Liverpool hero Jose Reina feels his strength is helping him on his way to becoming a 'great' goalkeeper.Reina's two saves in Tuesday's penalty shoot-out against Chelsea took Liverpool into a second UEFA Champions League final in three years.
His spot-kick prowess also helped The Reds to win last season's FA Cup final, although Reina puts his record down to 'luck'.
However, the Spaniard believes his mental toughness is playing a key role in establishing him as one of the game's top keepers.
"My penalty record is down to luck, but you have to like football too," said Reina in The Sun.
"The more you watch games, the more information you learn. Ahead of the Chelsea game I didn't do too much different than I would normally do, but it is important to know what their players do at other moments.
"It depends always on the situation of the game. There are many things. But I won't say too much more because that is my secret.
"To be a great goalkeeper - and that is what I am trying to be - you must be f***ing strong. Excuse me for using that word.
"Your mistakes are magnified and, at a club like Liverpool, more so. Every one is seen as the end of the world and you have to be very strong mentally to ignore that.
"But throughout my career I have had to be strong. The start of this season was like that and when I had to leave Barcelona for Villarreal it was the same. I learned a lot from that experience."
By:Mark Buckingham
Date:3 May 2007
Credit:www.skysports.com
No comments:
Post a Comment