6 Feb 2013

Butcher of Bilbao to LFC? BR bids for €26m thug with 52 cards in 3 years

Last summer, the Agent of Athletic Bilbao star Fernando Amorebieta - nicknamed 'The Butcher of Bilbao' by the club's fans - confirmed that Liverpool had 'shown an interest' in signing the defender, and with the club's defensive frailties coming to the fore this season, the Reds are back in for the 6'4 Venezuelan international.

According to a report yesterday in Spanish newspaper AS:

"Amorebieta is wanted by Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton.

"All three teams have been in touch with his representatives to make firm offers for the player"


Last week, club President Josu Urrutia seemed to hammer the final nail into the coffin of Amorebieta's Bilbao career. He told reporters:

“Amorebieta has no [contract] offer from Athletic. I said before that the club had offered a proposal, but after various conversations with Amorebieta’s agents, and seeing that this was not being accepted, Athletic withdrew the proposal.”

Speaking to MARCA in July 2012, Ginés Carvaja - Amorebieta's Agent - confirmed Liverpool's interest in Amorebieta:

"After the excellent season he had last year, several teams have shown interest in signing him, and one of them is Liverpool, which has shown the most interest so far"

Things went quiet on the transfer front for a while, but reports in November 2012 suggested Liverpool planned to make a €15m bid during the January transfer window. The Reds were also linked with Amorebieta during Rafa Benitez's reign, but at the time Bilbao president Fernando Macua refused to consider the possibility of a sale.

According to The Independent, Amorebieta has a £26m release clause in his contract, but his current deal expires in June 2013, which means he's now free to sign a pre-contract agreement with any club. Additionally, Bilbao will have to give him a new contract, or risk losing him for nothing in the summer.

With Liverpool desperately in need of defensive reinforcements, a proven La Liga defender on a free transfer would seem to make sense. One word of caution, however: In the last 3.5 seasons, Amorebieta has amassed 44 yellow cards and 8 reds (!), and I doubt he'd get away with these kind of tackles in the Premier League:



Is Liverpool's interest in the defender a good thing...?



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32 comments:

  1. I wouldn't touch him with a barge pole. He's a liability.

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  2. not with that many cards no. Works out at about 8 games a season missed due to being suspended. 

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  3. buy him another tommy smith is much needed at anfield too many pussys in the prem

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  4. is it april 1 already

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  5. we need men with character, lifes about risks, better to regret something you did rather than you didnt.
    we need a committed hard man at centre back, with talent.
    miss carra in his prime. agger and skrtel just to soft and inconsistant 

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  6. Way less contact allowed these days, so this guy would cost us lots of penalties and edge of box free kicks.

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  7.  we need a bit of steel at the back...on a free its a no brainer ..would fit in well with enrique as well

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  8. Cards are easier to accumulate in Spain than in England, I'd think. I'd wager he'd be fine.

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  9. While in Spain he may get a few cards he wouldn't get in England, he'd still get quite a few in the Prem, too. I'm a bit split on this one. Given how many players go down easily anyway they'd feast on his hard-man-style and get him sent off every second game. Stoke though might be worried to face him as he'd treat them with their own medicine. For free we should give it a try and sign him.

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  10. You only have to look at vidic, luiz, terry etc as to why we need this calibre of player

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  11. We need abit of ruff in the team. Our CBS are pussys. Scared of getting messy.

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  12. NANI of United's going to love him.... 

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  13. Id go for him. No nonsens, just pure defense.... We def need that

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  14. Straight reds would be a 3 game ban each, wonder what breakdown is......

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  15. I doubt he would have taken much grief from the T-800 playing up front for Oldham, we need an uncompromising CB.

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  16. I like him, but he isn't quick and that disciplinary record is shocking.

    We do need a brute, but we want him to be a controlled lunatic. More Anthony Hopkins than Dennis Hopper.

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  17. I like the idea of having a BAMF in the back four but this guy might be a little too Bad.

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  18. if he could kick lumps out of Evra and RVP without getting a red card  i would pay for him myself.

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  19. There's better defenders out there, like Mamadou Sakho of PSG, who would fit well with our game philosophy. Sakho is likely to be available in the summer ...

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  20. id buy him just to play the wwf guys at stoke!

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  21. Why not just buy Shawcross!
    Much better option to everything!

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  22. You'd have to pay the FA for that to happen.

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  23. If we get him as a free agent on reasonable wages, then yes. But we should not shell out lots - he could just be looking for a final pay-day, and we need players who are hungry for success. The cards total is staggering. How does this compare to other 'hard' CBs? It must be something of a record. A side rarely wins games when it only has 10 players on the pitch ....

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  24. £22 million for a defender!!!!!!! get real

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  25. Wot every1 is the spanish league is alot softer than the prem.cards come alot easier. Need a brick shithouse in defence. We 2 soft atm. Someone mentioned tommy smith. Now ur talking. How many goals we conceeded this year due to poncing about at the back. Too many for my liking.

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  26. fantastic tackle on messi love to see a manc take one of them 

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  27. Mamadou Sakho reaveal this summer he will leave PSG.This is maybe good news because Sakho is one of target player on LFC radar.Maybe LFC can get with bargain price.He is young,tough and briliant centre back who can score or assist goal.Please realize this player we need to catch in the summer.Matts Hummells are good target too but look like very difficult to get him.

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  28. very true, i worked just on straight reds, and went easy on the yellows. could be less games out if the reds were two yellows, but i dont think most are.

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  29. he's horrible. if we're scouting bilbao matches we must surely see san jose is a much better player. id rather he returned to be honest than getting this guy. plus i'm sure he's too old for fsg anyway.

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  30. Or just bypass the middle men and pay fergie!

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  31. Im a season ticket holder in Bilbao and I totally agree. Apart from the cards, he just isn't that good. He also has an attitude problem. San Jose, who we let go, is doing better than him now and the young defender Laporte looks really good. Not good enough for Athletic and definately not good enough for Liverpool. Avoid!

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  32. Ha ha ha. The commentator is hilarious. Messi ran into him. When was the last time a footballer ended up with his foot 5'7 in the air after kicking a ball, normally and off the ground?

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