Alberto Aquilani wants to prove himself at Liverpool By Chris Bevan BBC Sport Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani says he is puzzled by his past treatment at Anfield but is hopeful of proving himself to Brendan Rodgers. Aquilani, 28, is back with the Reds after two seasons in Italy on loan. "How can you pay £20m for a player and this player is never taken into consideration?" he told BBC Sport. "I never asked to leave but I was always pushed by the club. I am here and I would like to play for Liverpool but it doesn't depend only on me." Aquilani played the first half of Liverpool's friendly defeat by his former club Roma in Boston on Wednesday, and new manager Rodgers said afterwards that he is still considering whether he has a future at the club. But the Italian international playmaker, who has two years left on his contract and is keen to commit his future to the club, says his initial meetings with Rodgers have been encouraging. Brendan Rodgers on Aquilani's future at Anfield "Will he stay at Liverpool? That remains to be seen. I need to have a close look at Alberto. It's been difficult for him during his time in England, and this is probably the first period where he's felt happy, according to him, and he's working. I need to assess, and that's what I'm doing at the moment." Rodgers on Aquilani "I had a very good talk with Brendan where we were able to share our thoughts and it was a very positive chat," Aquilani explained. "I like his footballing philosophy and I like the mentality he has because it matches my own skills." Aquilani was signed by Rafa Benitez but has not played a competitive game for the club since Benitez's departure in the summer of 2010. Under Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish, he was sent on season-long loans to Juventus and AC Milan, and says it has been frustrating not to be able to prove to Liverpool fans he can make an impact in England. "The situation changed after Benitez left," Aquliani added. "In past years, I felt forced out. I never asked to go on loan but they made it clear it was better for me to go." "I think Liverpool people have to know that I have never said I wanted to leave the city because my family and I were not happy here. This is not true. "I cannot say I have unfinished business in English football because I really never played but, the little I did, I believe I was able to show to Liverpool fans that I have quality and that I could have helped the team."
I've a lot more respect for him now, he's dispelled a few myths. We really could have done with him during Roy's disastrous tenure.
This is why I have never been too harsh on Aquilani, it's obvious that the first thing to say is 'oh he hates the city, can't settle' etc when he was being loaned but none of us know the true story. Hopefully he means what he says about proving himself for us because no one can deny he can add some much needed quality to our team.
The fact that he has actually said he couldn't settle in England and his mrs didn't want to be in the country pretty much settles that argument I want Aquilani to stay, I think he is a perfect fit for how we'll be playing under BR and it would effectively be an extremely cheap "new signing". But we have heard this **** all too often and, although I hope I am wrong, I am sticking to my prediction
This is a quote from him today "I think Liverpool people have to know that I have never said I wanted to leave the city because my family and I were not happy here. This is not true." So either he has lied today or the media lied in the past.
The stuff I have read in the past have been quotes, fair enough they are translations too, but quotes none the less. I don't believe a word Aquilani or his agent says and the only way he will convince me he wants to stay is by hard work, graft and effort in the Liverpool first team
pah... thats what i think. look a few words here or there don't match up with actions. his agent and his own actions have made his thoughts quite clear and he's only failed to move due to excessive wages. it seems he can't get another club to go for him right now.... I think his agent will be stirring all august personally. the best action he could take would be to play europa for us and cup tie himself (but not for cl obviously) show some sort of commitment to us.... again pushed? but did he have to go? no he could have stayed and fought, just like cole or konchesky... its the club who lost on each and every one.
For those who complain about the number of "Hollywood" passes Charles plays...I raise you "an Aquilani" Dump the wages and pay someone who gives a **** aboout LFC (and who hasn't got an agent who runs to the media everytime he wants something). Tosser. ....But if he stays then he better pull his finger out of his arse.
Quite a positive and encouraging read. I do hope he stays because he is head and shoulders above every midfielder in the team including Gerrard. Lucas and Aquilani in the midfield will be like two new signings that will instantly improve the team as a whole - Lucas will shore up the midfield and win possession and provide protection for the back 4, whilst Aqua will give us that cutting edge in the final third.
We do also have at least 50 games to play this season 38 EPL 2-16 Europa League (if we reach the final - I think that's right anyway). 1-5 FA Cup games 1-6 League Cup games Wouldn't hurt to have Aquilani in there somewhere.
Hope he stays as he is a quality passer of the ball. Even if he wants to leave but is limited as teams are not currently interested, he could play a year and try to impress us and other teams. Win-win, really.
Use your loaf mate as when the media put quotes in their articles or gossips, who vets these quotes? who checks to see they are correct?..NO ONE. This happens to all clubs, quotes are twisted or invented to make stories seem juicer then they really are just to get visitors to media sites or to buy newspapers.
Also, they were quotes from his agent. True, he could have dispelled them earlier, but he may have talked to his managers and told them the rumors weren't true. I hope he stays, I hope he plays well, and I hope he proves any naysayers wrong. Not aimed at anyone, just at general, in regards to naysayers.
I really don't understand the hate that Aquilani recieves on this board. Forget the papers, the 'quotes', the agent talk. Everytime the guy has played in a Liverpool shirt he's put in a high quality performance and a good workrate. I personally believe had Rafa stayed it would have been seen as a masterstroke to replace Alonso with Aqua, he has a couple more years on his side and he almost certainly has the quality. He's a very continental sort of central midfielder, he retains possession, spreads the play left and right and plays incisive passes when it is necessary. It's obvious why Roy wasn't keen on him because he only likes to play a strong, aggressive midfield with minimal technical ability. In a Roy side it is the defence and the keeper who play the ball to the front line. I think Kenny was in some ways similar, whilst his style of football was infinitely better than Roys, he wasn't great at encouraging possession play. He wanted 'pass-and-move' at the risk of losing the ball frequently due to a lack of patience. He's very much a Rodgers sort of player, intelligent, incisive when necessary and cultured. I hope he gets the chance he deserves, would be a shame to ship him out.
The portion of a season he got under Rafa he was quality - goals and assists aplenty. Tore Portsmouth apart if I remember.
i for one can't remember that high effort Lol... I don't think the actual qutoes for him and his agent can be ignored though... he's wanted to go and can't find a club. look the point has to be the wages. someone at anfield has shovelled him and cole out the door to defray the impact of 90k per week. I think the point that over the course of all those games we have indeed missed players and i'm sure last year kenny regretted getting cole gone in particular. so i guess can we afford to have them around on massive wages and not play until required. who knows. rodgers might think he can get something out of him... but watch for the malingering whe nthe europa starts. if we hear of "viruses" or "strains" then i think it indicates something.
But no matter how high his wages are, it would still cost a lot of money to bring in another player of a similar calibre and surely they would demand similar wages? It seems like a no-brainer to me to try and keep him. Obviously he if desperately wants out, let him go and find someone who wants to fight. I really hope we keep him, he's by far the best playmaker we have and I think if he'd played the whole of last season instead of Spearing/Adam/Henderson, Kenny might have still been in a job.
