Fernando Morientes

You have two more.

Let's go Morientes.

You have for sure Real Madrid and Liverpool.

What else, though?

It's gambling?

Yeah.

Morientes is correct.

Oh.

Right.

It was just after we'd, just after we'd signed Morientes he come.

Right.

You've got a better memory than me, that.

So, and we've been there before, when so many ex-coaches have then interviewed l- years later by, you know, by journalists.

"Oh, when I was at Tottenham, I wanted, you know, Hodl, I wanted Morientes, I wanted this one, I wanted that one, I wanted, you know, Rivaldo."

Mm.

You know, there's always, there's always the players that, that, that got away.

And later, I mean, other players, especially in, you know, they... came together, Luis Garcia and Che Alonso, you know, suddenly they made a great impact, an instant impact.

So that team, for us here, from our point of view as Spaniards, one Spanish manager or coach, for us it was a bit different, but with four Spanish players, and later with the addition of Fernando Morientes.

In those years, Morientes was one of my favorites.

favorite footballer, the former Real Madrid and Monaco striker.

So the problem was the money.

Having more budget, I'm sure Benitez could have earned more silverware with Liverpool.

The inaugural season 2004-2005 of Rafa Benitez and the Spanish contingent which will include Fernando Morientes in the second half of the season as well is of course remembered with the miraculous Champions League remontada in the final against AC Milan.

Can you walk us through that season from the perspective of the Spanish, with Liverpool somewhat inconsistent in the league, but in the end, it made Rafa Benitez a Liverpool legend and gave him the legitimacy for his project?

It was not good.

Uh, I think I took Fernando Morientes as my best player.

So yeah, none of my players had a signature on the card.

That's how low rated they all were.

Villa.

Morientes.

Yeah, watch out.

Morientes was more a club merchant, bro.

No, no.

Put it this way.

Internationally, or you're talking about Morientes.

No,

Right, welcome back.

So, the man, the myth, the legend, Bulk Bogan asked me recently to basically pick all-time... 11s from different leagues but not including the biggest club or the biggest clubs so he said excluding Real Barca and Atleti which club in La Liga would you compile the best oh the best all-time 11 from so I actually read this wrong so he was talking about Saragossa Who could have Cafu, Andy Bremer, Gerard Pique, Rijkaard, Aymar, Poirier, David Villa, Fernando Morientes.

That is a hell of a team.

But I think I would have to lean to Valencia.

Luis Enrique, Rivaldo, Figo, foreshadowing the aforementioned incident.

But Real Madrid had Morientes and Anelka and Raul.

And I think that's a great point and distinction there because, you know, the plays you've just read out there for Barcelona compared to what they were with, Real Madrid, and I'm not saying Real Madrid were any weak, but Real Madrid had a lot more focus on, you know, the players that they knew.

It was this pre-Galactico era, wasn't it, where you didn't have to be a global superstar to start playing in the side.

And, you know, we mentioned...

Fernando Morientes there, who I know on a previous podcast, we've spoken about how he was sort of forced out because he wasn't Galactico enough.

And I think at this moment in time, if we was to put another name in that category, we'd probably say that Raul sort of fits that bag as well.

And I think, you know, we'd probably both agree.