Lionel Messi’s team-mate did what Rafa Benitez’s other Liverpool flops couldn’t

In years passed by, if I had informed you that Liverpool had been focused on signing a participant who had performed a starring function alongside Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero for the Argentina facet that received the 2005 FIFA U20 World Cup, was a FIFA Membership World Cup runner-up on the age of 21, performed at a World Cup and loved seven-and-a-half profitable years in Serie A, most notably with AC Milan, you’d be forgiven for getting a little bit excited at such a prospect.

But, consider it or not, Rafa Benitez really as soon as signed such a participant for the Reds.

Certainly with such a C.V. he would have confirmed to be one of many Spaniard’s masterstrokes at Anfield? Particularly when knowledgeable he scored on his Liverpool debut in 2006 too?

However alas, no. It by no means labored out on Merseyside with the responsible participant transferring on after only one season, having solely made eight appearances for Reds and cursing his choice to even make the transfer to Anfield within the first place.

The person in query? Gabriel Paletta.

So having regarded as one thing of a coup for Liverpool when signed in 2006 and really gone on to take pleasure in a good profession thus far, the place did all of it go unsuitable for the Argentine below Benitez?

The defender first caught the eye of the Reds after beginning all seven of Argentina’s video games as they received the 2005 FIFA U20 World Cup and following a powerful season with Membership Atletico Banfield, the place the Argentines even altered their Copa Libertadores squad for the knock-out levels to incorporate {the teenager}.

With competitors in his signature rife, Liverpool wasted no time in agreeing a £2m to land Paletta, confirming his signing on February 14, 2006, with the defender agreeing a four-year deal forward of linking up along with his new team-mates that summer season in time for the 2006/07 season.

Described by the Reds as a “robust, decisive and sturdy defender”, Benitez wasted no time in speaking up his newest signing and in contrast him to a number of the Spaniard’s most high-profile defenders following his arrival at Anfield.

“Paletta could be very robust and he is precisely the kind of participant we want who will swimsuit The Premiership,” he informed the membership’s official web site. “If you speak in regards to the Argentinian defenders I labored with in Valencia, Paletta is extra like Ayala than Pellegrino.

“In the event you’re speaking about Liverpool, he is extra like Carragher than Sami Hyypia. That is good as a result of we may have a steadiness within the type of defenders.

“He’s a defender with quite a lot of aggression and we’re certain he has a terrific future. He’ll be taught so much right here, like Daniel Agger, and supply competitiveness in our defence.

“He has attracted quite a lot of curiosity from prime golf equipment in Argentina like River Plate and Boca Juniors. River Plate even reserved a quantity six shirt for him, so we needed to transfer rapidly to signal him. We’re delighted to have accomplished the deal now.”

Nicknamed ‘El Taladro’ (The Drill) in his homeland as a consequence of his no-nonsense defensive type, Paletta himself was excited to make the swap however admitted he had some technique to go to justify being likened to his compatriot, Ayala.

“I feel I am prepared for the transfer to England,” Paletta informed the Sunday Mirror on the time. “It is each South American participant’s dream to play in Europe. It is unattainable to show down the chance when it arrives.

“Roberto is a confirmed star and in contrast with him I am solely an apprentice. In my view Ayala is a monster. A large participant and a large winner.

“I do not worry transferring into English soccer. I am not arriving as a star. I am only a younger participant hoping to make progress.”

But BBC Sport’s South American expert Tim Vickery couldn’t assist however worry the transfer had come too quickly for Paletta.

“Within the Sixties Liverpool supervisor Invoice Shankly despatched the press on a voyage spherical big centre-half Ron Yeats,” he wrote in February 2006. “Maybe in a couple of months’ time present Reds boss Rafael Benitez will do the identical trick with Gabriel Paletta.

“The younger Argentine defender is constructed like an ox, and the journalists would take some time to circumnavigate him. However I’m wondering if it is likely to be a journey happening too quickly.

“A powerful, rugged, no-nonsense centre again, he caught the attention in each penalty areas, stopping targets at one finish, scoring them on the different along with his cumbersome presence and aerial risk.

“He would clearly be on the transfer earlier than lengthy. The query was the place. And he clearly seemed the sort of centre-back who someday will do effectively in Europe. The query is when.”

He continued: “Paletta is a type of sophisticated South American instances of a participant whose registration just isn’t wholly owned by a membership. There are different traders concerned, who usually desire short-term revenue to long run profession improvement.

“He appeared sure to affix native giants River Plate, who even reserved the quantity six shirt for him.

“In purely soccer phrases, becoming a member of River is the apparent step to take. He would be taught in regards to the pressures of being with a giant membership. He must address the truth that River’s expansive type of play can depart their defenders uncovered.

“And he may do all of this in his house surroundings, whereas getting ready himself for the transfer to Europe.

“As a substitute he has skipped a stage. Finance has received over soccer. With only a 12 months behind him Paletta has opted to maneuver to a rustic with a distinct tradition, language and soccer.

“Paletta seemed like a highly-promising defender who would possibly want some extra mileage earlier than making the transfer throughout the Atlantic.”

Finally Vickery was confirmed proper and Paletta paid the worth, regardless of a promising begin to his Liverpool profession.

Handed his debut in a pre-season victory over Wrexham, he actually made his presence felt within the Reds’ subsequent pleasant outing with a bone-crunching problem on Crewe Alexandra’s Billy Jones simply minutes after approaching.

A tough however truthful deal with, it actually caught Benitez’s consideration.

“The language remains to be an issue for Gabriel, and he’s having English classes,” the Spaniard stated after the sport.

“However I feel it is truthful to say there isn’t any drawback along with his tackling.”

Handed his aggressive debut within the Carling Cup in opposition to Studying, the Argentine headed house Jermaine Pennant’s nook to present Liverpool a 3-0 lead after simply 50 minutes.

Nonetheless, he virtually prompted a late collapse from the Reds too, incomes a reserving for an aggressive problem on Stephen Hunt with quarter-hour to go, with Andre Bikey heading house from the ensuing free-kick because the Royals fought again in an eventual 4-3 win for Benitez’s facet.

Beginning within the subsequent spherical in opposition to Birmingham Metropolis, he made his Premier League debut off the bench in a 4-0 victory over Wigan Athletic in December, earlier than beginning alongside each Carragher and Agger as Liverpool misplaced 3-2 in a Champions League dead-rubber in opposition to Galatasaray.

However his struggles to adapt to English soccer turned abundantly clear in an notorious 6-3 defeat to Arsenal within the League Cup the following month, through which Julio Baptista scored 4, and he was in the end sidelined till the spring.

Writing for BBC Sport after that loss to the Gunners, Vickery identified that Liverpool had been warned.

“Gabriel Paletta’s issues at Liverpool ought to come as no shock – and may function a warning to younger South Individuals in comparable conditions,” he stated.

“There’s a basic rule when a participant steps up a degree, whether or not it’s from juniors to reserves, from the reserves to the primary group or from membership to worldwide soccer.

“Normally he can be OK if he can reproduce the standard of efficiency he was producing within the decrease degree.

“The issue in Paletta’s case is that this doesn’t apply. He has to be taught to defend otherwise.

“Banfield are a conventional however comparatively minor Argentine membership, who play in tight, cramped stadium. They aren’t below the identical stress to assault as one of many massive groups.

“It implies that again at house Paletta was defending a lot nearer to his personal objective. If the ball was performed behind him, it was the keeper’s. A pair of holding midfielders swept up the hazard in entrance of him.

“Nonetheless, at Liverpool the defensive position is larger up the sphere.

“In a kind of soccer a lot sooner than something he has seen earlier than he takes up an unaccustomed place – one which all of the whereas threatens to reveal his lack of mobility.”

He continued: “It’s no surprise he has had issues. He has taken a leap which represents a harmful threat at this stage in his profession.

“Becoming a member of River would have been the proper transfer. Whereas staying in his personal tradition he would have learnt far more about defend in an attacking group. Make a hit of that, and the doorways to Europe are open.

“Paletta skipped a stage, and is paying the worth.”

Benitez had seen sufficient with Liverpool ensuring to not take a threat with Paletta once more.

Making simply three additional appearances for the Reds, the primary got here as a part of a makeshift facet within the Champions League quarter-finals in a 1-0 second leg victory over PSV Eindhoven, having triumphed 3-0 within the first leg within the Netherlands.

His closing two outings once more got here in makeshift backlines, both facet of Liverpool’s Champions League semi-final second leg victory over Chelsea, because the Reds fell to defeat in opposition to Portsmouth and Fulham with their eyes firmly on a visit to Athens and the prospect to once more elevate Europe’s elite prize.

Nonetheless, he didn’t even make the bench for a closing day draw with Charlton Athletic, nonetheless Benitez once more rotating forward of the Champions League closing rematch with AC Milan, and are available the summer season it turned clear his future lay elsewhere.

After a mortgage transfer to Levante didn’t materialize, Paletta made a return to Argentina with Boca Juniors that August as a part of the deal noticed Emiliano Insua’s mortgage transfer made everlasting.

Talking of his choice to let the 21-year-old depart, Benitez conceded the transfer simply hadn’t labored out.

“There is no such thing as a level contemplating what I’d have accomplished had I recognized in regards to the accidents,” he stated. “However Paletta wanted to be taking part in so it’s best that he has gone to Boca.”

Having been so dismissive of his exit, possibly for Benitez he was simply one other switch gamble that didn’t repay?

Nonetheless, when reflecting on his 12 months on Merseyside, the Argentine admitted he ought to have remained affected person however needed to depart as a result of he was sad at Liverpool.

“I received fed up and went house,” he informed La Repubblica in 2014. “How may I refuse (Boca)? There was the Bombonera, the chants of ‘La Doce’, it was a dream for me.

“I’ll admit I ought to have been extra affected person however I wasn’t joyful at Liverpool.

“I used to be alone. I solely keep in mind the chilly. In a 12 months, I by no means went out for dinner with a team-mate.”

Had Benitez’s triumphed in opposition to Milan within the 2007 Champions League closing, Paletta would have been granted a swift reunion along with his former membership within the FIFA Membership World Cup closing.

As a substitute, he confronted his future employers, beginning on the again in opposition to the likes of Kaka and Filippo Inzaghi as Boca suffered a 4-2 defeat.

Paletta was arguably one of many first notable abroad children Benitez managed to convey to Anfield, however was in no way the one one who in the end didn’t make the grade at Liverpool even when his stint on Merseyside was one of many briefest.

Insua and Nabil El-Zahr joined shortly after the Argentine with Damien Plessis, Sebastian Leto and David Ngog later signing up as children with one eye on the instant first group.

The quintet all arguably made extra of an affect on Merseyside than Paletta, however none of them can compete along with his post-Reds profession.

And his return to Argentina proved to be only the start.

Rebuilding his status in his homeland, Paletta tried his hand at European soccer once more in 2010 as he signed for Serie A facet Parma following three fruitful seasons in Argentina.

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As Vickery had beforehand recommended, such a middle-move had confirmed helpful to the centre-back.

Recording 131 appearances throughout four-and-a-half seasons, Paletta helped Parma to 3 successive mid-table finishes earlier than clinching a sixth-place standing in 2013/14, with such kind even incomes him worldwide recognition.

Nevertheless it wasn’t for Argentina.

In possession of an Italian passport as a consequence of his ancestry, along with his great-grandfather Vincenzo emigrating from Crotone, Paletta switched allegiances to Italy and was controversially handed his debut in opposition to Spain in a pleasant in March 2014.

“I grew up in Argentina. My family members are there, my son Sebastian was born there,” the defender defined when requested about representing Italy. “However I really feel Italian if I take into consideration my nice grandfather’s dream.

“He needed his children to return to Calabria with some extra cash of their pockets, to say he’d accomplished what he’d got down to do.

“In a sure sense, carrying the blue (of Italy), would full his journey.”

Having been written off in England as nothing greater than one other Benitez switch flop, Paletta needed to change into accustomed to criticism and mockery from nearly the very begin of his fledgling profession.

And being included in Cesare Prandellii’s Italy squad for the 2014 World Cup did nothing to defend him from such scrutiny.

“I’ve learnt the nationwide anthem and I will be singing it in Brazil”, Paletta acknowledged following his call-up.

Whereas Benitez had admired his no-nonsense defensive type, choosing up pointless playing cards and suspensions for being excessively aggressive when tackling was a cloud that continued to hang-out the centre-back, together with complaints about his consistency and occasional error-prone nature.

And even when delivering on the pitch, critics may all the time flip to his clumsy 6ft 3 determine, late-bloomer standing and even how he went from a long-haired teenager to a thinning then bald Serie A defender in the event that they needed to deride a defender who many felt didn’t deserve his seat on the get together and was unrecognisable from the baby-faced teenaged first unveiled alongside Benitez in 2006.

Paletta would make only one look at that 12 months’s World Cup, successful what would show to be his solely begin and closing cap of their opening match.

However the reality it got here in a 2-1 victory over England went some technique to silence the shock at a ‘Liverpool flop’ being concerned within the first place.

Nonetheless, he was changed by Ignazio Abate for his or her shock 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica, and once more needed to watch on from the sidelines as Leonardo Bonucci and Mattia De Sciglio got here in for a 1-0 loss to Uruguay that sealed a group-stage exit.

With Parma imploding financially following his return to membership motion, denied entry to the Europa League due to an overdue tax debt consequently, Paletta was bought to AC Milan in January 2015 along with his former facet struggling relegation in his absence.

Making 14 appearances below Inzaghi, he spent the 2015/16 season on mortgage at Atalanta because the appointment of Sinisa Mihajlovic appeared to recommend his second probability at an elite membership had handed him by.

However he was granted one thing of a revival below new boss Vincenzo Montella following his return to the San Siro, making 32 appearances throughout the 2016/17 appearances as he once more did his finest to valiantly silence any claims he was punching above his weight.

Falling out of favour once more the next 12 months, this time below Gennaro Gattuso, the now 31-year-old cancelled his Milan contract in January 2018 earlier than signing for Chinese language facet Jiangsu Suning the next month.

Returning to Italy in November 2019, Paletta signed for Serie C outfit AC Monza however that is far out of your regular seeing out your closing years within the decrease tiers.

Owned by former AC Milan proprietor Silvio Berlusconi, Monza have made no secret of their need to win promotion to Serie A as rapidly as doable.

And the defender helped them transfer one step nearer to reaching that objective final 12 months, making seven appearances earlier than the coronavirus pandemic noticed their league season suspended and the Italian Soccer Federation belatedly awarded them promotion as champions in June.

Competing in Serie B for the primary time since 2001, Paletta was joined at Monza by Kevin-Prince Boateng in September and Mario Balotelli in December and is on track to assist them seal back-to-back promotions and attain Serie A.

Now closing in on his thirty fifth birthday, he has made 11 appearances to date this season to assist information them to second within the desk, simply 4 factors behind Empoli.

Whereas his age would possibly deny him a closing shot at Serie A, Paletta continues to make a residing out of proving individuals unsuitable.

Afterall, ‘The Drill’ has actually bulldozed his technique to the highest to make the perfect of his abilities and be granted the worldwide stage.

With the £2m man actually not a hit at Anfield, he’s usually recalled as considered one of Liverpool’s worst Premier League signings, having been discarded so swiftly by Benitez and the Reds all these years in the past.

However, as he is confirmed repeatedly confirmed all through his profession, in actuality he was something however.