Martin Skrtel: Everton wanted me, but I only wanted to come to Anfield

Jan 12 2008 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

HE may only have been a Liverpool player for a matter of hours, but Martin Skrtel has already ingratiated himself with the Kop.

The Slovakia international was unveiled at Melwood yesterday after completing his £6million move from Zenit St Petersburg.

Skrtel, who has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract, came to the attention of a clutch of English clubs with his performances for the Russian side on their way to the domestic title.

And the 23-year-old’s decision to move to Anfield not only ended Rafael Benitez’s search for a centre-back but also left one half of Merseyside disappointed.

“Everton were one of the other clubs interested in me,” admits Skrtel. “How interested they were, you’d have to ask my agent that question, but once I was told that Liverpool were in for me I was not interested in any other offers and I told my agent that getting me to Liverpool would be the priority.”

Although Skrtel’s transfer makes him the most expensive defender in the club’s history, the player is unconcerned by the burden of such a significant price tag.

“I’m a player and I don’t look at how much the fees are,” says the Slovak. “That’s up to the manager and associates of the two clubs.

“But it’s a big thing in Slovakia because very, very few Slovakian players play at a big club like Liverpool. Having said that, from what my friends tell me back home, they can go over the top a little bit about things like this!”

Benitez had been desperate to bring in a new centre-back after the long-term injury to Daniel Agger exposed the lack of cover in that area.

Agger was Liverpool’s previous most costly defender, and like Skrtel, arrived during a January transfer window with a burgeoning reputation.

But Benitez believes the new signing is more similar to a younger incarnation of another Anfield defensive rock.

“Skrtel is more similar to Carra than Agger as a centre-back,” says the Spaniard. “We wanted someone who was aggressive, good in the air and has pace, and Martin is good in all these areas.

“There were two or three other English clubs in for him but he chose Liverpool. We’ve had him monitored since he was 18, and watched him recently in two or three games.

“It was clear we needed a centre-back. We had some problems in certain games as the centre-backs were tired. Now Agger is coming back and we have Martin here and we are really pleased to have that competition for places as we have a lot of games coming up.”

The player himself says: “I take the comparison with Carra as a big compliment, because if the manager compares me with a world class player of such quality then that shows the support he is giving me.”

Skrtel already has experience of football on Merseyside, having appeared for Zenit in their UEFA Cup group game at Everton in December.

Although the Russians lost 1-0, Benitez was impressed by the defender’s performance up against the pace of Andrew Johnson.

And for Skrtel, it was a taste of what to expect in the Premier League. “It only confirmed what I thought about English football, that it is fast,” he says. “I hope that by playing in English football already it will give me an idea of what to expect.

It will probably take me time to adjust to the Premier League. I haven’t been training recently because of the break in the Russian League and I know I will have to get up to speed. I think in 10 days I should be back up to fitness.

“It’s hard for players from Slovakia to make it in the Premier League but what could help me is that I have been playing abroad now for three-and-a-half years, and that’s been preparation for me.”

That time abroad has been spent in St Petersburg, where Skrtel played 115 times and scored five goals and helped them end a 23-year wait for the domestic championship last season.

He had earlier started his career in his homeland lower league team FC Prievidza, following in the footsteps of his father, and later joined AS Trencin before moving to Russia.

However, he reveals: “When I was very little I had to decide whether I wanted to play ice hockey or football. The football won and I’m very glad I made that decision.”

Skrtel required the use of a translator during the Press conference at Melwood yesterday, but says: “Regarding football terms in England, I do not have a problem understanding them because Advocaat spoke in English to us when training.

“Having Andriy Voronin in the squad here will help me communicate with the players, but I will start learning my basic English soon.”

For Benitez, the signing of Skrtel represents good business in a transfer market he believes is going “a little bit crazy”.

“We’ve always been keen to get the right players in at the right price,” he says. “If you look at the market now, players who are 18 are going for 6-8 million euros, ones who are 23 or 24 are going for 20 million euros and we were quoted 40 million euros for one player. The market has gone a little bit crazy.

“January is not the best time to sign good players, and the players we do sign we don’t want to put them under too much pressure straight away.

“Agger took time to settle in the first six months he was here, now everybody can see what a fantastic player he is. We hope it’s the same with Martin.”