An exciting young foreigner made his debut in midfield for Liverpool last night. The young foreigner’s first game had been eagerly anticipated by many close observers of the Liverpool team and whilst he certainly wasn’t going to be a saviour of the season, he could certainly make a big contribution in the years to come. The young lad with a number 4 on his back excited the crowd with a couple of touches and whilst they didn’t expect to see him against Arsenal they were looking forward to seeing more.
Following this deserved debut, there are five key challenges facing Dani Pacheco if he is to build on last night’s cameo.
1. Doing it all again for the reserves
This morning Pacheco will wake up to more reserve team football. His next game will probably be on a cold evening in January I’m front of a crowd of a couple of thousand. He will only get more chances if he responds well to the more modest environment. To do this well he should look at Jay Spearing but particularly Daniel Ayala – one of his closest pals in the setup – who responded to his brief run in the first team by playing even better for the reserve team. Damien Plessis should act as a reminder of how not to do things.
2. Work on the drudgery
No one doubts Pacheco’s skill on the ball or his awareness. But he will need to continue working on his strength, tackling, tracking back and team play. And he’ll need to do this whilst maintaining and developing the attributes that helped him catch the eye. His improvement in these areas over the last year shows he can do it, but there’s much more to be done.
3. Take his limited chances without getting frustrated
With a tricky away tie at Reading and the FA Cup growing in it’s importance with every game, Pacheco’s first team appearances will be limited. He needs not to get disheartened by this and guard against responding like Nathan Eccleston whose response appeared to be rejecting a contract extension. Spearing is certainly a better model to follow here.
4. Get game time and intelligence
It might be that the next step for Pacheco is a year out on loan. This might be tricky. It needs to be a team that let’s him play his natural game but at a level where he learns to not be bullied by defenders and it’s played at a pace where he’s getting better prepared for the pace of Premiership football. So not like Le Tallec’s move to Sunderland.
He also needs to work on his ‘game intelligence’. He can spot a pass but needs to make the right one and make decisions quicker than he has to at reserve team level. He will hear the groans around Anfield if he gives the ball away as he does sometimes at reserve level.
5. Deal with the setbacks
The players who do best are those that manage the setbacks; a bad injury, a loss of form, seeing other players get opportunities ahead of him. This was a key attribute of the young Michael Owen and requires real toughness of mind – as well as being blessed with a body that will recover and give you the opportunities you need.
I would love to see Dani Pacheco break through into the Liverpool side and see the whole club get some credit for the investment in youth – if nothing else to provide a bit more balance to the Wenger love-in of the Great British press. But anyone wanting to know ‘is he ready for first team action’ or lobbying ‘Rafa, this lad deserves an opportunity’ would do well to remember how many distractions, bits of bad luck and pitfalls lie ahead on the path of a teenage footballer.
In other news, Alberto Aquilani made his debut against Fiorentina.