RICARDO NOT WORRIED.
Byline: ANDY HUNTERPORTUGUESE international Ricardo has warned Boavista not to become preoccupied with Liverpool's strike power tonight - although the omens suggest they would be right to worry.
The Boavista keeper is expected to return for Jaime Pacheco's side at Anfield after being rested for their 2-1 win at FC Alverca on Friday night.
That is likely to bring him into direct confrontation with Liverpool and England hero Michael Owen, a substitute in Saturday's shock defeat by Aston Villa but a probable starter at Anfield in place of Robbie Fowler.
And Owen will go into the Reds' first ever game in the Champions League determined to maintain his enviable record of having scored on his debut in every major competition for Liverpool.
Owen, who scored a hat-trick in the third round qualifying first leg against FC Haka, also found the net in his bow in the UEFA Cup at Celtic, the Premiership at Wimbledon and in the FA and League Cups against Port Vale and Grimsby Town respectively. But as the striker looks to build on an incredible record of 20 goals in his last 15 competitive appearances, the Boavista stopper believes Liverpool have the potential to make him suffer all over the pitch.
Ricardo said: "We respect Owen, Heskey and Fowler but we must not be obsessed with keeping them quiet.
"If we worry too much about individuals you can forget about the rest of the team and Liverpool are a great team.
"We must not think Owen, Heskey and Fowler are unstoppable. If that was the case we'd have to play me and ten other keepers to keep them out."
And Ricardo insists the Portuguese champions will not allow the Reds' shaky start to the Premiership season to cloud their view of the task tonight.
"We must worry about Liverpool more than ever, " he warned.
"If we look at their league position as a guide then we will have problems.
"They are a team full of great players and soon they will be going up and up.
"All teams have bad moments, but the sign of a good team is how they recover and we must make sure Liverpool don't make us pay for their bad start."
Meanwhile Boavista hardman Nuno Frechaut is promising to "neutralise" Owen. Portuguese international Frechaut is likely to be given a man-marking job to do on Owen.
And the 24 year-old said: "Owen is a remarkable player and is capable of the most extraordinary things.
"With concentration and hard work we can neutralise him.
"If the coach wants me to mark him I hope to do it to perfection."
CAPTION(S):
BEWARE: Boavista are ready to stop Michael Owen
 Printer friendly
 Cite/link
 Email
 Feedback
| |
| Title Annotation: | Sport |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Daily Post (Liverpool, England) |
| Date: | Sep 11, 2001 |
| Words: | 446 |
| Previous Article: | Wenger prepares for glory or bust. |
| Next Article: | Hyypia finally reaps reward for personal sacrifice; Mission accoplished for Reds skipper. |