Saturday, February 23, 2008

Lucas On A Learning Curve


Liverpool’s Brazilian ace Lucas Leiva is happy to continue to learn from the “best midfield in the world”.

The youngster arrived full in the knowledge that he would have to bide his time to share the field with the likes of Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano and Steven Gerrard, however, since Momo Sissoko’s departure to Juventus, Lucas has seen a lot more first team action than he expected, and the all-action midfielder is loving every minute of it.

"We have a lot of good midfielders at Liverpool and I am learning a lot from them," said Lucas.

"I think Steven is one of the best players in the world, so I watch him a lot to see the way he plays and the movements he makes.

"Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso are different kinds of players to Steven but they are also very, very good players and it is good to be able to work alongside them.”I have to keep working hard if I want to stay in the team," added the 21-year-old.

"There are so many good players at Liverpool, particularly in the position that I play, that if I was to stop working and doing the right things to improve, I'm sure I would lose my place.

"I think the manager trusts me and has confidence in me though and I am just trying to keep on working hard and learning."

Lucas unexpectedly started in the win against Inter Milan, and although he was subbed off on the hour mark, the fact he started ahead of Alonso reflects manager Rafael Benitez’s faith in him.

He said: "I enjoyed it because it was a good result and we played very well. We'd had a difficult week after being knocked out of the FA Cup by Barnsley and we knew we had to deliver a big performance - and we did.

"The atmosphere the supporters created was beautiful. The crowd was fantastic and it was great for me to play in such an atmosphere.

"But now we must concentrate on finishing the job in Milan because we know that it will be tough when we play Inter in the San Siro.

"For me, the Champions League is the most important competition in the world and it would be fantastic if we could do well in it again, because Liverpool have a wonderful history in it.

"Liverpool is one of the top five clubs in the world, so we should always be looking to do well in every competition we are in at home and abroad."

No comments: