Source: Liverpool_Echo
Rafael Benitez exclusive: Why Pepe Reina is my Liverpool FC golden boy
Emiliano Insua, David Ngog and Pepe Reina celebrate beating Man Utd 460[LNB]RAFA BENITEZ does not hand out plaudits lightly. Always analysing, always searching for improvement, he is, without question, an exceptionally tough taskmaster.[LNB]So, with that in mind, it makes what you are about to read all the more significant. When asked to discuss the role Pepe Reina's role in Liverpool's team, without hesitation, Benitez felt the only way to do it justice was to compare him to the greatest of them all.[LNB]'Goalkeepers will make mistakes at some point - that is clear,' Benitez pointed out. 'But when we talk about the value of Pepe here, you really have to think only about Ray Clemence (right).[LNB]'He was one of the best keepers in this country for years and years and you see that if you analyse his figures. But then you look at Pepe. Three Golden Gloves awards in three years, fantastic records, doing well with a very good mentality.'[LNB]In the pantheon of Liverpool's keepers, Clemence - who watched his old club with great interest at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday - stands head and shoulders above the rest, a three time European Cup winner and a man who kept 335 clean sheets.[LNB]It is unlikely Reina will ever achieve such a mind-boggling tally but the Spaniard has already smashed a number of the records that Clemence set and it is clear Benitez wants him around Anfield for many more years to come.[LNB]Talks are planned to discuss a new, long-term deal and, as he prepares to take what is left of his injury-hit squad to Craven Cottage for another crucial Premier League tussle, Liverpool's manager is only to happy to sing Reina's praises.[LNB]'Pepe is someone who is keen to learn, he wants to improve and is still young,' Benitez, said of Reina, his £6m buy from Villarreal in 2005. 'He can be a top keeper for 10 more years; he has a great future and we've spoken to his agent to try and arrange something.[LNB]'He still has time on his contract but we are trying to keep him happy for the future, too. I have spoken with him, his agent and Christian Purslow. We have agreed that we have got to have a proper conversation in a few weeks.'[LNB]No wonder. Reina, perhaps more than any foreign arrival in the past decade, has immersed himself in 'The Liverpool Way', so much so that he embodies the enthusiasm and passion of those who sit behind his goal on the Kop.
