To be honest with you, I have never been one for denigrating any of our players. Even those players who would infuriate me playing for Liverpool at the best of times, I have never felt right laying into a player for a performance. Sometimes fairly, sometimes wrongly, Lucas Leiva has had a lot of criticism levelled at him since his arrival at Liverpool in 2007. His early performances in the Reds shirt were pretty poor to say the least, and many would say his displays haven’t got much better in the intervening three years.
Although it was right to criticise some of his abject displays and to question his suitability for the Reds team, I have always had this question in the back of my mind as to why not only Rafa Benitez, but Roy Hodgson as well as Brazil coaches Dunga and Mano Menezes have all shown faith in the player’s abilities. If you look back at the player’s short history in the professional game, you can see the player was showing a lot of promise before arriving on Merseyside.
He burst onto the football scene playing for Gremio, becoming the youngest player ever to win the Bola de Ouro in October 2005. The honour is given to the best player in the Campeonato Brasileiro (Brazilian Championship) and previous winners have been such exalted names as Zico, Romario, Kaka and Carlos Tevez. During his time at Gremio, they won their first Rio Grande do Sul State Championship in 2006 since 2001, and finished third in the National league during the same season. The following year, Lucas was part of a Gremio side that reached the final of the Copa Libertadores, which they lost 5-0 on aggregate to winners Boca Juniors.
The performances that really brought Lucas to prominence on the world stage however came during his time playing for Brazil’s youth teams. He captained Brazil’s U20s to the South American Youth Championship title in 2007, scoring four times in the process, earning him a call up to Brazil’s senior squad for a friendly against Al-Kuwait in October 2006. In this context the £6million that Rafa Benitez paid for him in the summer of 2007 doesn’t seem a great deal.
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What corner, he was arguably better than Gerrard last season. The boy is a really good player, and if we can keep him he will prove it. He’s 23 years old, and it’s time to get off his back. Look at how many managers have picked him for club and country.
Gerrard was terrible last season. But I don’t see people chewing on his leg. Oh, I forgot Gerrard is English. Maybe it’s a case of getting shot of some particular players who at this moment are having the same effect on our players as Henry had over arsenals.
The problem is some of our idiotic no nothing fans only believe what they read in the red tops or listen to on talkshite.
Oh how I agree with you dj. I asked a workmate why he hated him so much, his answer was “his hairs too long”!!!
If Lucas was in the English team at 23, there would be wet trousers up and down Anfield. Gerrard was shocking by his standards last year. Lucas was solid and dependable.
I’m with Tommy Smith on this one, he just does’nt bring anything to the party, we’ll never win anything with players like him, we’ve had much better over the last 20yrs and no title, do people really think that Lucas can bring the title back to Anfield? no i did’nt think so.
What, on his own, no I don’t think so. But some think Gerrard can. As dj says Gerrard was terrible last season so maybe if he brings something to the party along with Torres then maybe Lucas can play a part in bringing the title back to Anfield eh.
I think he’s a great player- always have done. His problem since he’s arrived at Liverpool has been one of confidence. He has been told to play a defensive midfield role and he has been tactically very disciplined in that- rarely straying from that zone and not trying to be a playmaker. Put Stephen Gerrard in the same role and Gerrard will frequently be out of position off attacking and trying to play the killer pass. I hope he acquires Gerrard’s confidence. I think in the game against Blackburn he was told to free himself up and attack more. There were times when Gerrard, Mereiles and Lucas were all up front supporting the striker. We need to do that more often. I’d rather lose playing positively as we did against Blackburn than lose play negatively as we did in all the other games. Keep faith in Lucas.
Sorry just to add I do know we didn’t lose against Blackburn before some idiot picks me up on that. I mean we did play positively against Blackburn.
The fact that Brazil coaches Dunga and Mano Menezes have played him so regularly shows what he’s capable of. He’s a good all round midfielder and deserves to be in the team. As seen against Blackburn, he plays well alongside Meireles and Gerrard in a 3 man midfield. I’d have Lucas instead of Poulsen any day of the week. And on top of that, I bet Lucas would have received a lot less criticism if he was English. On the flip side, Spearing has received more praise than he deserves due to the mere fact that he’s English.
I totally agree with you. We do over support the english players. Lucas if used correctly is very useful player,and very tactically aware.
Ryan01
Tactically aware you hit the nail smack bang on the head.
That is something Gerrard is sadly lacking, that is why Gerrard should always play in the hole, unless you have a really strong defensive midfielder alongside him (i.e. Mascherano).
Sure, but Spearing has not performed badly once this season. Every time he has been picked, he has contributed. He has earned his praises, although being English we do have a slant.
Also Eric,
How many of the top English players are actually worth the money they are paid in comparison to their foreign counter parts. Of which I would give good odds, are paid on average substantially less, but are worth every penny.
dj, I think that English players demand higher price tags because they claim that they have higher commercial value. I think it’s market related. Interesting corollary to that would be the over rewarding of ability due to Englishness has a negative impact on the English national team. Maybe?
there are 3 midfield players that will come up to be great player for liverpool:
1. Lucas
2. Shelvey and,
3. Spearing
they need to play regularly every weekend
Probably Lucas and Shelvey but I don’t think Spearing will make it. They need to play more regularly but with Meireles and Gerrard, they won’t be able to play every weekend.
Lucas is a goood player but most important is his ATTITUDE (unlike the one Babel). Even after constant criticism from LFC fans and playing out of position the kid has kept on going and never uttered a bad word, if one the players all had that attitude from the start of the season.
Lucas has been booed on multiple occasions by LFC supporters. Despite the constant criticism and the attempts to dump the blame for the 2009/2010 season on him personally, his efforts on the pitch and conduct off it have been every bit the class required. He has improved every year since his arrival, which is not something I can say about any other youth player at LFC during that same time. If more of LFC’s players had Lucas’s attitude, LFC would be far better off. Lucas strikes me as an extremely professional character, I think that he is an asset.
@Simon: Its Steven Gerrard not Stephen Gerrard. There is a reason everyone gets on Lucas’s back and thats because he is s**t! always playing a negative pass, always giving away stupid fouls, barely ever scores. he is s**t and the sooner we get rid of him, poulson, babbel, Carra, Konchesky, Maxi, Aurelio, Johnson, Skrtel, Ngog and Roy Hodgson and Sammy Lee the sooner we will move up the table!
wow!! and I guess we need over 100 million and heavily in debt again just to be competetive them since they are so useless and nobody will want them.
Maxi- Argentinian international not good enough for LFC…
Johnson- English international…
Skrtel – Slovakian international and one of our better performers this year…
Ngog – leading goal scorer (If he was english we will all be raving about him)…
Swag
Could you name some of the players you would replace all the players you’ve listed with?
The boys not s**t, but Gerrard was last season, and he hasn’t turned it on this season yet either, but Lucas has when he’s played.
I bet your one of the dreamers who thought we had Mourinho lined up as Rafa’s replacement only to find out it was Hodgson. If your 1 of those fans that wanted rid of Rafa. You now know why we are down the bottom of the table.
There are always some who think the grass is greener.
A list of top rated stars, all of whom cost too much, some of whom will cut it at LFC, most of whom wont. We have all the post war decades of experience to judge this one by.
Totally agree swag, the above mentioned need to move on, but it was time up for Rafa though, he did bring them, Johnson for £17-£18million, crazy!
Lucas is not better for Liverpool.
Thats it David is it, no reason
I am a fan of Lucas. I have found him a little bit frustrating to watch at times. I have often thought if he just passed the ball with a little more confidence, a little more crisply, with a little more pace, and asked a little more from the first touch of his teammates his contribution would be improved. I still think this sometimes. I also blame his sideways passing on the lack of movement ahead of him and possibly instructions from the manager. See the game last weekend for contra evidence. I have never seen him play as defensively for Brasil as he has on many occasions for LFC.
Rafa picked Lucas often, and he picked him for many consecutive games, while so many other players were in and out of the side. I have always suspected that this was in no small part due to Lucas’s outright professional conduct. I believe that when Rafa asked Lucas to fill a particular role for the team with particular instructions, Lucas would stick to those instructions very strictly. I think that it is this quality which got Lucas picked and put in specific roles so often and to a degree exposed him to so much criticism, the defensive role being one he is not naturally inclined to but nonetheless still capable of, his professionalism a barrier to complaint and protestation. Obviously, these words are is just my personal opinions
I believe that Xabi was 23 when he arrived on Merseyside. Since Xabi left, I have thought; Lucas, this is a player who will one day be as good as Xabi. Whom I will enjoy watching play football as much as I enjoyed watching Xabi (in a red shirt, it’s just not the same without it, and I have tried). Every week I hope that Lucas performs excellently so that he will remain at LFC and continue to grow and perform and win for LFC. He is a top professional and a top talent. If LFC sold Lucas now, it would be like falling on our own sword. He is just starting to realise his massive potential I can’t believe that so many seem to want to expel such a young and capable player with such a great future ahead of him.
To look comfortable in a red shirt, to look like you belong out there, to not have question marks over your head, the quality of your performance has to be unreasonably high. Look at the quality and quantity of the players who have come in and failed to measure up to the required standards over the years. Players whom after their usefulness to LFC has expired have still played up to a decade at the top level. To truly look the part in this team you have to outperform at least 6 or 7 players in your own team who are all full internationals, and some with vast experience and wonderful records and undeniable talents. To put in a performance that stands out among your teammates when Liverpool is playing well, your levels have to be supremely high. Lucas did just that this weekend. How could we think of losing a 23 year old playing in the pivotal central midfield, capable of performing at that level in the toughest league in the world.
This week Dunga said that Lucas is the future of Brazillian Football, that is despite not bringing him here (I’m in RSA).
One more point, Lucas seems to avoid injury, although that could just be youth working in his favour.
Well said!
would love to see the back of lucas hope to see that soon
why? give a reason?
some ppl chat so much sh!te – yea, Gerrard was poor last year, but worse than Mr. Anonymous!? Get over yourselves!
Just because he does absolutely nothing in a game, that does not mean that he can’t have had a bad game and therefore was one of our better players. He was a mainstay in central midfield all last season, and had little to no impact on anything that happened – the very definition of an anonymous player…
Lucas will be a class act in a 3-man midfield with Meireless and Gerrard, and more importantly will remain one for years to come. For all those who wish to see him leave I suppose you have another close to 30 year english player you’d replace him with just as we did with a certain argentinian international who is 21.
Rusty… top rant mate…very well balanced argument, I too get frustrated with Lucas but I can see potential (and he does have Xabiesque qualities) if other players have had to endure the shite that lad has had to put with, their confidence would be non existent, the lads got a future @ LFC so evry1 should start supporting the boy and give him some confidence that he so badly needs, then we’ll see him fulfill his potential.
Lucas has in approved so much I only just got pick for mk dons first team last week and
I am 21 he’s got a bright future let’s show the world the old liverpool lads we own it to the fans and to mr bill shankley
Let’s put the fear back in to the name liverpool let me be heard that liverpool are gunna be back to the best amd let’s roar till are
Lungs take no more by sayin ” YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE “
ok all ya folks,maybe lucas is good but i dont think he is liverpool material.we need players like lass diara to play there.with respect even jay spearing is better than lucas.i think a change in environment would suit lucas.he should change clubs maybe as at liverpool,it has failed to click for him
What a load of rubbish. Spearing better than Lucas! your having a laugh.
I’ve always been a fan of Lucas, i think he’s had a lot of stick beuase it doesn’t really look like he contributes much in a game, but if you get the chance, check out the chalkboards feature on guardian website, you’ll be suprised at how much he actually does.
I think to be fair to him, he’s had to adapt to a position that he was never really ready for, at a really young age, in a really competitive and physical league, and thats no mean feat. I don’t know how many of us who comment on here actually play football, but if someone told me i was suddenly going to play in a brand new position and not have any of the freedoms of my previous roll, i’d be a) a bit frustrated by it and b) not really be able to adapt to it straight away.
i think if it wasnt for the more prominent attack minded midfielders we already have, we’d see a lot more of Lucas, but more importantly a whole different dimension to him.
He is improving and even fouling less. Has good stats for his position. At the moment I would keep him cos Poulsen is not ready and if we are getting rid of anyone, can it be Maxi Rodrigez!
bet you’re eating those words at moment! maxi has been fantastic for the past 2 games, think he’s coming alive a bit now!
He is shocking, He should be sold in January and we should buy someone better as his replacement, I don’t know, like my younger sister.
i was one of the supporters who had lambasted lucas for his inept and naive performances but over the last 12 months have begun to see that there really is a class player in there somewhere and he is showing it more and more with every game he plays , this year he has started with confidence even though the team hasn’t played well he has stuck to his task and is slowly producing ,we should get behind the players who show willing to fight and give the players who aren’t the stick i.e. babel ,poulsen ,johnson(who is a winger and nothing more)even stevie carra and nando deserve criticism for the displays they have given this season so far but nobody gets on their backs do they,
GIVE CREDIT WHERE ITS DUE AND A BIG STICK WHERE IT AIN’T
YNWA
At least you’re big enough to admit it. Agree with your comments as well.