Liverpool Football Club News

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Rafa blasts internationals

30 Mar 2007 - 16:16:26

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Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has called on the football authorities to reduced the risk of players getting injured on international duty by reducing the demands placed on them.

The Spaniard is unhappy that the likes of captain Steven Gerrard could be suffering from tiredness after playing two internationals matches in the space of five days before returning to Premiership action just 72 hours later.

Benitez is also critical of the quality of opposition his international players sometimes face and insists the number of matches they play could be reduced by restricting the level of opposition.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's Premiership meeting with Arsenal, he said: "Both sets of players will be tired, maybe carrying injuries and being expected to play at Saturday lunchtime after returning from a Wednesday night match.

"What disappoints me is the risk these players are facing. When a small country like Andorra are losing and losing, they get annoyed and then players can get hurt.

"We are expecting too much from our international players. When you play against very inferior teams, you cannot improve and there is always so much pressure to score lots of goals.

"It makes no sense playing matches against teams who can never win."