Alberto Aquilani: Is he ready for the weight of expectation?

Amid the ‘stories’ of bids for David Villa and Franck Ribery, Liverpool spent a considerable amount of money on the comparatively unknown Alberto Aquilani. Already, the former Roma player is charged with saving Liverpool’s supposedly ‘faltering’ title hopes, but could the expectation placed on his shoulders prove to be counter-productive?

Liverpool’s transfer budget has been a source of huge debate this summer; it seems that by all accounts we are, as some might say, completely skint.

With around £38m income and around £38m expenditure (I know it’s a lot more complex than that but work with me here), it appears that Rafa has ‘broken even’ this year, which is great, but not the most exciting transfer news about a team that is supposedly chasing the title.

Xabi Alonso has gone and in his place we have Alberto Aquilani, who will eventually cost (with add-ons) close to 20m.

As we saw with Robbie ‘£20m on the bench’ Keane, some people seem to think that having a large price tag guarantees success, when the evidence suggests all it guarantees is expectation as heavy and inflated as the price tag itself.

When the misfiring Keane was dropped, it was an outrage! Liverpool fans were polarised, “How can you drop £20m?” one side cried, “He’s dropping a man, not a bag of money” the other side replied. Money doesn’t make the man, and it certainly doesn’t buy happiness.

Regardless of the price tag slapped on Aquilani, he will need the same time and understanding as any player, maybe even more so. He may well be a gifted individual, but we must exercise caution during his introduction to life at Liverpool.

After all, he’s no mercenary - a lifetime in Rome has proven that he’s a homely kind of guy, something that was backed up when he turned down a move to Chelsea and Arsenal at age 16.

The Liverpool medical team are positive they know how to Aquilani’s his injury woes, and though his rehabilitation seems to be long and drawn out, hopefully it will prove fruitful.

One thing that has concerned me is the timing of Aquilani’s recovery - he is due back in early October, the same time we play both United and Chelsea. I have high hopes that he will get off to a flyer in the same style as Fernando Torres, but I also worry that maybe peoples’ expectations will be too high.

The reality is we have a player who has spent the last 2 years troubled with injury. Aquilani has come to a superior league with a faster style of play and he will need to adjust to Premiership fitness standards. As such, I will be doing my best to not judge him too harshly in during his first year at the club.

The unfortunate crux of the matter is that many Liverpool fans will not give him that time. A lot of the fans are still bitter at Alonso going, and a lot of them expect Aquilani to be as good as, if not better than the Spaniard.

We must realise though that they are both completely different players. Aquilani will make runs; he dribbles, and at 6ft 1 he might even grab a header or two. We mustn’t be fooled into thinking the man is prolific in front of goal though - he is very much a creator and will probably play 20 yards ahead of where Alonso plied his trade. This could make all the difference.

The weight of expectation can be a heavy burden on players coming to this club. Often, the pressure is unjust, misguided and over-zealous. Lucas Leiva’s treatment among fans is a prime example of a player being almost driven out of a club by the treatment of supporters.

I feel as though Aquilani’s introduction to the English game may be similar to that of Lucas - technical, tactical, ball players seem to fly or die in the Premiership and although most people are beginning to understand Lucas’ game, a price tag 3 times the Brazilian’s 6m fee will probably not do Aquilani any favours.

It may be a month before the judgments come flooding in on the Italian international but I hope that people will understand why the problem of great expectations need to be nipped in the bud now.

Hopefully Liverpool’s title challenge will be well and truly back on track by the time we have our man back to match fitness. If we are still struggling for form then it may not be a case of Alberto Aquilani ‘Save our Souls’, but Alberto Aquilani ‘save yourself’.