Andrea Dossena’s time at Liverpool wasn’t the most impressive but he has positive memories of it.
The Italian arrived at the Anfield club at the age of 26, joining in 2008 from Udinese. He was brought in to replace John Arne Riise, who had joined Roma on a permanent deal after a succesful spell on Merseyside.
Dossena spent a season and a half at Liverpool. Even though he couldn’t match the man he replaced, the defender had some memorable moments of his own.
He’s spoken to Calciomercato about the spell, and was especially impressed with Anfield.
The Anfield experience
Dossena was asked how the You’ll Never Walk Alone anthem impacted him.
Speaking in glowing terms, he responded: “Very emotional, even more so when there were Champions League matches: the stadium would put on a tuxedo. When you’re there lined up in the middle before the start of the match, hearing the whole stadium singing gives you an incredible boost.”
Dossena revealed that adapting to life in Liverpool wasn’t easy but playing at Anfield compensated for that.
“It was a city that wasn’t easy to adapt to, especially given the consistently rainy and windy climate. But those two hours inside the stadium made up for the difficulties outside.”
Spanish connection helped
Dossena explained that having Spaniards at Liverpool helped him a lot due to the similarity with Italian culture.
Speaking of his closest teammates, he said: “Xabi Alonso and Pepe Reina; the Spanish have a culture more similar to ours.
“Gerrard often kept to himself, Agger was cold, and many of them went to play golf, but since I don’t like it, I had fewer opportunities to hang out with them.”
The former defender also praised Rafa Benitez’s football-minded approach to coaching.
“Very precise and meticulous. He only talked about football; that was his world.”
Dossena also appeared grateful to Benitez for changing his position, saying: “The week of goals against Manchester United and Real Madrid. Benitez had moved me up to midfield, and in that role I scored those two goals in a few days.”