Steven Gerrard has put the blame for Robbie Keane's failure at Anfield on Rafa Benitez.
Not only that, but in the course of his explanation, he dubs Keane 'a top player', which, short of 'top, top player', is the highest praise that can be lavished on a modern footballer.
Essentially, Gerrard wrote in his autobiography that Keane wanted to play in everyone's favourite position, the deep lying striker role. However, Rafa was intent on plonking Gerrard there and attempted to get Robbie doing things he wasn't comfortable with.
He wanted to play as a 10 at Liverpool… But, more often than not, Rafa played me as a 10. There wasn’t room for both Robbie and I in Rafa’s team… It was obvious that his relationship with Rafa would never work. Instead of letting Robbie be the player he had signed, Rafa tried to change him. He had Robbie attempting movements which clearly made him uncomfortable. Robbie would have been a success under most of the Liverpool managers I played with at Liverpool. But Rafa made it personal. I couldn’t understand why Rafa tried to change a top player. Let him play his own game — that’s why we signed him.
In addition, Gerrard wasn't bowled over by Andrea Pirlo's performance in the Euro 2012 quarter-final. Famously, Pirlo played more passes than the entire England midfield combined and was rewarded for his chic display with a series of fawning articles in the British press. A cult had begun.
But Gerrard, who has never been afraid to give the ball away, sniffed that Pirlo didn't do much apart from stroke about a few dainty passes.
But I looked at it differently. Pirlo had not really done anything magical in that game. He dinked his penalty, which was magical, but in 120 minutes of play.
Gerrard acknowledged Italy's tactically superiority but pointed out that the game still went to penalties and England might have won it.
