You should thank him, Rafa
FINALLY, Liverpool look the part of title contenders.
Gary Lim
Fri, Jul 03, 2009
The New Paper
FINALLY, Liverpool look the part of title contenders.
For the first time since winning the league title in 1990, the Reds made a serious push for the Premiership crown last season.
Alas, they missed the boat by four points, but the fine display could prove to be the springboard for bigger things to come.
After five years at the Liverpool helm, Rafael Benitez's title hopes suddenly don't look like a pipe-dream anymore.
More than anyone else, Fernando Torres was the one who set the wheels in motion.
Few foreign players have made an impact as instant and dramatic as the 25-year-old Spaniard did.
In 84 games for the Reds, Torres scored a total of 50 goals.
Last season saw his campaign interrupted by niggly injuries, but that did not stop him from netting 14 league goals from just 20 starts.
It was also the arrival of Torres in 2007 that forced Benitez to rethink his plans for the Liverpool front-line.
Understanding
Realising that he and Steven Gerrard have an uncanny understanding on the field, Benitez decided to play Gerrard as the support striker, thus ending seasons of uncertainty over where the England midfielder's best position on the field is.
Some believe that the current pairing of Torres and Gerrard up front is the best since the days of Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush, two forwards who terrorised defenders in England and in Europe.
Indeed, Gerrard benefited from Torres' presence. He himself found the back of the net 16 times in the Premiership last season - his most prolific ever in a Liverpool shirt.
The Reds also scored the most goals in the Premiership - 77 - marking the first time in years that they out-scored eventual champions Manchester United.
This ability to score goals has given the team a feel-good factor. The confidence in the team was evident in the final two months of the league campaign, when Liverpool won 10 of their last 11 matches.
Torres did the right thing by showing his appreciation for the Liverpool manager.
In truth, Benitez has plenty to thank Torres for, for igniting the spark that could turn the club's fortunes around.