Great Dane will bare his teeth
By Oliver Kay
Rafael Benitez had to urge Daniel Agger to raise his voice as the young defender struggled to make himself heard during an introductory press conference yesterday after his £5.8 million transfer to Liverpool from Brondby, but the softly spoken 21-year-old has warned the Barclays Premiership’s centre forwards that he is a rather more ferocious animal when he steps on to the football pitch.
On first listening to his muffled tones, it appeared that Agger had described his split personality as that of “a mad dog”. It was almost as if the cries of hallelujah could be heard from Fleet Street, where any such nickname is regarded as manna from heaven, but, rather disappointingly, it transpired that he was talking about the aggression that is, as he puts it, “in my blood”, even if one would not guess so upon meeting him.
At the age of 19, Agger was still in college, training after hours with Brondby’s second team, but suddenly, two years on, he is not only being fêted as Danish football’s finest prospect since Brian Laudrup but he is also about to start playing for Liverpool, the champions of Europe.
“It has taken me by surprise how quickly things have happened,” he said yesterday. “I think it has taken other people by surprise, not just me. I was a bit of a late developer, but I was at school until late on, so maybe it’s their fault.”
Having come so far so soon, Agger might be disappointed to learn that Benítez plans for a more gradual progression to regular first-team football at Anfield — the more so because a knee ligament injury has left him short of match fitness, almost certainly ruling him out of tomorrow’s home match against Tottenham Hotspur — but the new signing, ostensibly as a long-term replacement for Sami Hyypia, hopes to be challenging for a regular place in the starting line-up sooner rather than later.
“It is difficult to say when I’ll be match fit,” Agger said. “I feel I’m ready to challenge for a starting place when fit. I know that both Sami and Jamie (Carragher) are great players, but I will fight for my place. I’m a quiet person, but when I step on to the field it’s completely different. I change. I’m very aggressive. I think it’s in my blood.”
Agger, who is not eligible to take any further part in this season’s Champions League after playing for Brondby in the competition, is Liverpool’s third new signing of the January transfer window after Jan Kromkamp, the Holland defender, from Villarreal and Paul Anderson, a young winger, from Hull City. A fourth is expected today, with David Martin, a 19-year-old goalkeeper, joining from Milton Keynes Dons, but Benítez still plans to sign a winger, possibly on loan, as Mark González, of Chile, is unlikely to be granted a work permit to complete his move from Albacete.
There were further indications yesterday that Liverpool will receive belated recognition for their Champions League triumph. Rick Parry, the club’s chief executive, has voiced the club’s surprise at the failure to honour a single Liverpool player or official in the New Year’s Honours List, but it is understood that Steven Gerrard and possibly Carragher will receive MBEs in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, while Benítez could receive an honorary OBE, an award bestowed on other successful foreign managers, such as Gérard Houllier, his predecessor, and Arsène Wenger.
Government officials have implied that the oversight was “more of a cock-up than a conspiracy” and Benítez would be inclined to agree. “For sure, I agree with Rick Parry,” the Liverpool manager said. “I have a very clear view on this. I have a lot of respect for other sports, but the most important sport in the world is football and the most important competition in club football is the Champions League. The winners of the Champions League must be honoured, for sure.”
Enjoy!
and we have 2 games to spare (spelling!!!)