Liverpool FC Player Profile – José ‘Pepe’ Reina

José Reina is Liverpool’s first choice goalkeeper and is rated by many as one of the best goalkeepers in world football. Born in Madrid in 1982, Reina is the son of former Barcelona and Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Reina, who also represented his country, Spain.

José, nicknamed Pepe, Reina began his football career with the FC Barcelona youth academy after initially playing in Barcelona’s reserve team. He made thirty appearances for the first team in the 2000-2001 season, incidentally, he made two appearances against Liverpool in the UEFA Cup semi-final. The following season he was dropped from Barcelona’s first team and secured a loan move to Villarreal in 2002 making the move permanent in 2004, he made over 100 appearances for the club. Reina signed for Liverpool in 2005 by then coach Rafael Benítez, who described him as the best goalkeeper in Spain.

Reina was immediately installed as the first-choice goalkeeper at Anfield, making his debut against Welsh outfit Total Network Solutions in a Champions League qualifier in July 2005 and a month later earning his first cap for their Spain national team.

The Spaniard became an immediate favorite with Liverpool fans, renowned for his precise ball distribution and fantastic penalty saves. He had saved seven of the nine penalties he faced in his previous season with Villarreal. During his first season at Liverpool he was part of the team that set a club record of eleven consecutive games without conceding a goal.

At the end of his first season with Liverpool, Reina played in the FA Cup final against West Ham United. An incredible game saw the score level at 3-3 after extra time and the match was then decided on penalties, the incredible goalkeeper then forced to save three of West Ham’s penalty kicks to secure a 3-1 win in the penalty shootout for the Reds. .

After his first fifty games with the Reds, Reina had not conceded a goal in twenty-eight of those games, setting a new club record previously held by the legendary Ray Clemence. Later that season he was around again when Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties in the Champions League semi-final, he followed in his father’s footsteps by appearing in the European Cup final, unfortunately the Reds lost 2-1 to AC Milan in the final.

Having made over 300 first-team appearances, Reina signed a new six-year deal with Liverpool in 2010 and, while he has yet to become their national team’s first choice goalkeeper, he has already become a soccer legend. Liverpool.