These four ‘special’ players stood out to me at Liverpool

Pako Ayestaran spent a largely successful three years as Liverpool’s assistant manager between 2004 and 2007 – and four players spring immediately to his mind as being key to that success. 

Liverpool won the Champions League and FA Cup in Ayestaran’s first two seasons as Rafael Benitez’s assistant at Anfield before making the final of the Champions League again in 2007.

Ayestaran ended his 11-year, five-club partnership with Benitez a few months later on acrimonious terms, but looking back now, the Spaniard can feel rightly proud of what they achieved together, not just at Liverpool but also with Osasuna, Extremadura, Tenerife and Valencia.

Gerard Houllier had put many of the building blocks in place that led to Liverpool conquering Europe in Benitez’s first season in charge, but Ayestaran was the driving force behind the at-the-time uncommon rotation policy that proved so successful, while the signings of Luis Garcia and Xabi Alonso in particular were crucial in taking the Reds to the next level.

Predictably, though, it is a player preceding his arrival that Ayestaran is first to praise as being instrumental.

“The special players show themselves from minute one,” he says. “Apart from their quality as players, the mental one makes them standout from others.

“It’s not easy to get to the level of Steven Gerrard. But every player who has been able to establish themselves at a high level at top European teams for many years can feel very special.

“Ones like Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, Didi Hamann, with different characteristics all of them, have been able to establish themselves at big clubs like Liverpool, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.”

As well as the ability of the aforementioned quartet to play the kind of football Benitez asked of them, it was their strength of character – as well as several others, of course – that Ayestaran says was key to not only the Reds’ success but all of the successful teams he has coached.

“In any style, players are always easier to coach once they arrive with the style you want to set,” he says. “This style cannot be far from the challenge they have at the time.

“Sometimes I think we want to set a style without thinking if they are suited to the style. It makes the relationship easier at first, if you recognise and respect the characteristics of the players.

“Once they understand their roles, you make them step out from their comfort zone little by little. You…