When Gerard Houllier bought Abel Xavier, everyone including myself were all shocked. This is now the second succesive that a player had made the trip from Goodison Park to Anfield. But once again Gerard Houllier proved to us all to he knew exactly what he was buying.
Abel made his Liverpool debut in the 6-0 thrashing of Ipswich Town and he scored the first goal of the match 10minutes into his Anfield career. He didn't get a single goal during his two year stay at Everton which just goes to show what the red shirt can do to people.
Abel can play anywhere across the back four but Gerard has chosen to play him ar right back where he has succeded. He provides a more attackign option than Jamie Carragher. He is also a Portugal international and represented hs country in Euro '00 where he earned an 9 month suspension from UEFA after being sent off in the semi-final of the competition. He was also fined 8,000 pounds.
Abel joined Liverpool for an undisclosed fee which is believed to be about 800,000 pounds. He is known for his weird blonde beard and hair-do which must get him a lot of stick in the dressing room.
Abel has settled into the right-back position well but when Babbel returns, it would be interesting to see what Houllier does with him. |
