Lookalikes

Gonzalez permit knockback for Reds

Liverpool are considering an appeal after a work permit application for Chilean winger Mark Gonzalez was rejected.

The European champions were shocked by the decision made after a hearing this week.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that Liverpool were only planning a season-long loan deal for the 21 year-old, with a view to a £4.7million deal with his Spanish club Albacete next summer.

Gonzalez, who was actually born in South Africa, is currently recovering from a cruciate knee injury and would not have expected to be fit until October.

The permit was refused primarily because Chile are not in the top 70 of the FIFA rankings, and it is believed Liverpool also fell foul of regulations that say the player had to be among their highest wage-earners.

Liverpool officials attended a hearing in London on Thursday to argue their case but were shocked when a panel of judges refused them.

The ruling clearly upset Benitez, who argued that Gonzalez is not only the best player in Chile but was also one of the most exciting players in Spain last season.

Benitez told www.liverpoolfc.tv: "He's a player we have scouted for over six months. I can tell the Liverpool fans who don't know too much about him that he's a player with lots and lots of ability.

"He is very fast, good in the air, good at crosses and he can score goals. In fact, he is the best player in Chile. We have had reports on the player from our own scouts, professional players, former players and other managers and they all say the same - that he is a very good player for now and even better for the future.

"We haven't been awarded a work permit though and I was very surprised to say the least."

Government regulations also require that when signing a young player from outside the EU, a club must convince officials that there is no comparable player in their own country first.

Liverpool would have a better chance if Chile were in the world top 70. They are currently 72nd and their next match is against Brazil.

Benitez added: "We must now wait because one of the problems is that his national team are not ranked in FIFA's top 70. If they win a couple of games, maybe they will move up the FIFA rankings and things may change.

"Gonzalez is already a player who will shine in the Premiership but very soon he could be one of the most exciting players in England.

"Liverpool supporters love to see players who can lift them out of their seats and Gonzalez is exactly that sort of player. You saw the reaction when Djibril Cisse came on against Kaunas on Wednesday.

"The fans were jumping up and cheering when Cisse raced down the wing. With Gonzalez, the fans would be out of their seats the whole time because he can play like Cisse but on the wing."

Liverpool may well now review the situation, and could wait until the January transfer window to make a second application, hoping that the player will then meet more of the UK criteria as well as being fit to play.

Wenger's love for Owen not enough

Arsene Wenger has insisted that he will not make a bid for Michael Owen because he doesn't believe the England striker would dovetail with Thierry Henry.

Owen is believed to be searching for a return to the Premiership after being reduced to fifth-choice striker at Real Madrid.

However, despite being in 'love' with the player, Wenger has ruled out making a bid for Owen.

"I have nothing against Michael Owen. I love him," the Arsenal boss declared.

The stumbling block, though, is the perceived incompatibility of the Owen-Henry partnership.

"We have Thierry Henry who scores 25 goals a season and can they live together? I don't know. Thierry is not yet the age to play a little bit deeper. I like Owen but I look more for a deeper kind of striker. I have Dennis Bergkamp but he is getting older."

Without the guarantee of first-team football, Wenger claimed it would 'dishonest' to bring Owen to Highbury.

"It would be dishonest to take an international player like him and put him in the same situation he has at Real Madrid," said the Frenchman.

Inter sign LFC target

Luis Figo has completed his move from Real Madrid to Internazionale.

The Portuguese international, 32, has signed a two-year deal at the San Siro after successfully completing a medical.

The news ends any lingering hope Liverpool had of luring Figo to Anfield.

Figo had been chased by Reds boss Rafael Benitez since Real Madrid made it clear they were prepared to release the winger, who they signed from Barcelona five years ago for a then world-record fee of £37million.

The transfer fee is thought to be £2million, a price at which Liverpool reportedly baulked.

The 32-year-old, who has moved on a free transfer, has agreed a two-year contract with the Serie A club, bringing to an end a ten-year stay in Spain. He spent five seasons at FC Barcelona, where he won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1996/97 and two consecutive Primera División titles, before controversially switching to Madrid in a €65m transfer for the 2000/01 campaign.

At the Santiago Bernabéu, Figo won the Spanish title on two more occasions and also the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League. He will link up with former team-mates Santiago Solari and Walter Samuel at his new club, as well as Esteban Cambiasso, who moved in 2004. Inter begin their Champions League campaign next week with the first leg of their third qualifying round match against FC Shakhtar Donetsk, after last season's third-place finish.

Figo, who will wear the number seven shirt and could make his debut in the Italian Super Cup on August 27, against Juventus.

He becomes Inter's third signing of the summer from Real, after Argentinian duo Santiago Solari and Walter Samuel also moved to Milan from the Bernabeu.

Who's stopping Le Tallec?

Media reports yesterday claimed that on-loan player Anthony Le Tallec was refused permission by Rafael Benitez to play against Liverpool for Sunderland this month - in case the forward damages the Champions League qualification hopes of his parent club.

But he will not be allowed to play in his new side's second Barclays Premiership clash of the season, against Liverpool away.

"Of course I would want to play against Liverpool but I cannot. I asked Benitez if I could and he told me no," he said.

"He said that if I scored against Liverpool and they finished fifth in the league it would not be good for me or for them.

"But to be honest I'm not thinking about Liverpool, I'm thinking about Sunderland."

However, today Liverpools Offiical website www.liverpooltc.tv claimed that the on loan midfielder Anthony Le Tallec will not be allowed to play for Sunderland against Liverpool on Saturday, August 20th due to Premier League rules. Explaining that the new rule state that a player on loan can not play against his long term employers.

That rules Le Tallec out of both Premiership games against Liverpool this season.

It remains to be seen if he is allowed to play against the Reds should they be drawn against the Black Cats in the FA or League Cup, where the Premier League has no jurisdiction. At that point perhaps we'll know whether Le Tallec has been banned from from playing against his current employers. Either way it won't affect LFC's qualifying for the Champions League.

Sayonara Toyota Cup?

Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry has admitted the Reds are still considering whether or not to take part in this season's World Club Championship.

FIFA are expecting Liverpool to compete in the World Club Championship in Japan in December despite the club casting doubts over their participation.

Liverpool have been drawn to play either Deportivo Saprissa or FC Sydney in the semi-finals of the competition, but Parry says the Reds must decide whether it would serve the club's best interests to take part.

A spokesman for world football's governing body said tonight: "FIFA looks forward to Liverpool's participation in the FIFA Club World Championship TOYOTA Cup Japan 2005 as winner of the UEFA Champions League."

As European Champions, the Reds are automatically invited to take part in December's showpiece event in Tokyo, when the winners from the different FIFA confederations meet for a week long competition.

But having also been made to defend their title from the first qualifying round, the club are concerned about the amount of fixtures they are playing.

"The World Club Championship draw has been made and this is something we are debating very carefully at the moment," chief executive Rick Parry told the club's website, www.liverpoolfc.tv.

"It is a world tournament that is prestigious but we have to balance that with the potential of losing another domestic fixture.

"We are already facing the disruption of two Premier League fixtures due to the Champions League third-round qualifier and the Super Cup (against CSKA Moscow, the UEFA Cup winners).

"All of this is down to the price of success and as we've discovered in the past, you tend not to get a lot of sympathy for being successful."

Injurt setback for Crouch

Peter Crouch has been ruled out for up to three weeks after a scan on the hamstring injury that forced him out of Liverpool's Champions League success over FBK Kaunus.

The £7million striker limped off after just 54 minutes at Anfield last night, and is now is certain to miss next week's third qualifying round first leg.

He will also miss the start of the Barclays Premiership campaign but is suspended for the first two games against Middlesbrough and Sunderland anyway.

With the August 27 match against Arsenal postponed because of the European Super Cup, Crouch may now have to wait until the trip to Tottenham on September 10 to make his Premiership debut.

But boss Rafael Benitez will hope to have him back in contention for the second leg of the Champions League qualifier against CSKA Sofia or Dinamo Tirana on August 23.

Benitez said: "The partnership between Crouch and (Djibril) Cisse was working well. We have Cisse's pace and the alternative qualities of Crouch.

"Against Kaunus we had decided that in the second half we needed to play the ball in the air more, but unfortunately the plan only lasted a few minutes of the second period.

"We could see that Peter was holding the back of his leg and we decided to change him quickly because it was obviously a hamstring problem.

"You need to protect players in such situations to avoid even worse problems.

"I don't think we are short of numbers up front. We have let Anthony Le Tallec go out on loan, but we have (Milan) Baros, (Fernando) Morientes, Luis Garcia, Cisse. They are all good players."

And with the prospect of Baros leaving for Everton seemingly having hit a major snag over the £7million fee Liverpool are demanding, Benitez may even be prepared to re-consider the decision to sell the Czech.

He may still not risk cup-tying him in Europe, but Baros could well be needed for the opening league matches with the transfer deadline not until the last day of August.

Crouch said: "I have no real idea how long it will be.

"I was enjoying my home debut, it was great to finally get the chance to play at Anfield because we have been on the road for a long time since I signed.

"I would have wanted to finish the game, obviously, so it was really frustrating to pick up an injury like that.

"I was beginning to really enjoy things, so the hamstring was a real disappointment."

Some quarter in the press are once again pushing the possibility that Liverpool will be in to sign Michael Owen, after it was revealed that he had spoken to four Premiership teams.

Black Cat Le Tallec

Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy has spoken of his delight after securing the services of Anthony Le Tallec on a season long loan deal.

Le Tallec has joined the Black Cats for the coming campaign after being told by Rafael Benitez he wouldn't be assured of too many first team games at Anfield.

McCarthy has revealed he wanted to sign the 20 year old Frenchman last season and is thrilled to have finally got his man.

"Le Tallec was one last season we enquired about and he went off to St Etienne," said McCarthy.

"We've been in touch with Liverpool for quite a while to see who they would let out on loan and we've got an exciting and versatile player who will do well for us."

This is the second season that Le Tallec has gone on a season long loan, although he return early last season.

Still basking in the glory

Quotes about that famous night:

• "I slept with the cup in my hotel room. I did not want it out of my sight. When I woke up and someone took it away, I felt I had lost a part of me." Skipper Steven Gerrard on the significance of the Champions League trophy.
• "The cup ended up with Stevie G in his room. His girlfriend wasn't here, so he had the cup in his bed instead." Confirmation from team-mate Vladimir Smicer
• "Jamie Carragher looks like he's got cramp in both groins." Football commentator Andy Townsend declares Carragher a biological phenomenon
• "The boss asked me if I wanted to take a penalty, I said I did and he put me on fifth. I thought "Thanks a lot, pal - my a*** was going, it was all over the place!" Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, who was spared penalty duties thanks to Jerzy Dudek's save from Andriy Shevchenko.
• "Before the penalties, Carra came up to me like he was crazy - as always! He said: "Jerzy, Jerzy - remember Bruce (Grobbelaar). He did crazy things to put them off and you have to do the same."
  Liverpool hero Jerzy Dudek reveals the 'wobbly legs' press conference before the penalties.
• "He did a much better job than I did. He looked like a starfish with jelly legs to me but it worked." Liverpool's original "spaghetti legs" goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar pays tribute to Jerzy Dudek.
• "This one was enormous - it was the biggest in the world - as big as the room! Every time I went to relight it, it seemed to be the same size - it lasted all night!" Vladimir Smicer, who scored a goal and a penalty in Liverpool's defeat of AC Milan, recalls his giant celebratory cigar

Fans would welcome back Owen

The majority of Liverpool supporters would warmly welcome Michael Owen back to Anfield should he decide to leave Real Madrid.

That is the view of Jim Boardman from the supporters website, AnfieldRoad.com.

Owen has seemingly been relegated to fifth-choice striker at the Bernabeu following the near £40million investment in Julio Baptista and Robinho this weekend.

The England striker knows he cannot afford to sit on the bench too long with the World Cup finals fast approaching.

Speculation is mounting that he will return to England with Manchester United and Liverpool understood to be in the frame for his services.

Boardman said: "I would say 75% of the supporters would be in favour of bringing him back for the right price.

"Certainly no Liverpool fan wants to see him move to (Manchester) United.

"There's a small section that never took completely to Owen - they didn't like the way he seemed to be talking of a move overseas from early on in his career, or the way that he seemed to put England first.

"Most fans loved him though, and wished him well on his departure to Real."

Whether manager Rafael Benitez would like to see him back in Liverpool's colours is open to debate.

Boardman believes, however, that chairman David Moores and chief executive Rick Parry would both back the move.

Boardman added: "Benitez would be wary, unless the right price was paid. But is is definitely possible."

It has emerged that Real's fans have turned against Owen and expect him to play next to no part in the coming season.

A survey of supporters has revealed that, at best, the Bernabeu faithful expect Owen to be a fixture in the team for fixtures in the Spanish Cup, a competition which carries little of the same prestige as the FA Cup.

Only 12% of supporters picked Owen in their ideal Madrid team for the Primera Liga and Champions League season ahead, with Ronaldo included by 91% in a variety of forward lines.

The ongoing survey, by the newspaper Marca, is a further indication of how Owen faces a crisis ahead of the new campaign.

He started last season as third choice behind Ronaldo and Raul, and on the same level as Fernando Morientes who left to join Liverpool in January.

However Owen's starring role as substitute led to his promotion to the first team, with the fans embracing the England man as he finished the campaign with 13 league goals from 20 starts.

Their position has changed with the buying spree which Real boss Wanderley Luxemburgo has predicted will continue, and Owen now faces a choice: stay and fight for his place again, or return to England.

Schalke Reveal Baros Hopes

Schalke will are set to tell Liverpool they want to take Milan Baros on loan for a year with a view to a permanent deal for the Czech Republic international.

The German club will put their proposal to the European champions and, if given the go-ahead, Baros could be presented by Schalke within the next 48 hours.

Rudi Assauer, general manager at Schalke, told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper: "We have not yet spoken about all the figures (money) yet. But we want Baros for a year on loan and at the same time an option to buy for 2006.

"If we carry this off, it would be Schalke's biggest transfer of all time."

Liverpool are reported to be seeking in the region of £7million for Baros, however Schalke insist they cannot presently find such a fee and will ask for a year to come up with the funds.

Baros finished top scorer at Euro 2004 but then had a disappointing season in the Barclays Premiership. The 23-year-old scored just nine times in the league as Liverpool finished fifth.

According to Schalke coach Ralf Rangnick, personal terms have already been agreed with Baros.

"We have agreed everything with Baros and his agent," Rangnick said.

"Early next week, we will make moves towards Liverpool. He's top of my wish-list. He's fast and a goal threat."

Baros has played no part in Liverpool's Champions League qualifying matches so far, Rafael Benitez judiciously leaving him out to facilitate any possible transfer.

The move by Benitez would make Baros available for Schalke's matches in the competition this season.

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Anything less than a sale won't make any sense. Baros has 2 years left on his contract and despite his questional attitude (at times), he is still an imense talent (for my money he's probably the best forward we currently have). I don't really want to see him leave, but if he does I'm glad that it could be abroad, but only for a fee. Why just have Schlake pay his wages for a year and then get him cheaper next year? Plus we need the extra cash as we'd need to buy a replacement, unless we hope to get say Owen on loan too (unlikely).