Sissoko the constant at the centre of rotation
Mohamed Sissoko's extraordinary fitness and unquestionable talent have guaranteed him indemnity from Liverpool's rotation policy.
Dominic Fifield
October 31, 2006 12:45 AM
Rafael Benítez brings up his century this evening. It is more than 20 months and 99 matches since Liverpool's manager named an unchanged side and the visit of Bordeaux will edge his now notorious policy of rotation into three figures. The Spaniard may consider such statistics a quirk, or even an irrelevance, but this is a landmark occasion.
For the sceptics the constant shifting of Benítez's selections has bred instability, contributing to an erratic start which already appears to have condemned them to being also-rans in the Premiership. He argues that his approach is born of necessity, a desire to pick his fittest and most adept side for each game. Victory tonight may put his team in the knockout stages and allow them to concentrate on reviving domestic fortunes, and the manager would point to that and the four trophies won over the 99 games as evidence that there is method to his madness.
He has allies within. Mohamed Sissoko, the midfield shield and a virtual constant amid the rotation, was part of the Valencia side whose zest was maintained by Benítez with a similarly fluid approach. "For me this is nothing new," Sissoko said. "A player may not be happy if he's not playing every week, but look what can be achieved. At Valencia he changed us every week and won La Liga and the Uefa Cup. Here he has won the Champions League and the FA Cup. His system works."
Sissoko may have experienced the chop-and-change routine before but the Malian is arguably the least qualified to complain. Since Benítez replaced Dietmar Hamann with Luis García at Birmingham in February 2005, a solitary change from the side that defeated Fulham the previous week, 44 players have been fielded in a variety of line-ups. Yet over the past 79 games, stretching back to his arrival, Sissoko has invariably featured when fit, offering leggy energy and a snarling tackle to liberate those around him.
Benítez knew what he was buying when he returned to Spain with a £5.6m offer, capitalising on Valencia's belief that they were well served in central midfield and beating off Everton's interest in the process. His Liverpool team-mates at first considered Sissoko shy and quietly spoken, but the senior players soon became aware of his bite. "At his first training session he was tackling everybody and one or two of the players were worried about what he was doing," said Benítez. "I asked them, 'Would you prefer Momo in your team or playing against us?' We wanted him to play like that, tackling everything, and they all eventually understood.
"I tell him now the most important thing is to stay on his feet and not go to ground. I never see him trying to go and damage another player but, because he tries to regain so many balls, sometimes he's a risk. We're working with him to try and improve his passing and technique, because we know sometimes he regains the ball and then gives it away too easily, but he's 21 and with time and experience he will improve with the ball and maintain his stamina levels.
"He's such a shy and nice boy. We brought him from France when he was 18 and it's difficult for a player to learn Spanish as he did and then, three years later, learn English. It shows what he's like as a person on and off the pitch, how he wants to improve and how determined he is.
"We had a very good dressing room at Valencia, players with experience who supported him and also some young players who he could spend time with. Here at Liverpool the team look more confident when Momo plays, especially the defenders. They know they'll be protected."
That is significant, but Sissoko's regular inclusion is born as much of an ability to recover quickly from matches, which is key to Benítez's approach. With Djimi Traoré sold, Sissoko has the best stamina levels in the squad - "Some players need four days to be 100% fit again but Momo can recover in two," said Benítez - and his only prolonged absence was last February when he almost lost the sight in his right eye after being kicked inadvertently by Benfica's Beto.
"That was a hard time for me and my family," said Sissoko, who was sidelined for a month. "I knew I was in trouble as soon as it happened - it was so painful and I couldn't see properly for a long time. But I recovered. I put that behind me and I carried on. I'm a young player who's still looking to improve and I like the physical side of the game, which makes me suited for England. Maybe in training I demonstrate to Rafa that he needs to play me all the time, but I must still improve. For now, we want to beat Bordeaux and finish top of the group so that we can concentrate on the Premiership again."
A win against the French, struggling to make any impact in this competition, and a Galatasaray failure to defeat PSV in the Netherlands would see Liverpool through. "That would be fantastic because we could maybe rest some other players," added Benítez, suggesting his sequence of change will continue, even if Sissoko should be braced for more exertions.
Benitez's 44 players
Daniel Agger, Xabi Alonso, Fabio Aurelio, Milan Baros, Antonio Barragan, Craig Bellamy, Igor Biscan, Jamie Carragher , Scott Carson, Djibril Cissé, Peter Crouch , Jerzy Dudek, Steve Finnan, Robbie Fowler, Luis García, Steven Gerrard, Mark Gonzalez, Daniel Guthrie, Dietmar Hamann, Sami Hyypia, Josemi, Harry Kewell, Jan Kromkamp, Dirk Kuyt, Anthony Le Tallec, Fernando Morientes, Antonio Nuñez, Gabriel Paletta, Maurizio Pelligrino, Lee Peltier, Jermaine Pennant, Darren Potter , David Raven, José Reina, John Arne Riise, Florent Sinama-Pongolle, Mohamed Sissoko, Vladimir Smicer, James Smith, Djimi Traoré, Stephen Warnock, Jon Welsh, Zak Whitbread, Boudewijn Zenden
Mohamed Sissoko's extraordinary fitness and unquestionable talent have guaranteed him indemnity from Liverpool's rotation policy.
Dominic Fifield
October 31, 2006 12:45 AM
Rafael Benítez brings up his century this evening. It is more than 20 months and 99 matches since Liverpool's manager named an unchanged side and the visit of Bordeaux will edge his now notorious policy of rotation into three figures. The Spaniard may consider such statistics a quirk, or even an irrelevance, but this is a landmark occasion.
For the sceptics the constant shifting of Benítez's selections has bred instability, contributing to an erratic start which already appears to have condemned them to being also-rans in the Premiership. He argues that his approach is born of necessity, a desire to pick his fittest and most adept side for each game. Victory tonight may put his team in the knockout stages and allow them to concentrate on reviving domestic fortunes, and the manager would point to that and the four trophies won over the 99 games as evidence that there is method to his madness.
He has allies within. Mohamed Sissoko, the midfield shield and a virtual constant amid the rotation, was part of the Valencia side whose zest was maintained by Benítez with a similarly fluid approach. "For me this is nothing new," Sissoko said. "A player may not be happy if he's not playing every week, but look what can be achieved. At Valencia he changed us every week and won La Liga and the Uefa Cup. Here he has won the Champions League and the FA Cup. His system works."
Sissoko may have experienced the chop-and-change routine before but the Malian is arguably the least qualified to complain. Since Benítez replaced Dietmar Hamann with Luis García at Birmingham in February 2005, a solitary change from the side that defeated Fulham the previous week, 44 players have been fielded in a variety of line-ups. Yet over the past 79 games, stretching back to his arrival, Sissoko has invariably featured when fit, offering leggy energy and a snarling tackle to liberate those around him.
Benítez knew what he was buying when he returned to Spain with a £5.6m offer, capitalising on Valencia's belief that they were well served in central midfield and beating off Everton's interest in the process. His Liverpool team-mates at first considered Sissoko shy and quietly spoken, but the senior players soon became aware of his bite. "At his first training session he was tackling everybody and one or two of the players were worried about what he was doing," said Benítez. "I asked them, 'Would you prefer Momo in your team or playing against us?' We wanted him to play like that, tackling everything, and they all eventually understood.
"I tell him now the most important thing is to stay on his feet and not go to ground. I never see him trying to go and damage another player but, because he tries to regain so many balls, sometimes he's a risk. We're working with him to try and improve his passing and technique, because we know sometimes he regains the ball and then gives it away too easily, but he's 21 and with time and experience he will improve with the ball and maintain his stamina levels.
"He's such a shy and nice boy. We brought him from France when he was 18 and it's difficult for a player to learn Spanish as he did and then, three years later, learn English. It shows what he's like as a person on and off the pitch, how he wants to improve and how determined he is.
"We had a very good dressing room at Valencia, players with experience who supported him and also some young players who he could spend time with. Here at Liverpool the team look more confident when Momo plays, especially the defenders. They know they'll be protected."
That is significant, but Sissoko's regular inclusion is born as much of an ability to recover quickly from matches, which is key to Benítez's approach. With Djimi Traoré sold, Sissoko has the best stamina levels in the squad - "Some players need four days to be 100% fit again but Momo can recover in two," said Benítez - and his only prolonged absence was last February when he almost lost the sight in his right eye after being kicked inadvertently by Benfica's Beto.
"That was a hard time for me and my family," said Sissoko, who was sidelined for a month. "I knew I was in trouble as soon as it happened - it was so painful and I couldn't see properly for a long time. But I recovered. I put that behind me and I carried on. I'm a young player who's still looking to improve and I like the physical side of the game, which makes me suited for England. Maybe in training I demonstrate to Rafa that he needs to play me all the time, but I must still improve. For now, we want to beat Bordeaux and finish top of the group so that we can concentrate on the Premiership again."
A win against the French, struggling to make any impact in this competition, and a Galatasaray failure to defeat PSV in the Netherlands would see Liverpool through. "That would be fantastic because we could maybe rest some other players," added Benítez, suggesting his sequence of change will continue, even if Sissoko should be braced for more exertions.
Benitez's 44 players
Daniel Agger, Xabi Alonso, Fabio Aurelio, Milan Baros, Antonio Barragan, Craig Bellamy, Igor Biscan, Jamie Carragher , Scott Carson, Djibril Cissé, Peter Crouch , Jerzy Dudek, Steve Finnan, Robbie Fowler, Luis García, Steven Gerrard, Mark Gonzalez, Daniel Guthrie, Dietmar Hamann, Sami Hyypia, Josemi, Harry Kewell, Jan Kromkamp, Dirk Kuyt, Anthony Le Tallec, Fernando Morientes, Antonio Nuñez, Gabriel Paletta, Maurizio Pelligrino, Lee Peltier, Jermaine Pennant, Darren Potter , David Raven, José Reina, John Arne Riise, Florent Sinama-Pongolle, Mohamed Sissoko, Vladimir Smicer, James Smith, Djimi Traoré, Stephen Warnock, Jon Welsh, Zak Whitbread, Boudewijn Zenden
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