Cruyff Fears Rafa's Reds

[DeeGame]

CRUYFF FEARS RAFA'S REDS
By David Maddock 17/02/2007


JOHAN CRUYFF admits Liverpool are the one side in Europe who can destroy his beloved Barcelona.

Cruyff - a legend as both a player and boss at the Nou Camp - insists the current Barca squad is as good as any in the Catalans' history.

But he has identified a weakness at the back, especially to the high ball, and believes the Reds have the players to exploit that on Wednesday.

The Dutchman said: "Barcelona against Liverpool is absolutely the top match in the Champions' League, and normally in Europe you would say that any game is no problem for my old club.

"But with Dirk Kuyt and Peter Crouch up front Liverpool are playing some excellent stuff.

"The two of them form an enormously good partnership and in the air nobody wins anything against them.

"If Barcelona are forced back then every throw-in or set-piece will result in a problem - and you could see Liverpool overpowering them."

Rafa Benitez' men face Barca at the best possible time, with the Spanish Champs torn apart by an internal civil war that has pitched the foreign stars against the home-bred players.

Cruyff added: "It is not a good time for Barcelona, and they are certainly not playing great at the moment.

Liverpool are the one team they would not want to play right now."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footba...name_page.html

[cobain]

"We don't fear Barca", so "Bring them on", because we have a "special weapon"! :whatever:

[The Glove]

Doesnt he normally slate us?

[ronan]

he did a lot under ged beacuse of our style of football
if its not perfect footy then cryuff aint ever happy

all this talk of liverpool are a threat and barca infighting
could go either way in terms of them as a unit

[Los Rojos]

Doesnt he normally slate us?

I think he had a problem with Houllier more than anything.

[Chrono]

Doesnt he normally slate us?

He once said that our inclusion in the Uefa Cup Final against Alaves would be "the most boring final ever seen"

Great player but a bit of a :whatever:

[Diego]

He once said that our inclusion in the Uefa Cup Final against Alaves would be "the most boring final ever seen"

Great player but a bit of a :whatever:

i recon he must have said the same about istanbull

[Maestro]

He didn't like Houllier's style, but he was full of praise after Istanbul:

FOOTBALL: Fantastic fans sent shivers down my spine all night
Sunday Mirror, May 29, 2005 by EXCLUSIVE By SIMON MULLOCK

JOHAN Cruyff has created and savoured some of the most memorable moments in football.

As a footballer the Dutchman was a genius. As a European Cup- winning coach he demanded his teams play attacking football.

But in Istanbul last Wednesday Cruyff, 58, was moved by a new experience. He said: "There's not one club in Europe with an anthem like You'll Never Walk Alone.

"There's not one club in the world so united with their fans. I sat there watching the Liverpool fans and they sent shivers down my spine.

"A mass of 40,000 people became one force behind their team. That's something not many teams have. For that I admire Liverpool more than anything."

The moment that epitomised the emotionally charged Liverpool support came at half-time. At first it seemed a mere act of defiance as the red hordes sang their favourite anthem. But the noise swelled to a deafening, inspirational roar. And how Liverpool's players were inspired.

While the massed ranks of the Kop choir touched a chord, Cruyff was also unstinting in his praise for Rafa Benitez.

"Benitez is now in a new echelon of top coaches in Europe," he said. "Only the best coaches in the world can inspire comebacks like that.

"I always rated him when he worked in Spain. His vision, the way he made his team play, their style proves he's a very modern coach.

"Against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final it was all about control and defence. That's not the way I like to see Liverpool play.

"Liverpool have a status around the world for the quality of their attacking and entertaining football. Their coaches in recent times all inherited that history. That kind of heritage is the hardest thing for a coach to cope with.

"Benitez and his recent predecessors are not just trying to live up to modern expectations of their club. They are always reminded of the great times in the past. The longer it was taking to come up with the European Cup the bigger the pressure, the harder it was to deal with the past.

"I knew that if Benitez wanted to win the Champions League he would have to change from his semi-final tactics.

"In the first half in Istanbul he was sticking to a similar, controlled approach. At half-time he changed it all.

"He showed, after all, how attacking he can make Liverpool play. Maybe he should have done it earlier - but he showed the character and quality of a truly top coach.

"In the second half he created pressure on Milan. He took a full- back out, put an extra man in midfield and we saw all the real one- to-one fights in the most important areas of the field. That's where Liverpool beat the great Milan."

Cruyff, who detests anything negative in the game, added: "The difference was also seen between coaches Ancelotti and Benitez. Benitez had the quality to put things right, while Ancelotti made big mistakes.

"Ancelotti kept his back four because he thinks defensively - but Benitez was thinking offensively.

"When Liverpool had pulled two goals back I saw fear in Ancelotti's eyes. He didn't know what was happening to him. He didn't make the chances he should have. He didn't change his tactics.

"With this victory Liverpool now have a coach touched by the glory of the great Liverpool teams of the past."

Cruyff singled out three Liverpool men as his heroes of Istanbul. "I rate Steven Gerrard so highly. He is one of the best midfielders in the world and I know from my connections that Barcelona have always liked him.

"I call Jamie Carragher my Marathon Man. He looks like a marathon runner whose legs are turning to jelly as he's about to cross the finishing line but he finds more energy to get there.

"The sliding tackle he made after receiving treatment for cramp summed up the character of the team. He was phenomenal.

"And Jerzy Dudek's the man whose saves brought Liverpool the European Cup. The man's been criticised for a year. The double save he made late on to deny Shevchenko gave him the confidence to perform like he did in the penalty shoot-out.

"He took the mickey out of the Milan players during the shoot- out. He drove them crazy!"

[Guest]

That's a fantastic article Maestro mate.

[Parm]

it's never a good time to play Barca.Despite their internal problems they still have match winners everywhere.

Having said that, i do hope we batter them senseless.

[DeeGame]

Having said that, i do hope we batter them senseless.

all we have to to is give bellers a set of golf clubs