Riera vows to make impact
05 Sep 2008 - 09:00:31
Albert Riera has told Liverpool fans that he is a better player now than during his inauspicious spell with Manchester City.
The 26-year-old, who moved to Anfield from Espanyol on transfer deadline day, made 19 starts for City during a loan period at Eastlands during the 2005-06 campaign.
The Mallorca-born midfielder said: "When I was at Manchester City, I found out what the Premier League was like and I'm now prepared for it. I'm prepared to do the tackling and not just be the one being tackled.
"Experience in football is very important, and the last three years have been important in my development. I've been in an Espanyol team that have been playing for big things.
"We reached the final of the UEFA Cup and had a good first half to the season last year, and I've managed to get into the Spain squad. I felt that now was the right time to make the jump up to a bigger club.
"When I came to Manchester City it was in January. The team was in the middle of the table, so it was a little bit different to how it is now coming to Liverpool.
"I was only 22, and I'd only had one year playing in Spain and two in France, which is not as competitive a league as in England or Spain."