RIERA LOOKING FORWARD TO CITY RETURN
[tr][td=2,1,487]RIERA LOOKING FORWARD TO CITY RETURN
[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,130] [/td][td=1,1,357]Albert Riera returns to Manchester City on Sunday determined to show how much he has progressed as a player. [/td][/tr][tr][td=2,1,487]The Reds number 11 had a loan spell at City under Stuart Pearce and played 15 games, but the winger openly admits the supporters didn't see the best of him at Eastlands.
"That was a very different moment for me as a player," said Riera. "I was only 22 when I went to Manchester City and so I was still learning the game and I had never played English football before.
"But since then I have picked up a lot more experience and I have played in a UEFA Cup final with Espanyol and for the Spanish national team so I am now much better prepared to play in the Premier League.
"It is probably for other people to say if I am a better player but in my own mind I think that I am and hopefully I can prove this to the Liverpool fans.
"Once I joined City I learned very quickly that they are a very important club in the Premier League and I enjoyed my time with them.
"It was good to play for them and I liked everything about the club - especially the way they played football and the passion of the fans. But I am a Liverpool player now and that means I will be doing my very best for this club.
"We have started the season well and now we are looking to build on that.
"Everyone seems really confident right now and we are playing well and getting some good results.
"But we must continue to work hard in every single game and look to keep on winning because the season is still very young and there is a long, long way to go.
"We are progressing well though and hopefully this will continue."
Riera has impressed the Liverpool supporters with his displays so far and during Wednesday's Champions League tie with PSV Eindhoven the Kop could be heard singing the old A-L-B-E-R-T chant in his honour, which of course used to be sung for the great Albert Stubbins.
"I knew before I came here that the Liverpool fans are the best," he said.
"They help the team so much in every game and with supporters like these you do feel like you can do almost anything - that is how much belief they give you as a player.
"I have heard the song that they sung for me and it means a lot to me.
"I do not know a lot about Albert Stubbins but I have been told that he was a great player for Liverpool, a true legend, so it is an honour for me to be given the same song as him." [/td][/tr] |