Alonso ready for Anfield action

By Brian Brownstein

Liverpool FC's new midfield recruit Xabi Alonso is confident his compatriot Rafael Benítez can inspire the Anfield club to good things in the UEFA Champions League this season.

Tactical nous
The Spanish international believes that the former Valencia CF coach's tactical nous and European experience will make Liverpool a force to be reckoned with. "Benítez's tactics and beliefs are ideally suited to winning European games," he told uefa.com. "Liverpool have the team, the tactics and the belief to do well in the Champions League this year. There is no reason why we can't be the surprise team of the competition."

Successful record
The 22-year-old playmaker, who signed from Real Sociedad de Fútbol last month, believes Benítez's success as a manager in Spain can only benefit the English club. He said: "Rafa Benítez has proved in Spain that he is one of the best coaches around. You saw that last season when he won the UEFA Cup with Valencia. Now he has a great chance to do something even more special by bringing trophies to Anfield. He did it with Valencia and I am confident he will do it here."

Anthemic introduction
Alonso, who played in the Champions League for La Real last season, cannot wait to begin this season's campaign, and believes Liverpool will play to their potential against their first opponents, AS Monaco FC. "It will be amazing to hear the Champions League anthem at Anfield before we play Monaco," he said. "The team is feeling good ahead of this match and with the support of our fans I am sure we'll beat them. Our aim is to start off our campaign in style by beating Monaco and giving the fans at Anfield something to celebrate."

Respect due
Despite his confidence, Alonso knows that overcoming last year's beaten finalists will not be an easy task. He said: "Monaco have sold many of the players that helped them reach last year's Champions League final, so maybe they won't be as strong, but we won't be relying on that. Monaco are lucky to have a great coach in Didier Deschamps and I'm sure that he will have his team well prepared for this match. He will make them dangerous opponents."

Glory years
If Liverpool get past Monaco, and their other Group A opponents RC Deportivo La Coruña and Olympiacos CFP, Alonso believes the current side can go far in the competition they won four times in the 1970s and 80s.

Famous shirt
"My father [former Spanish international Periko Alonso] has told me all about Liverpool's great European history," he said. "I am under no illusion that wearing this red shirt is something very special. We have a lot of belief that we will go through to the next stage and we are just concentrating on qualifying as quickly as we can. We can approach our games with optimism and do something very important in the Champions League this season."