WHEN you have spent an evening in the company of Roger Federer you can’t help but realise how the combination of natural talent and hard work can lead to success.
After rubbing shoulders with the reigning Wimbledon champion, Liverpool began their quest to follow the Swiss master on the path to sporting glory in his homeland.
The work rate was certainly there as the Reds kicked off their preparations for the new season with a goalless draw against St Gallen but with the ring rust of summer still to be fully shaken off it is likely to be some time before they are as sharp as Federer.
As has become the norm in Rafa Benitez’s reign, the Liverpool manager used an early pre-season game to blood some of the club’s most promising youngsters while also giving some of his fringe players a chance to press their claims for a more regular involvement in the first team squad.
With the first meaningful action of the new season still a month away the Spaniard is much more concerned with increasing fitness and match sharpness right now than he is with results and performance.
To this end, the meeting with St Gallen was never likely to be anything more than a pipe opener, particularly with Liverpool’s Spanish quintet, Javier Mascherano and Andrea Dossena yet to even join up with their Anfield team mates following their extended summer break.
And with Benitez keen to give run outs to as many members of his squad as possible then the chances of Liverpool’s first pre-season friendly turning into any kind of spectacle were about as remote as the Reds boss exchanging Christmas cards with want away midfielder Xabi Alonso in five months time.
The one-year-old AFG Arena played host to a full house with the St Gallen locals eager to see their newly promoted side in action and a fair smattering of travelling Liverpool fans helping to create a lively atmosphere which was not in keeping with the predictably dour fayre that was being served up in front of them.
Not surprisingly, Liverpool’s mix of first team regulars, reserves, fringe players, youngsters and virtual outcasts was never really able to deliver much in the way of a cohesive playing pattern.
Equally inevitable was the fact that Steven Gerrard’s star shone brightest as the Liverpool captain’s crisp passing and imaginative movement marked him out as the first half’s most accomplished performer, with Jay Spearing also impressing in a more understated fashion as the Reds skipper’s midfield sidekick.
With his pre-season preparations due to be interrupted by a trial of an entirely different kind next week, Gerrard was clearly keen to make the most of his playing time and he certainly did that against the Swiss outfit.
