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10 Players You Forgot Played In The Champions League For Liverpool

Gary Reilly
By Gary Reilly
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The return of the Champions League has already been cause for a humorous look back at Man United of old and now we've decided to mark Liverpool's return to the competition in a similar manner.

Of course, plenty of clubs have fielded some 'where are they now?' candidates but when you take a look at Liverpool's history in the competition since their return in the 2000/01 season, even the most ardent Kopite would concede that they've fielded a few head-scratchers.

We've left out the likes of Neil Mellor and the conjoined twins that were Le Tallec and Pongolle simply because they played quite a big part in the 2005 success so we wouldn't dream of doing them such a disservice.

Similarly, we're not including the qualifying rounds in this so unfortunately such gems as Pegguy Arphexad, Bernard Diomede and Zak Whitbread are forced to miss out. Having said all that, here are the lucky ten that do get a place.

Gregory Vignal

 

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The French full-back was one of a number of questionable imports that Gerard Houllier brought with him across the channel. Bruno Cheyrou was another but he was too bad to be forgettable. On the other hand, Vignal was rather nondescript which may have been why he survived at the club for five years.

He actually has the honour of playing more Champions League game than anyone else on this list. Four appearances against Boavista, Borussia Dortmund, Dynamo Kiev and Spartak Moscow make him a relative veteren amongst these lot. Vignal is now playing for AS Beziers in the French fourth division.

Stephen Wright

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Stephen Wright is often remembered among Liverpool fans in the same way that Luke Chadwick is remembered at Old Trafford, and no we wouldn't stoop so low as to comment on his appearance. Wright came through the ranks at full-back like the Martin Kelly of his day, he stuck around for a while before leaving for Sunderland.

Appearances against Boavista and Dortmund during Liverpool's first season in the re-branded Champions League give Wright a deserved place in this company. He's now playing for Aberystwyth Town in the Welsh Premier League.

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Stephen Darby

Yet another full-back who failed to make the grade, Darby was the last Martin Kelly before Kelly himself came through. Darby was kept in and around the first team by Rafa Benitez but was never trusted with much more than the usual League Cup appearances.

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Darby made appearances against Fiorentina in December 2009 and PSV in December 2008. Now 25, he's carving out a career for himself at Bradford City.

John Welsh

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One of the first players to be tagged with the next Gerrard moniker, it was obvious quite quickly that Welsh was going to fail to live up to his billing. He was a decent central midfielder but never anything more than that.

He did manage an appearance during Liverpool's run to glory in 2005, coming on as a sub in the second leg of the last 16 tie against Leverkusen. After a spell with Tranmere, he's now playing with Preston North End.

Dani Pacheco

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Pacheco was plucked from Barcelona's youth system in 2007 for what seemed like an eternity, he was on the edge of a big breakthrough that never really came. Liverpool fans hyped and hyped but it just never happened for the diminutive attacker.

He made his solitary Champions League appearance for Liverpool against Fiorentina in December 2009. After a spell with Alcorcon, he has recently moved to Real Betis in the Spanish second division.

Lee Peltier

Surprise, surprise it's another full back. Peltier was more in the Jon Flanagan mould as opposed to the Martin Kelly type. In other words, he was a little bit headless and a bit more willing to get up the line.

He made his only Champions League appearance in a 3-2 defeat to Galatasaray in December 2006. Peltier has since developed into a useful utility man at Championship level. He's currently lining out for Huddersfield Town.

Darren Potter

A serviceable winger who was on the cusp of something for a number of years during the Rafa Benitez era, Potter never really got going and was sent the way of most of the other players on this list.

The Irish international made quite a few appearances in the Champions League qualifying rounds but he was only given two chances to shine in the competition proper, as late substitutes against Leverkusen in February 2005 and Real Betis in November 2005. He's now with MK Dons

Diego Cavalieri

Something of an outlier among this rag-tag bunch of youngsters, Cavalieri was brought in to challenge Pepe Reina having impressed in his native Brazil. However, in his two years at the club he didn't manage a single minute of Premier League football.

However, he did manage to make two outings in the Champions League and they just so happened to coincide with Stephen Darby's two appearances, against PSV and Fiorentina. He's now a Brazilian international having impressed for Fluminense.

Miki Roque

This one is rather sad entry as, unfortunately, Roque is no longer with us. The ball playing centre back was brought in from his native Spain in 2005. He was mostly kept to underage and youth team football but he did get a run out against Galatasaray alongside Peltier in December 2006.

Roque moved back to Spain with Real Betis in 2009. He broke into their first team soon after but in 2011 he was diagnosed with pelvic cancer and sadly passed away the following year just before his 24th birthday.

Sebastian Leto

To borrow a phrase used almost exclusively on Merseyside, what an absolute no mark this chap was. To be fair to the Argentine, that wasn't entirely his fault. Leto was brought in with moderately high expectations and looked quite good when he lined up in a qualifying game against Toulouse in 2007. However, it then became clear that there was a problem with his passport which meant he couldn't actually play in the Premier League

His only full Champions League appearance came during a defeat to Marseille in October 2007. He's since carved out a decent career for himself on the continent, currently playing for Catania after a number of years in Greece.

 

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