forza milan! forza liverpool!
Amicizia
still saying that now after this
Liverpool are an outdated long-ball side, says Gattuso
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif] Daniel Taylor
Friday May 4, 2007
The Guardian
[/FONT] Liverpool have been described as a "1990s side" by the Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, a man with form in infuriating Rafael Benítez's players. Gattuso believes Milan's opponents in the Champions League final on May 23 are inferior to Manchester United in aesthetic terms, claiming "all they do is play long balls".Gattuso is already an unpopular figure at Anfield, particularly with the Liverpool captain, Steven Gerrard, because of his provocative behaviour during the 2005 final in Istanbul and, as he reflected on Wednesday's 3-0 defeat of United, the Italian was cutting, to say the least.
"I feel there is a noticeable difference in talent between Manchester United and Liverpool and that we have beaten the better side of the two," he said. "United have far more technical players, who are quick and able to do things on the ball. Liverpool do not have those individuals. What they have is a way of playing as a team. They are like an Italian team of 10 years ago. All they try to do is defend together, with everybody behind the ball and just one striker. Every ball is a long ball."Gattuso also claimed Liverpool were lucky to win the trophy two years ago. "We were winning 3-0 and in six second-half minutes it all turned around and it was suddenly 3-3. That was hard to take but, even then, we had chances to win. The word for me is destiny and Liverpool had it on their side. We were on top but in six minutes Liverpool changed everything. It was not meant to be. But it's impossible for it to be the same this time."
Gattuso's comments will be of interest to the Liverpool players, in particular Gerrard, who describes the former Rangers player in his autobiography as "overrated," stating: "I wasn't worried about Gattuso before the game, during the game or after. To me, he's all mouth. He looks aggressive, but in fact he's as scary as a kitten."
Gerrard, who was reported last night to be have agreed a new contract that will keep him at Anfield for the rest of his career and be announced on the eve of the final, claims Gattuso was the "one Milan player who had a smirk on his face leaving the pitch at half-time", but the Italian denied that. "I didn't do that at all," he said. "It was wrong to say that."
Gattuso added: "For me, it's not about Gattuso against Gerrard, despite what he has said about me. In my opinion Gerrard is the best player in England. He is a technical player, who plays very hard and with his heart. He is a legend for his club and the best player they have got.
"I have respect for him because I remember that final in Istanbul. We had won it but then he played a great game and changed everything, and I watched him against Chelsea on Tuesday and he was amazing. He has criticised me but I am happy because it gets me going."
http://football.guardian.co.uk/championsleague200607/story/0,,2072075,00.html
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