SAMBA BOY'S FIRST DAY IN TRAINING AND THEIR PROFILE

INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW BOYS FROM SOUTH AMERICA!

(Mark Gonzalez, Fabio Aurelio and Rafa Benitez)

So, we signed 3 players from the great lands of the South American, where football talents are plentiful unlike England and trying to bring a little spice and flair into the current Liverpool set up. From the signings so far, I could see what Rafa is planning on, that is to strengthen our attack and adds a little more attacking flair, which has been lacking in the squad, since only Luis Garcia seemed to be the only one that can be categorized under it. Other than the 3 mentioned, don't forget we've already signed Craig Bellamy as well and he will certainly add an extra pace upfront for our strike force.


26. MARK 'SPEEDY' GONZALEZ (LEFT WING)

Mark Dennis González Hoffman (born July 10, 1984 in Durban, South Africa), is commonly known as Mark González. He is a Chilean footballer whose preferred position is as a left winger. Known for his fast pace and acceleration, he is aptly nicknamed "Speedy" (González).


González had agreed a move to Liverpool F.C. on loan for the 2005-06 season (with a view to a permanent move) from Albacete Balompie. However, he was denied a work permit by the Department of Education and Employment in August 2005. The Liverpool management showed great faith in González, pursuing his services despite work permit troubles and a cruciate knee ligament injury. Arrangements were made for the player to spend a loan spell at Real Sociedad until the work permit problem is sorted out.


At Sociedad González put in some impressive performances, most noteably against Real Madrid, where he scored Sociedad's equaliser as the game finished 1-1. Sociedad have shown interest in taking him permanently, along with several other La Liga clubs, but González is quoted to have said "I am very thankful to Real Sociedad and their coach Jose Mari Bakero, but while they'd like me to stay I'm going to England to join Liverpool"





27. FABIO AURELIO (LEFT-BACK)

Fábio Aurélio Rodrigues (born 24 September 1979 in São Carlos) is a Brazilian soccer player, who currently plays for the English team Liverpool. He plays in the position of left back or left midfield and is noted for his powerful shooting ability.

Fábio Aurélio came through the youth scheme at São Paulo, making his first team debut in 1997, and has represented Brazil at Under-17, Under-20 and Under-21 levels. He also played in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

He joined Valencia after the Olympics on a six-year contract. The 2001–02 season would see his first major trophy win, when he helped Valencia to their first La Liga championship in 31 years. The 2003–04 season was another big year for Valencia, winning both the domestic La Liga championship as well as the European 2003–04 UEFA Cup tournament, beating Olympique Marseille 2-0 in the final. Aurélio missed most of the season with a broken leg, however, managing only two games.

Aurélio holds an Italian passport allowing him to bypass the non-EU player restrictions in La Liga.

On June 28, 2006 it was reported in the Liverpool Echo that "Fabio Aurelio will officially become a Liverpool player this weekend. Aurelio will sign his four-year Anfield contract on July 1, having already agreed terms with the Reds."

HONOURS:

* Spanish La Liga: 2002, 2004
* UEFA Cup: 2004
* European Super Cup: 2004

29. GABRIEL PALETTA (CENTRE-BACK)

Gabriel Alejandro Paletta (born 15 February 1986) is an Argentinean central defender, who will join Liverpool F.C. in the summer of 2006 from Club Atlético Banfield. He will be the second Argentine to play for Liverpool, after Mauricio Pellegrino

Paletta first came to prominence in 2005. At the start of the year he was still yet to make his first team debut with Banfield, but when he finally got his chance he impressed. When Banfield qualified for the knockout stages of the Copa Libertadores they altered their 25 man squad for the event to include Paletta and immediately threw him into action against the Colombian team Independiente Medellín. Paletta played well and Banfield progressed, but Paletta was to play no further part in the tournament after being called up to the Argentinian under-20 team to contest the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Paletta started all seven games playing in the heart of the Argentine defence. Argentina lead upfront by Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero went on to win the tournament and Paletta's performances brought him to the attention of Liverpool's scouts. Rafael Benitez said of the player: "Paletta is very tough and he's exactly the sort of player we need who will suit the Premiership. When you talk about the Argentinean defenders I worked with in Valencia, Paletta is more like Roberto Ayala than Mauricio Pellegrino. If you're talking about Liverpool, he's more like Jamie Carragher than Sami Hyypia. This is good because we will have a balance in the style of defenders."


Latest On Joaquin

Liverpool have denied fresh reports from Spain that they are set to bid for Spanish winger Joaquin.
Spanish news agency AS yesterday reported Liverpool were ready to offer £12 million plus a number of fringe players to tempt Real Betis into parting with the highly rated winger, but Reds' chief executive Rick Parry has today insisted the story has no substance.

"It's simply not true," said Parry. "We have no idea where the story came from."

Tags: Liverpool, Mark Gonzlez, Gabriel Paletta, Fabio Aurelio