ALISSON SETTLED QUICKER THAN VAN DER SAR AND DE GEA

Liverpool shot stopper Alisson Becker has received numerous commendations for settling to life at Anfield very quickly. He was named the UEFA Goalkeper of the season 2018/19 last night. He was ranked ahead of Barcelona’s Marc-Andre Stegen and Hugo Lloris of Tottenham Hotspur. Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak and Andre Onana of Ajax completed the top five.

 

 

Alisson did this in a pressure-laden season at Anfield after the sacking of two goalkeepers and the club paid a record fee of 63 million Euros to land him from Roma. In the 13 games run to the Champions League title, the Brazilian kept six clean sheets. More importantly he has been a huge boost to the confidence of the team since he joined.

Many pundits say the goalkeeper has settled quicker than Manchester United legend Edwin van der Sar at Fulham and even David De Gea at Manchester United when he arrived. Alisson arrived at England and hit the ground running, and becoming a fan delight instantly. The player has been praised for his mental strength and goalkeeping contributions since Jurgen Klopp took a leap of faith to sign him.  

He is expected to return soon from his six weeks injury to continue his fine work. Adrian has been representing decently for Liverpool but the team needs Alisson back. Liverpool are hoping to challenge Man City for the league title, whilst maintaining dominance locally.

Alisson remains a contender for player of the year but it is increasingly likely that the FIFA award would go to his teammate Vigil van Dijk, who won the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award.

Edwin Focuses On The Retention Of Talent

Edwin van Der Sar being Ajax CEO, he has retaliated to suggestions of Andre Onana, the goalkeeper of this club, being moved back to Catalan club in Barcelona. There have been repeated links suggested and that has led to Edwin making a strong statement to the press. Van Der Sar has stated that he would like to retain Andre Onana and wanted the football community to be aware of the intentions of his club.

The Dutch legend has been having a successful stint with Ajax so far with this being the third season consecutively that he is playing as the primary goalkeeper. It is not difficult to understand why Edwin would be keen to retain him for the coming year as well. He also stated to the press that Andre is eager to play in the first team but he needs to get there gradually. He started off with Europa League final which was indeed a great start for him. Even though last year proved difficult for the team he was able to prove himself to be a valuable team member.
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