Former Liverpool left-back Andrea Dossena gave Ita Sport Press a pretty long interview this week.
Although he’s talked a lot about his current job as a coach at Crema and the Coronavirus pandemic, there was also time for him to recall his years with the Reds.
First asked about Liverpool’s chances of winning the Premier League title this year, the 38-year-old mentioned the big expectation there’s been for it.
“Being at Anfield is fantastic in itself, even if you don’t win it’s unforgettable. Sorry if the Reds don’t win with the public. They have been waiting for this moment for thirty years, an eternity for a team like Liverpool”, said Dossena.
“In recent seasons, any fan would have traded the Champions League for a Premier League. They overwhelmed it with fantastic numbers. Too bad not being able to celebrate with the fans.”
On being close on winning a Premier League title in 2009, Dossena said: “For a long time Manchester United had found themselves with a few less games. They were ahead in the FA Cup and had to play for the Club World Cup in December: as a result they found themselves having three fewer games.”
“Our game was very speculative. Benitez has always been very attentive to the defensive sector. In December, with the small teams, we got three draws that cost us dearly. At that moment United was stopped to play the Clubs World Cup. That slowdown, in hindsight, was fatal to our hopes of victory. When you’re in front you must always win. It was a shame, even then the fans wanted that championship so much.”
Regarding his job as a coach, Dossena was quizzed if there are any managers he inspires himself in. Jürgen Klopp is one of them, and he says he’d like to have played under him at Liverpool.
“I would go back to Sarri’s Napoli, which in my opinion is the perfect team. Then there’s Klopp who plays a game that I like. When I saw him, I asked myself if he couldn’t have arrived in Liverpool earlier, when I was there too (laughs).”
Finally, Dossena was asked about a game he’d like to have played again so he could relive his emotions or even change the score.
“One game that has left me indigestible is the round-of-16 with Chelsea in the 2011/12 Champions League. Psychologically I was not present. I was called into question and I wasn’t 100% as I would have liked.”
Signed by Liverpool on a €9m deal from Udinese in the summer of 2008, Dossena has made 31 appearances for the Reds.
He was sold to Napoli for €3.75m in January 2010.
