It was announced yesterday that Slovakian International Martin Skrtel has put pen to paper and signed a new contract with Liverpool to take him up to 2014.
Skrtel was signed by Rafa Benitez from an impressive Zenit St Petersburg team in the January transfer window of 2008 for a modest £6.5 million, and while he looked shaky to say the least in his FA Cup debut against minnows Havant & Waterlooville, his quality was not long in coming to the fore where he continued the rest of the season putting in solid displays at centre back.
However early into the 2008/2009 season he was given oxygen and left the pitch on a stretcher, after damaging his cruciate ligaments in a game against Manchester City in October. This injury was to keep him out out for 3 months, however he forced his way back into the squad upon returning, partly due to Danny Agger’s recurring back complaint, but more so due to his continuing composure at centre back alongside Jamie Carragher.
Last season was another tough campaign blighted by injury for Skrtel, when on the opening game against Spurs, he clashed with Jamie Carragher. A prominent jaw line Martin might have, but it’s not made of stone – as Carra’s head made contact with the underside of Skrtel’s jaw and shattered it in the process, leading to him eventually being withdrawn. Shortly after coming back from this injury I remember wincing when seeing Skrtel in the Champions League away group game against Lyon when a cleared ball was punted directly into his jaw yet again, however he emerged unscathed by it. As we have seen, while Martin has suffered some tough injuries in his Liverpool career, nobody can doubt the mettle of his character. I for one would not like to meet him in a darkened alleyway.
Injury was to strike yet again in February 2010 when that scourge of footballers (and Gary Neville) occurred, when in the Europa League game against Unirea Urziceni, Skrtel fractured his metatarsal, ending his season prematurely.
While he made it back in time for the World Cup, he might wish he hadn’t; during a crucial group game against The Netherlands, while Martin was still arguing with the referee over a free kick he’d conceded in midfield, the Dutch broke to effectively kill off the game at 2-0, knocking Slovakia out of the tournament.
Back at Liverpool, with the emergence of Daniel Ayala, and Danny Agger finally nailing down a spot at centre back, one could be forgiven for thinking that Skrtel would be moved on in the summer as a result, so it was with delight that I saw the news yesterday that he had signed a new contract.
With Carra showing signs of that time is inevitably catching up on him, many have already mused upon a future Liverpool centre back partnership of Skrtel and Agger. If the twice-crowned Slovak Footballer of the Year can just get a rub of the green and avoid any more serious injuries, it could come to fruition with Martin further cementing his place in the squad.
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I have always been a big fan of Skrtel,he has been one of Rafa’s best buys!!
until skrtel learns not to try and jump around the front of forwards to win tackles he doesn;t need to make, he will never be a top level centre back. martin is a very good defender and im happy for him to be third pick – but thats where he is for me, some distance behind agger and carra. if and when carra takes a step back, we need someone an awful lot better than skrtel at organising the team on the pitch.
I love skrtel, one of our strongest lads. I’ve always thought he looks like he was bred in some mad eastern european lab, specifically designed to kick the frig out of people.
Skyrtel “some distance behind Agger” are you having a laugh? Presumably you aren’t rating these players on their DEFENSIVE capabilities. Agger needs to learn a lot about defending.
Much of the defensive frailties witnessed last season were in part down to the poor defending capabilities of Agger and Johnson. Until Agger learns his trade I will be happy to see Skyrtel keep the role until 2014.
I think Skrtel needs to replace Carragher this season at some point. Carragher is a great defender, very solid but his legs are going; we saw the first signs of that during the World Cup. Skrtel is 25 now and he and Agger could be our CB pairing for the next 6-7 years provided they both stay and they need time to gel together properly. Rome wasn’t built in a day!
i actually laughed when I read that skrtel is ‘some distance behind agger and carra’. skrtel’s one of the strongest and toughest defenders in the premier league right now. he’s right up there with the likes of vidic and terry. his defensive abilities are as good as anyone. he’s good in the air and his last ditch tackles are just fantastic. in terms of defensive capabilities, he’s right up there at the top.
lol Terry is a thug , Vidic is over rated and gets destroyed by Torres for fun
PUFA=SKRTEL