Gerrard deserves UEFA award - Benitez
Steven Gerrard may be a major doubt for Liverpool’s Super Cup date in Monte Carlo – but boss Rafael Benitez believes his captain will still deserve UEFA’s most valuable player award if it comes his way.
Gerrard sits out tonight’s Champions League third qualifying round second leg with CSKA Sofia, following the calf injury he picked up on Saturday in the 1-0 Barclays Premiership victory over Sunderland.
There is a serious fear Gerrard may not be fit to face CSKA Moscow in Monaco on Friday.
But the fact he is being tipped to win one of UEFA’s top awards will be enough to boost his morale.
Benitez reports Gerrard badly wants to play in Monaco.
“I hope he can play in the Super Cup, but he knows he must work very hard with the medical team. He is very important for us,” said the Reds boss.
“It is good recognition for Steven to be in the running for UEFA’s most valuable player award. Last season in the league and the Champions League he was a fantastic player.
“Any medals and awards our players might receive for last season are fully merited, because they all did a fantastic job.”
Benitez is mindful of the drain on his playing resources which are caused by tough early-season matches.
“It is a big problem for us to play official games so early in the season,” he said.
“Friendlies are different, because you can use 22 players.Proper games cannot be used like that, and players who are playing cannot train as much. It is not ideal.”
Liverpool are expected to bring in Darren Potter, John Arne Riise, Scott Carson and Antonio Barragan against Sofia – already holding a 3-1 lead from the first leg.
“I have a lot of respect for Sofia, and they play well in attack,” said Benitez.
“But we have another game on Friday in Monaco, and this is the time to use the squad to give players some rest and to field a side which will still be strong and do the job for us.
“If we want to be sure we must score as soon as possible, and the game will be finished. They will try hard from the start, very high tempo, and we expect that. But we hope that we can end the tie early.”
There is no question which of this week’s high-profile matches Benitez knows he has to prioritise.
“We need to win the first one to be in the Champions League – that is the first objective,” he said.
“Then the second game against Moscow means we can win another trophy. We will use two good teams in both games and we have the ability to do that.
“We had a very good result in Sofia. It is very important to control the first part of the second leg – but we do need to be careful.
“We can use Dietmar Hamann, who has plenty of experience, and we have Xabi Alonso in midfield – so we can replace Steven Gerrard.”
