Fabio Aurelio makes Liverpool deadline-day claim, reveals shock Gerrard/Carragher admission, gives ‘best compliment’ to Luis Diaz & draws Ronaldo/Salah comparison
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It’s the Merseyside derby at the weekend so we caught up with former Liverpool star Fabio Aurelio for his views on the fortunes of the Reds.
Speaking exclusively to Ladbrokes: Fanzone, the Brazilian assesses the current squad and looks back on his decision to move to Anfield from Valencia.
Liverpool DON’T need to strengthen before Deadline Day
I know a lot of people have talked about the different areas in which Liverpool should try to strengthen before the transfer window shuts, but for me I don’t think they need to do anything.
It’s too early in the season for me to identify an area that needs strengthening, and with the arrivals of Fabio Carvalho and Darwin Nunez especially, I believe they have a really strong squad. The problem they’ve had has been caused by injuries to key players. I hope that’s not the case this season, because if most of their players are fit and performing as expected, then I don’t think any more arrivals are needed.
It’s not a case of the club really needing a new midfielder, in my opinion. Keeping this crop of players fit is the most important thing because they all know Jurgen Klopp’s style already.
I saw CARRAGHER, not Gerrard, going into management
Based on what I saw of them from my time at Liverpool, I’d say I saw Jamie Carragher as someone who’d go on to coach or manage, more so than Steven Gerrard.
Carra was a talker, he’d influence the dressing room and would always be shouting throughout the game. He was always instructing his teammates, while Gerrard was more of a captain by example.
His attitude and his quality on the pitch was something we all admired. He was always the first one in training, but Carragher was the one who talked more, and instructed more. I would say, looking back, I saw Carragher in more of a coaching position that Gerrard.
The best compliment I can give Luis Diaz is…
Ever since his arrival, Luis Diaz has adapted really well. He’s the kind of player who can break down walls; you look at that Liverpool front three of old, with Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, and at times you’d wonder who could come in and match their levels of performance. The best compliment I can give to Diaz is that it’s almost like he’s been a part of the team for years. He’s such a special player.
Diaz is the type of player who can create chances himself, and for his teammates. He’s scored all types of goals and assisted his teammates in some way on many occasions. We’re only a few games into the season but he’s already shown us how important he’s going to be, and I’m expecting him to have a great year ahead. Although it’s still early days and many players have played their part up to this point, I’d have to pick him as Liverpool’s best player right now.
Firmino still has an important role to play this season… he deserves to start v Everton
Things haven’t gone the way we would have expected in terms of Liverpool’s results so far this season, but my opinion is that the team have looked good throughout the campaign so far; continuing to create chances and dominate games. The Premier League is a very tough competition and you absolutely cannot afford to lose the opportunities Liverpool have done up to this point. But you would expect the result against Bournemouth to help this team going forward, and while the gap is already a big one between themselves and Manchester City, there’s still a long way to go this season.
Roberto Firmino will still have a very big part to play for Liverpool this season. You just don’t find many players around these days that have his characteristics. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure he knows he won’t be playing as much as he has in previous seasons, but when his opportunities do come, I’m confident he’ll remind people how important he can still be for this team.
He’s so versatile as well; it’s not just a case of him being a striker or being on the bench. He could also play as a second striker behind Darwin Nunez, he can cover for those wide players, he’s going to be very important for Liverpool this season.
It’s hard to see Jurgen Klopp not starting with Firmino in the Merseyside derby this weekend. It’s a massive game for both clubs, and while Nunez would provide more of a threat to Everton’s defence by making those runs in behind and making things physical, Firmino has the experience in this fixture, and he deserves to start this game based on what he’s done when called upon so far this season. Klopp making a decision like that would also give him Firmino so much confidence for the rest of the season.
They’re two great options and it’s an amazing position for Klopp to be in, but why can’t he play both Firmino and Nunez? Why not start with the two of them, with Nunez just in front of Firmino.
Richarlison should focus on getting into Spurs’ first team, not showing off
What Richarlison did isn’t something I want to see; I wouldn’t have done it if I was him. You have to respect your opponent; do some tricks, for sure – especially as an offensive player. But to do something like this just to show off and joke with your opponents is not something I agree with. You have to be respectful. Would Richarlison like it if an opponent did it against him in his next game? I don’t think he’d like it at all.
Score a goal, dance, joke, sure. But during a game, doing this in a position where you’re going nowhere… there’s no need for it. As for how you deal with it as a defender, obviously you don’t want someone to be doing this type of thing to you, but you have to be clever and think about your teammates, and how you might let your side down if you react to it. It’s easier said than done, but I think that’s how I’d have acted if Richarlison did what he did against me.
He’s still trying to break into Tottenham’s first team, remember. Things like this won’t help him at all. It gives everyone an impression of him, and people begin talking about him and his behaviour. It’s difficult to change peoples’ opinions in this game, as well – and that’s going to happen with Richarlison. If I was him, I would worry more about my performances and how I can get myself into the first team, rather than things like this.
Salah/Ronaldo comparison
It’s really difficult for someone like Mo Salah to maintain his own levels over such a long period of time. People often forget he plays out wide as well, so when they say he’s not scoring as many goals as he should be, they need to remember he’s not playing as a striker, and we’re just going off the numbers we’re used to seeing from him.
But there’s so much more to his game than just goals; he manages to create so many chances for his teammates, and sometimes that’s enough for him to make the difference in a game.
To compare, Cristiano Ronaldo has gone how many games now without scoring a goal? And he’s a proper striker who you would expect to see numbers from. Sometimes we just need to remember everything else that Salah offers this Liverpool team. I don’t know him personally but from what I’ve seen, he’s capable of so much, he’s very focused and he knows how important he is to the team.
My friends thought I was crazy leaving Spain for Liverpool
I knew a couple of Spanish clubs were interested in me when my contract was up at Valencia, but a phone call with my former manager, Rafa Benitez, meant my mind was made up and that I’d be coming to Liverpool.
He told me all about the history of the club, the city and how he intended to use me in his plans and I was sold by everything. That call from Rafa was the key to me joining Liverpool. I knew I was coming into a team where I had the full confidence of a manager who was assuring me of game-time. He knew what I could bring to the team and I knew what he expected from his players.
It was funny when I first started telling friends in Spain that I was moving to Liverpool. “Are you crazy? You’re leaving this weather and this food for Liverpool?!”
I had a wife and two children, one was four and the other was just one-month-old. We had a really, really good time in Liverpool, though. Better than we could have ever expected.
Obviously it’s difficult to adapt to life at first, but I always made sure I was spending time with my wife and children as I was taking them into a new environment as well. And if you asked my children today if they could go back to living anywhere in the world, they don’t even think about it… it’s “I want to go back to Liverpool.”
