In March 2013, Eintracht Frankfurt sporting director Bruno Hubner confirmed Liverpool's interest in defender Carlos Zambrano, and soon after, the Peruvian himself claimed that the Reds put in a formal offer for his services. Despite bringing in three centre-backs over the summer, Liverpool are still struggling defensively, and it appears that Zambrano is back on the Reds' radar.
According to The Mirror:
"Long-time Liverpool target Carlos Zambrano...has been watched by Reds scouts for over a year [and] He has turned down a new deal at Eintracht Frankfurt".
In an interview last year with Peruvian newspaper El Bocon , Hubner confirmed:
"Liverpool are interested in the player [Zambrano]. They have been in contact with us but there's no formal offer yet"
A few weeks later, Zambrano - who cost Frankfurt £1.2m in 2012 - told Spanish newspaper, El Correo:
"The club has informed me that Liverpool have made an offer, but to think of another team would be inappropriate because they [Frankfurt] supported me after a serious injury."
Zambrano clearly seems to have changed his mind though, and when asked last week about his future, the Peruvian told reporters:
"At the moment there is no reason to talk. We'll see in July."
The offer - according to El Correo - was €9 million, which would represent a significant profit for Frankfurt, who finished sixth in the Bundesliga this season.
Zambrano's superb form this season is one of the reasons Frankfurt - who only got promoted to to Germany's top division in 2012 - performed so well during the 2012-13 campaign, with the finishing 6th in the Bundesliga. This season, however, is a different story, and Frankfurt are currently languishing in 17th place in the table.
Zambrano's former coach at St Pauli, Holger Stanislawsk, is a huge fan of the Peruvian, and believes his aggressive style of play is a big plus point. He told Kicker:
"Carlos is currently one of the best central defenders in the Bundesliga. He is having a superb season. I am also very pleased with his aggressive style of play. I would rather have a player who needs to be calmed down at times than one who needs a kick up the backside."
In September 2012, Frankfurt boss Armin Veh also praised Zambrano's passion on the field. He told Depor.pe:
"We were very aggressive and we take the ball to Hamburg. That's what I always want on my team: aggression. Zambrano was was fierce and reassured in defence, which is becoming increasingly better"
Speaking to MediaTempo in January 2013, Veh once again highlighted the importance of Zambrano to Frankfurt:
"Carlos is the defensive leader. He has good physique and is absolutely essential to our defensive unit"
Zambrano does, however, have a dark side. In 2012, he spat at Fortuna midfielder Sascha Roesler during a Bundesliga match:
The incident caused an uproar in Germany, and after the game, Zambrano apologised for his behaviour:
"It was grossly unsportsmanlike conduct that is not in my nature. There can be many heated situations on the pitch, and in this case there were a lot of verbals building up to the incident. One thing led to another and I lost my cool – but this can be no excuse for my behaviour."
It's good to see a footballer make a genuine public apology for 'unsportsmanlike conduct'. It doesn't happen often enough, especially when it comes to shameless, unapologetic divers and cheats. As Zambrano said though, it doesn't excuse the spitting incident, which is a terrible thing to do.
After LFC's defensive issues this season, I foresee another central-defensive shake-up over the summer:
* Daniel Agger will probably leave. Martin Skrtel has proven this season that he has a long-term future at the club; Agger hasn't (so far).
* Mamadou Sakho has not consistently convinced yet, but after spending €19m, BR is basically stuck with him. He could come good though, so it's not money wasted...yet.
* LFC will almost certainly sign another centre-back. Toure is not getting any younger, and if Agger leaves, there will be a vacancy.
Brendan Rodgers already made one offer, so he clearly rates Zambrano. Add on LFC's constant scouting of the defender, and the fact that he's now officially available, it's possible the Reds may go back in for him.
Worth a bid?
Author: Jaimie K
According to The Mirror:
"Long-time Liverpool target Carlos Zambrano...has been watched by Reds scouts for over a year [and] He has turned down a new deal at Eintracht Frankfurt".
In an interview last year with Peruvian newspaper El Bocon , Hubner confirmed:
"Liverpool are interested in the player [Zambrano]. They have been in contact with us but there's no formal offer yet"
A few weeks later, Zambrano - who cost Frankfurt £1.2m in 2012 - told Spanish newspaper, El Correo:
"The club has informed me that Liverpool have made an offer, but to think of another team would be inappropriate because they [Frankfurt] supported me after a serious injury."
Zambrano clearly seems to have changed his mind though, and when asked last week about his future, the Peruvian told reporters:
"At the moment there is no reason to talk. We'll see in July."
The offer - according to El Correo - was €9 million, which would represent a significant profit for Frankfurt, who finished sixth in the Bundesliga this season.
Zambrano's superb form this season is one of the reasons Frankfurt - who only got promoted to to Germany's top division in 2012 - performed so well during the 2012-13 campaign, with the finishing 6th in the Bundesliga. This season, however, is a different story, and Frankfurt are currently languishing in 17th place in the table.
Zambrano's former coach at St Pauli, Holger Stanislawsk, is a huge fan of the Peruvian, and believes his aggressive style of play is a big plus point. He told Kicker:
"Carlos is currently one of the best central defenders in the Bundesliga. He is having a superb season. I am also very pleased with his aggressive style of play. I would rather have a player who needs to be calmed down at times than one who needs a kick up the backside."
In September 2012, Frankfurt boss Armin Veh also praised Zambrano's passion on the field. He told Depor.pe:
"We were very aggressive and we take the ball to Hamburg. That's what I always want on my team: aggression. Zambrano was was fierce and reassured in defence, which is becoming increasingly better"
Speaking to MediaTempo in January 2013, Veh once again highlighted the importance of Zambrano to Frankfurt:
"Carlos is the defensive leader. He has good physique and is absolutely essential to our defensive unit"
Zambrano does, however, have a dark side. In 2012, he spat at Fortuna midfielder Sascha Roesler during a Bundesliga match:
The incident caused an uproar in Germany, and after the game, Zambrano apologised for his behaviour:
"It was grossly unsportsmanlike conduct that is not in my nature. There can be many heated situations on the pitch, and in this case there were a lot of verbals building up to the incident. One thing led to another and I lost my cool – but this can be no excuse for my behaviour."
It's good to see a footballer make a genuine public apology for 'unsportsmanlike conduct'. It doesn't happen often enough, especially when it comes to shameless, unapologetic divers and cheats. As Zambrano said though, it doesn't excuse the spitting incident, which is a terrible thing to do.
After LFC's defensive issues this season, I foresee another central-defensive shake-up over the summer:
* Daniel Agger will probably leave. Martin Skrtel has proven this season that he has a long-term future at the club; Agger hasn't (so far).
* Mamadou Sakho has not consistently convinced yet, but after spending €19m, BR is basically stuck with him. He could come good though, so it's not money wasted...yet.
* LFC will almost certainly sign another centre-back. Toure is not getting any younger, and if Agger leaves, there will be a vacancy.
Brendan Rodgers already made one offer, so he clearly rates Zambrano. Add on LFC's constant scouting of the defender, and the fact that he's now officially available, it's possible the Reds may go back in for him.
Worth a bid?
Author: Jaimie K
We have enough CBs dont need such a hothead... We shouldnt be linked with any CBs at the moment, because that's IMO the only part of our team were we have anough quality players to play 3 times a week
ReplyDeleteI am not sure that either Skrtel or Agger will be at the club. Skrtel has still shown lots of signs of bad decision making and lacks concentration at times. He is not as adept at passing it out from the back as others and if we are to persists with Mignolet then we can't pass back to the keeper as much as Skrtel does. Personally I feel that moving forward we either need a keeper who is more assured on the ball or CB's who are. Preferably both. Mignolet can get better at this he is still young. Skrtel has gotten better compared to last season and perhaps he can improve further still but I don't think it is a given he has a long term career hear. Despite looking our best defender this season, he is clearly not our best footballing CB.
ReplyDeleteWe do not struggle defensively because of our center halfs. We struggle defensively because we don't have a DM.
ReplyDeleteyou English guys play to much manager mode on FIFA. Real life is different from such video game transfers. Not every player wants to come to your precious English club
ReplyDeleteIs he Free or Is he on loan could there be a players leaving Liverpool on loan for him to come to Liverpool FC .
ReplyDeleteIf these factors happen then He is our man .
Spot on mate! We need that real bruiser in midfield!
ReplyDeleteSuarez Biting Ivanovic isn't a hothead ?
ReplyDelete*we don't need any more hotheads! Are you happy now ;)?
ReplyDeleteSaw on the BBC page that we are looking at Nigel DeJong and also that Lescott is available. DeJong would be a good pick-up and i think Lescott would be good if we could get him on a free.
ReplyDeleteAlderweireld, whom we were linked with last year, cant get a game for Ath Madrid, and wants to leave, he cost them €6m, a cheaper option at about €4m.
ReplyDeleteFor Robbie's sake, you mean.... ??
ReplyDeletewe don't have quality centre halves, we have capable centre halves. agger, skrtel and sahko make too many errors to be 'quality'. toure? dump him. iloris? we probably won't see him again, well worth 7m. we do need centre halves and a couple of full backs.
ReplyDeletelovely sentiments but you are clearly intoxicated.
ReplyDeletehe is no good to moyes as he is a creative talent. moyes will be looking more at the cattermole type 'talent'.
ReplyDeletetoo busy beefing up our talent rich squad with norways top young player.....to then loan out.
ReplyDeleteNo, when used correctly all of these 4 are quality cbs. Toure has been brilliant at the beginning of the season and is a natural leader, Sakho still needs to adapt to the PL, but he's a beast and has a lot of experience. Agger and skrtel can be among the world's best defenders (under KK they were) we are lacking a good DM that stops the opponent attacks
ReplyDeleteDespite how much I agree the defenders have more to show than we have seen 9especially of late) it is a falicy that Agger and Skrtel were amonsgst the "worlds best" under Kenny. Less clean sheets than last season and only conceded four goals more than last season too. Not a single person says last season's defending was all that good. We lost too many games for us to be talking up that defence.
ReplyDeleteemre can!
ReplyDeleteI like rodgers as a Manager very much, it's so nice to watch our guys play, but for every clever passing move, for every stunning suarez goal, there's a lost header in our penalty box, which can be even more frustrating. We clearly need to improve on defending set pieces and train our defenders how not to get bullied by bulls like lukaku (think that's the reason why we bought Sakho for) generally our defenders should be more of capable of doing this! They did well under KK or at PSG or they had enough time to collect experience! Pascoe is as offensive orientated as Rodgers and I don't think that's a good combination, it would be a clever move to resign Steve Clarke, he knows how to teach the boys defending.
ReplyDeleteAll these so many speculation ..Can anyone tell me are we gonna buy any one ??? Everyone can see how thin the squad is still nothing.. need DM absolutely and please replace Cissoko..
ReplyDeleteI agree in that I think we need a new defensive coach. I have heard that said before and think it would be a good idea, but like I say our defending under Kenny and Clarke was not as great as some people seem to think. Like I said we had less clean sheets, lost more games and only conceded four less goals than the next season. People said we had the best defence but all the teams above us that season had better defences in one way or another (more CS, less goals conceded, less games lost etc). I honestly do think it is a personnel and style thing too. We need to change in some ways to suit the personnel now and in time change that personnel to suit the style. But someone who knows how to get the defenders to look like they know what they are doing is also necessary I think. Be it Clarke I don't know.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think we need to be looking at Arsenal and Everton and thinking about what they do that we don't. They have been conceding less goals than us but play similar kinds of football. Arteta, Flamini and Barry all do a very basic job at the back shielding the back four. Both Everton and Arsenal play with one up front so as to have more bodies in midfield and both those teams have much better fullbacks than we currently have (Johnson's form being terrible right now). Both those teams have quite good keepers (Sir Chez has gotten much better) who are not as afraid of the ball as Mignolet is. So like I say personnel and tactics.
ReplyDeletetoure may be a leader, but what about organisation? against villa, for example, our defending what disgraceful. at hull? stoke? arsenal? too many times to be a coincidence. not just picking on toure, the defence is, at this moment in time, shocking. agger and skirtel are not amongst the worlds best... at any point.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't want Lescott - error prone and lacks composure under pressure
ReplyDeletePishtash. There isn't a club in the league that can boast four quality CBs in their squad. Would you rather have Kompany, Demichelis, Nastasic and Lescott? Or maybe ancient Terry, Cahill, Luiz and Ivanovic? Not to mention the rubbish Man U and Arsenal supporters have to put up with. I think with the ones we have we have four players with considerable experience and similar quality competing with each other and that can only be a good thing. Now if only we could put a decent DM in front of them so they wouldn't be drawn out so easily all the time we'd be golden.
ReplyDeletei dont say they are atm, but they can go there again! they used to be so a few years ago and i think their potential didnt go away!
ReplyDeleteOnce again mate I am not sure they ever were.
ReplyDeletei'm with you on that one.
ReplyDeleteArsena have one of the best defences currently in the league. Chelsea's defence is one of the best too. Both those teams have only lost 3 times this season concedeing 19 and 20 respectively. Kompany is miles better than an defender we have, Nastacsic too would walk in to our side. Cahil, Luiz and Ivanovic are all better on the ball than Skrtel and better in the air too. I sinderely beleive you are right that a DM helps matters but you have seriously undervalued those teams defences. Barring United their best CBs are too old and crocked.
ReplyDeleteas we speak, as of this moment in time?? yep, i would have either man city or chelsea's.......if we had them we may be top! we gift goals, with embarrassing ease.
ReplyDeletei struggle to understand why we have still not addressed this position for the last three seasons after Mascherano left and Lucas got injured...baffles me @ _@
ReplyDeleteamen to that cissoko point!!
ReplyDeleteI take it you are a Manc, I say that because Raphael and Nani wouldn't make the reserves.
ReplyDeleteSo the club of Dalglish,Rush,Hunt,Suarez and Owen is now becoming the rest home of two bob defenders
ReplyDeleteIndeed, if the idea is to outpass the opposition and tiki taka our way to goals, than versatile, combative, mobile midfielders are essential, and yet, arguably we only have Henderson, Luis Alberto and Coutinho who can be said to possess either energy, mobility or creativity needed. Gerrard's lack of presence in the engine room does not mean he is a bad player, but he needs to be paired along side a ball winner so that he can spray passes across the park.
ReplyDeleteWhy not? If he gets his money he will spend big to get guys he likes more and remain better than we are. They are already deeper than us and he would not sell and then do nothing, right?
ReplyDeleteI am thrilled we are better than last year. That said, even with Mata, we. Don't win the league this year. Ars, man C and Chelsea deeper and better ..........need another 1-2 yrs I think.....
ReplyDeleteCissoko cant attack a slice of pizza..........
ReplyDeleteYou can't have it all lads. The tactics we use mean we score more but we also concede more. A DM would go a long way to addressing that but our style of play will always leave our CB more exposed in their weaknesses if they are not shielded in midfield. Under Benitez and Houllier we often had the best defense in the league and we never won it. Came close once and then we lost it because we didn't score enough. Granted, City score a hatful and they don't concede much but for us it's either or. We don't have the money to waste 20 million on Lescott. Actually, we didn't have the money to waste on most of the players BR's bought so far!
ReplyDeleteknow what you mean and it is very fun to watch us at the minute but I would take a one nil over a five three right now. You know what I mean? Why is it either or with us? City play with a 442 yet seem much less exposed than we do. Why is that? I wouldn't want Lescott. If Arsenal had Suarez would they have scored as many goals as we have? But would they have conceded as many?
ReplyDeleteWe do score goals with an alarming regularity and it really does need addressing. We cannot hope to outscore everyone. It is a big burden on the front two especially as no one else is chipping in much.
I agree we concede too many goals. I just think that it's not because our CB are so horrible. Take Pique and Pujol, one is not quite a top top CB and the other one was a while back but no longer yet Busquets takes a lot of heat off them.Same goes for Dante, Badstuber and Van Buyten. Fine defenders in their own right but Javi Martinez is what really covers their weaknesses because they can defend deep. A class DM like Fernando Reges, Nilton or even Schneiderlin would make a world of difference.
ReplyDeleteFurther up mate I did say something similar, but our back five have made far too many individual mistakes this season. It is more than just the defenders but they should take some blame.
ReplyDeleteOf course they should, they aren't without weakness. Take Crouch's goal against us. Touré should never end up in a one on one with him in the air yet once Stoke figured how to hurt us with crosses, our CB pairing never managed to line up in a way that Skrtel would always be facing Crouch. I get zonal marking but zonal marking doesn't say you can't switch positions. Anyway, I fully agree that our CB's make mistakes but generally I'm happy with them. I still don't and never will understand why Sakho and Ilori had to be brought in because neither one adds much imo but our CB's is the last place I'd be looking to strengthen the squad right now. We're weaker in pretty much every other position except for our strike force imo.
ReplyDelete