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Post by T on May 2, 2007 9:43:24 GMT 10
Rebuilt Kewell in frame for Reds, Roos
Michael Cockerill
May 2, 2007
WE CAN rebuild him - after almost a year on the sidelines, Harry Kewell finally returned to the pitch early yesterday, and delighted Socceroos coach Graham Arnold is quietly confident he may yet contribute towards the Asian Cup campaign.
Following several operations in Australia late last year, and five months of rehabilitation under the watchful eye of the Liverpool medical staff, Kewell made his long-awaited comeback away from the spotlight, in a reserves match at Wrexham's modest Racecourse Ground in north Wales. Arnold was there to witness Kewell's return - a 30-minute appearance off the bench that included an assist for Liverpool's final goal in a 3-1 win over Merseyside rivals Everton.
"Physically, he looked fantastic," Arnold said. "Liverpool had made it clear they wouldn't let him back on the park until he matched all his old test results, and he looked as good as I've ever seen him. It was just great to see him back on the field. He moved around very well, and this was big stepping stone for him.
"Harry's done a lot of work to get to this stage, now it's all about getting some match fitness under his belt. He's got some of the best people in sports science working with him at Liverpool, he's got [Socceroos physiotherapist] Les Gelis there as well, so it's looking positive. You could tell how excited Harry was to get through it unscathed." Asked whether Kewell was now a likely starter for the Socceroos in July's Asian Cup, Arnold was cautious.
"Look, there's a lot ot water to go under the bridge before then," he said. "I don't know what Liverpool have in mind for him for the rest of the season, but the next three weeks will be crucial to see how he goes."
Liverpool have three league games remaining - starting with Saturday's match at Fulham, and depending on the result of this morning's semi-final return leg against Chelsea, could also be contemplating another Champions League final appearance.
Reds manager Rafa Benitez, an avowed Kewell admirer, may yet throw him in the deep end if Liverpool make it to the showpiece occasion of the European club season - as he did in Istanbul two years ago.
Meanwhile, Arnold has described his peace mission to Europe with team manager Gary Moretti as one "of the best things we've ever done" - clearing the way for him to name a first-choice squad for the Asian Cup. Arnold has spent the last week criss-crossing the continent to speak directly to club managers and explain his requirements for the Asian Cup and beyond, and has been bowled over by the response.
"We haven't had one knockback from anyone," he said. "All the managers I've spoken to have been appreciative of us coming over there and explaining our program. We've told them about the games coming up, we've told them about our training program and our sports science, and for the first time I think they really understand what we're on about.
"For instance, we went in to see [Everton manager] David Moyes, and for the first five minutes we went through what has happened in the past regarding Timmy [Cahill]. He had a bit to say, we took it on board … and we agreed to move on. We thought we'd be in there for 20 minutes, and he gave us two hours. It's been the same everywhere. This trip has been a massive breakthrough."
Its great to see Harry back playing again, and with any luck he will be back to his best with no more injury problems.
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marinermick
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Post by marinermick on May 2, 2007 9:46:32 GMT 10
I see kewell playing the first half of the champions league final with liverpool being 2-0 down
he gets yanked off and they win 3-2
i cannot believe he is on the verge of scamming another champions league medal
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Post by Effin' and jeffin on May 2, 2007 10:06:06 GMT 10
go aussie go.....
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Post by serious14 on May 2, 2007 10:07:25 GMT 10
i cannot believe he is on the verge of scamming another champions league medal Man U are gonna win the title Mick, so you won't have to worry about that eventuality.  |
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marinermick
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Post by marinermick on May 2, 2007 11:03:46 GMT 10
i cannot believe he is on the verge of scamming another champions league medal Man U are gonna win the title Mick, so you won't have to worry about that eventuality. we can continue this discussion tomorrow |
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Post by Pete on May 2, 2007 12:46:02 GMT 10
I think it's great that Harry is back playing.
I previously had thought the guy was a crock, and not worth persisting with.
However, after seeing him in full flight against Uruguay and then watching the World Cup matches, I have to admit I like the way he plays (when he's fit).
When he initially couldn't continue in the World Cup, he was diagnosed with gout - an illness that could have been a chronic illness for him and shortened his career. Glad that this was wrong and he has taken the time to get all that was wrong, fixed.
If you assume that all that was wrong is now OK, I'd expect him to play his fair share of EPL and Socceroos games for the next few years.
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Post by omni on May 2, 2007 20:37:21 GMT 10
I see kewell playing the first half of the champions league final with liverpool being 2-0 down he gets yanked off and they win 3-2 i cannot believe he is on the verge of scamming another champions league medal Meh Dez Giraldi has TWO A-League runner-up medals without playing a minute of football, so Kewell is a bit more deserving. |
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marinermick
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Post by marinermick on May 3, 2007 9:00:54 GMT 10
I see kewell playing the first half of the champions league final with liverpool being 2-0 down he gets yanked off and they win 3-2 i cannot believe he is on the verge of scamming another champions league medal Meh Dez Giraldi has TWO A-League runner-up medals without playing a minute of football, so Kewell is a bit more deserving. are you seriously comparing an a-league runners-up medal to a champions league winners medal?  of course kewell is more deserving - he plays for a champions league and giraldi doesn't still doesn't mean he won't scam one, possibly two winners medals without hardly kicking a ball in that comeptition |
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Post by dibo (pron. "DIB-OH") on May 3, 2007 9:23:54 GMT 10
Meh Dez Giraldi has TWO A-League runner-up medals without playing a minute of football, so Kewell is a bit more deserving. are you seriously comparing an a-league runners-up medal to a champions league winners medal? of course kewell is more deserving - he plays for a champions league and giraldi doesn't still doesn't mean he won't scam one, possibly two winners medals without hardly kicking a ball in that comeptition he did at least turn it on in the CL knockout rounds - 'pool down 1-0 at home and he was a catalyst for a 3-goal recovery. then the semi against chelski he was massively influential as well. in the final he was injured from about 5 minutes in, but that doesn't mean he didn't contribute to the win - it would have been chelsea beating olympiackos in the semi to get there but for him. |
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Post by marinermick on May 3, 2007 9:28:01 GMT 10
are you seriously comparing an a-league runners-up medal to a champions league winners medal? of course kewell is more deserving - he plays for a champions league and giraldi doesn't still doesn't mean he won't scam one, possibly two winners medals without hardly kicking a ball in that comeptition he did at least turn it on in the CL knockout rounds - 'pool down 1-0 at home and he was a catalyst for a 3-goal recovery. then the semi against chelski he was massively influential as well. in the final he was injured from about 5 minutes in, but that doesn't mean he didn't contribute to the win - it would have been chelsea beating olympiackos in the semi to get there but for him. and how does this compare to dez giraldi? |
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Post by theboyroy on May 3, 2007 13:21:51 GMT 10
I'd be very surpirsed if he plays any part. He might make the subs bench if he's very lucky and get 5 mins if they are winning easily or getting hammered.
Not sure how much game time he's had in the reserves, but according to reports he's only just made the subs bench for Monday nights reserve game.
So the question is, Will he be match fit?, Probably not with only 2 game left in the league.
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Post by T on May 3, 2007 13:48:07 GMT 10
I'd be very surpirsed if he plays any part. He might make the subs bench if he's very lucky and get 5 mins if they are winning easily or getting hammered. Not sure how much game time he's had in the reserves, but according to reports he's only just made the subs bench for Monday nights reserve game. So the question is, Will he be match fit?, Probably not with only 2 game left in the league. Did you even read the article?? If you read the article in its entirety it says that Kewell played 30mins and had an assist with their final goal. Even not fully match fit Kewell can have an impact on a game and whilst he may not play at top level this season its still good that he is playing again and showing signs of his former greatness that made him one of the most sought after players in the EPL. |
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Post by marinermick on May 3, 2007 13:53:08 GMT 10
I'd be very surpirsed if he plays any part. He might make the subs bench if he's very lucky and get 5 mins if they are winning easily or getting hammered. Not sure how much game time he's had in the reserves, but according to reports he's only just made the subs bench for Monday nights reserve game. So the question is, Will he be match fit?, Probably not with only 2 game left in the league. Did you even read the article?? If you read the article in its entirety it says that Kewell played 30mins and had an assist with their final goal. Even not fully match fit Kewell can have an impact on a game and whilst he may not play at top level this season its still good that he is playing again and showing signs of his former greatness that made him one of the most sought after players in the EPL. Other articles say that he took the match very easily and pulled up very sore. He only played for the last thirty minutes. I will also be very surprised if he gets in the squad against Milan even though Raphie loves him. |
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Post by dibo (pron. "DIB-OH") on May 3, 2007 14:39:32 GMT 10
Did you even read the article?? If you read the article in its entirety it says that Kewell played 30mins and had an assist with their final goal. Even not fully match fit Kewell can have an impact on a game and whilst he may not play at top level this season its still good that he is playing again and showing signs of his former greatness that made him one of the most sought after players in the EPL. Other articles say that he took the match very easily and pulled up very sore. He only played for the last thirty minutes. I will also be very surprised if he gets in the squad against Milan even though Raphie loves him. hmmm... bolo zenden is rubbish, and gonzales not much better. pennant was pretty good the other night, but if there's any way rafa could get half an hour out of kewell in a time of need he'd be sorely tempted. i think he'll make the bench, but won't be used unless there's a pressing need. |
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Post by Rubbernose on May 3, 2007 17:05:42 GMT 10
Did you even read the article?? If you read the article in its entirety it says that Kewell played 30mins and had an assist with their final goal. Even not fully match fit Kewell can have an impact on a game and whilst he may not play at top level this season its still good that he is playing again and showing signs of his former greatness that made him one of the most sought after players in the EPL. Other articles say that he took the match very easily and pulled up very sore. He only played for the last thirty minutes. I will also be very surprised if he gets in the squad against Milan even though Raphie loves him. I sincerly hope he doesn't play in it, at all, and I'm a Liverpool fan. But I'm a Socceroos fan more. I can't really think of an occassion more risky to the bloke at this point in time than a Champions League final against bloody Milan. I mean geez, talk about tempting fate. I'm not even close to being sold on the idea of Harry turning out for the Asian Cup yet. Another break-down would probably be catastrophic for the bloke. I guess there's no need to be over-cautious and I'm in no position to judge his condition but I still feel very nevous for the bloke, and throwing him into CL finals and extended international cup tournaments in Asia when he's underdone, as the first steps in his return to match play, for me is like getting pissed and poking your finger at funnel-webs. This is not the time to hurry things along. Just hold the guy till next season, for the love of god. And I place far more importance on our World Cup campaign than I do the Asian Cup. But having said that, maybe I'm wrong and the Asian Cup is indeed a decent place to edge him back into match play. I think I even recall reading that Rafa was keen on the idea. |
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Post by theboyroy on May 4, 2007 13:39:23 GMT 10
No I didn't read the article, but getting through half an hour in a reserve game is hardly evidence that he is ready to play at a higher level, let alone the European Cup Final. All it takes it was bad tackle and he's back where he was 12 months ago. Both Liverpool and Australia will be better teams with him than without him. He'll be in the prime of his career, so why take the risk, let him get fully fit in the summer, do the pre season tours get plenty of game time under his belt and see if he can recapture that form he had 5 years ago.
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Post by Rubbernose on May 5, 2007 17:35:12 GMT 10
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Post by Pete on May 5, 2007 18:11:22 GMT 10
He played 30 minutes after nearly 12 months away from the pitch. Of course he'd pull up sore. How does anyone know if one bad tackle would ruin his recovery? I think he's taken this long so he can come back without having to nurse anything - meaning he's probably sound physically. I read the news article about his return and it said he was a cut above the other players on the field, despite being 'rusty'. If Liverpool just continue to ease him back, he may come on a treat for them NEXT season. I think this season, or what's left of it, is to get him back on the pitch and seeing how he goes. I suspect he may end up a squad member for the Asian Cup if he can continue playing all that Liverpool want him to play, but I doubt he'll be in the Socceroos as a first 11 player - that would be too early. He'd make a nifty impact substitute tho. If gametime at a lower level is what Harry is needing for a good recovery, maybe Lawrie could offer him a guest spot with the Mariners, after the Asian Cup, and before he links up with Liverpool again (surely something could be worked out with Liverpool and the FFA?) |
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Post by theboyroy on May 7, 2007 13:28:26 GMT 10
No one know's for sure if that one bad tackle will come or not, that fact is, it could, It makes no difference whether he's physcally sound or not, he might get clatterd in a different part of his body, no one knows. Have another 12 months out, who knows. When Cisse broke his leg 18 months ago, they said he was unlucky, but then he gets another broken leg in the last warm up game before the world cup. No-one could of predicted that. Shi# happens.
Of course they should include him in the Asian cup squad, whether he's playing or not, to have someone with his experience around will be invaluble to the squad, not only that, to be training and getting fitter can only be good for him. But as for playing for the mariners, not a chance me thinks. But you never know. As I said, shi# happens.
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Post by T on May 7, 2007 14:38:02 GMT 10
Extract from the SMH:
Kewell made his first senior appearance since the World Cup last year when he came on as a late substitute in Liverpool's 1-0 defeat at Fulham. The Socceroos star, who broke down with serious foot problems in Germany, will be afforded game time in Liverpool's meaningless final two Premiership hit-outs.
It remains to be seen whether they are farewell appearances before he departs Anfield in the summer or whether coach Rafa Benitez is prepared to take the gamble of having Kewell available to play a part in the Champions League final on May 23.
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