simply couldn’t live up to.

 

Since Grobbelaar left for Southampton, goalkeepers have come and gone at Anfield like Skelhorn Street buses. Steve Ogrizovic, Mike Hooper, David James, Chris Kirkland, Brad Friedel, Sander Westerveld, Jerzy Dudek, Pegguy Arphexad, Scott Carson . . . all were tried and discarded; some enjoying more success than others, but none able to lay claim to the mantle bequeathed by the two goalkeeping legends.

 

Reina is different. His stats are already remarkable.

 

The Spanish stopper already has a more efficient clean-sheet ratio than either Clemence or Grobbelaar – one clean sheet every 1.86 matches (Clemence was 2.06 and Grobbelaar 2.35. And they are the top three in the all-time Anfield table).

 

He has managed a staggering 66 clean sheets in 122 appearances – staggering because while Clemence and Grobbelaar enjoyed protection from players like Hansen, Lawrenson, Hughes and Thompson throughout their careers, Reina has seen figures like Traore, Josemi and Mauricio Pellegrino come and go in front of him.

 

On Saturday Pepe Reina kept a third clean sheet in a row and his 10th of the season, including one impressive stop from Danny Murphy. The only worry about Reina is the lack of experienced cover, with Carson apparently keen to make his Villa Park role permanent and David Martin and Charles Itandje lacking first team experience. But as long as he’s in the goalmouth, and his mate’s in the opposition box, that title challenge is not as forlorn a hope as some would think.

Guest petelfc

Guest petelfc

Posted
Posted

Don't rate him. It's all down to a compact, hardworking midfield and defence.

 

There, the balance has been restored and the mocker unmockered.

CarraLegend

CarraLegend

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Posted
But is he better than Cech? :popcorn:

 

He's good but I personally dont think he's looked the same after his injury. Seems to have a dodgy moment (dropping a shot or cross, coming for a corner he'll get nowhere near etc) in each game now.

 

Reina and Buffon are the best in the world.

Guest spk

Guest spk

Posted
Posted
Reina, Buffon and Casillas are the three best goalkeepers in the world.

 

i cant fault that at all and i'm not going to even attempt to guess the order. all three are in a different league but only reina celebrates every goal his team scores the way he does.

 

anyone know how other teams see the bloke (i.e.: scum, a***, etc)? i'd be quite intrgued to know whether he gets such (deservedly!) high praise by non-liverpool fans.

_00_deathscar

_00_deathscar

Posted
Posted
He has managed a staggering 66 clean sheets in 122 appearances – staggering because while Clemence and Grobbelaar enjoyed protection from players like Hansen, Lawrenson, Hughes and Thompson throughout their careers, Reina has seen figures like Traore, Josemi and Mauricio Pellegrino come and go in front of him.

 

Surely Reina saw neither? I thought we sold them all before Reina came...?

Conor

Conor

Posted
Posted

Agreed. I believe Reina is the best in the world. I definitely would not swap him for anyone as his personality seems to add a lot to the team. He seems to be charasmatic and I recall a few interviews with other players saying he was a bit of a joker.

 

I'd be interested to see if that statistic applies across the league. Is he the most successful goalkeeper in the league with regard to clean sheets.

 

But that article may be wrong. I don't think Pellegrino ever played in the same team as Pepe.

MFletcher

MFletcher

Posted
Posted
Surely Reina saw neither? I thought we sold them all before Reina came...?

 

Pellegrino went the summer that Reina came in. Josemi left in January of that year and Traore the summer of 2006. So Reina played 0 games with Pellegrino, half a season with Josemi and a season with Traore.

_00_deathscar

_00_deathscar

Posted
Posted

Oh yea I remember now - we swapped Kromkamp for Josemi in January. Him and Traore can't have play many/any games though?

 

Speaking of which, we've done some half decent January deals - Josemi/Kromkamp, leading to Arbeloa. Also sniffed Agger out in January, and signed Morientes (although that didn't quite work out I suppose) - not to mention Mascherano.

fabfive

fabfive

Posted
Posted
Oh yea I remember now - we swapped Kromkamp for Josemi in January. Him and Traore can't have play many/any games though?

 

Speaking of which, we've done some half decent January deals - Josemi/Kromkamp, leading to Arbeloa. Also sniffed Agger out in January, and signed Morientes (although that didn't quite work out I suppose) - not to mention Mascherano.

 

 

And Fowler, let's not forget his goals after January when he came.

 

One Pepe

Two Pepe

Three Pepe Reina

Ohhh Pepe Reina.

 

I think it's getting to the point when the other team scores Rafa looks bemused as to how the hell did they do that. So much confidence in Pepe and the defense.

Leo No.8

Leo No.8

Posted
Posted

Reina is one of very few goalkeepers who is not only superb as a shot stopper, commands his area superbly well and distributes the ball in such a way he can actually start attacks, but he has that aura and commanding presence about him which gives belief to the whole defence.

 

Pepe is incredibly assured and confident, which means the defenders in front of him can just play their own games without having to worry about the man in goal. The best comparison for me is Peter Schmeichel, who had that same kind of positive influence over his whole defence.

 

Of course Reina has made mistakes as any keeper will, but the difference is he has got on with it wheras the likes of Dudek, James, Westerveld and Friedel could not take the pressure and weight of expectation. The biggest difference is that Reina is extremely level headed and strong mentally, which is absolutely crucial at the highest level.

 

I think since his injury, this is where Petr Cech doesn't quite seem the same goalkeeper. He is still as good technically as he ever was, but he doesn't quite seem to have the same aura of invincibility he had before the injury. He still hardly makes any mistakes and is a top keeper but not quite the one he was somehow.

 

It's hard to put your finger on, but I don't think he is quite as commanding.

Rory Fitzgerald

Rory Fitzgerald

Posted
Posted

To be honest I and I think many others have been critical of his usage of the ball when Torres is about. He seems to be on auto pilot and hits fast ball to Torres all the time with very little success instead of taking stock of his options.

 

Obviously this would have a much better chance of working if the whole midfield made a concerted effort to get 20 yards further up the pitch when Reina claims a ball then bangs it forward and win the 2nd ball if the defender cuts it out from Torres.

 

This is were a manager would have influence and dictate to players to sprint forward for this long ball once Reina claims them but it just seems to be Torres that is alive to it and if you are kicking a ball 70 or 80 yards to a single target in an area of the pitch governed by between 2 & 4 defenders then your chances of success are limited.

 

OK, it paid dividends in this game but how many times has it failed ?

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