Born August 31, 1982 in Madrid, Jose Manuel Reina, was signed by Liverpool from Villarreal in July 2005. Commonly known as Pepe Reina or the Ironman Reina, he is a penalty saving specialist, and though he was born in Madrid, he started his career with Barcelona. Seen as one of the most promising young goalkeepers in European football, Reina made a total 29 appearances for Barcelona from 2000 2002 before moving to Villarreal. He made his debut for the Catalan side at the age of 18 and joined Villarreal on loan in 2002. The switch was made permanent later and Reina played a key role in helping Villarreal secure a Champions League position at the end of the 2004/2005 season. He brilliantly saved seven of nine kicks faced by Villarreal during the season. He was signed by Liverpool from Villarreal in 2005, with manager Rafael Benitez hailing him as the best goalkeeper in Spain. He made his debut for Spain during a friendly match against Uruguay in August 2005 where Spain won 2-0. Reina, son of famed Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Reina Santos, he now holds the club record for successive clean sheets in the Premiership era surpassing David James' five from the 1996/97 season. However, on 28th December 2005, this incredible run of clean sheets ended when Everton's James Beattie headed past Reina into the Liverpool net in Liverpool's 3-1 win over their Merseyside rivals. On 5th February 2006, Reina, having made a clumsy challenge on Eidur Gudjohnsen moments earlier, was controversially sent-off in Liverpool's 2-0 defeat to Chelsea and banned for three matches for pushing Arjen Robben, who fell down. Coming to Liverpool has been great for me, but playing in the World Cup would be fantastic. I feel that I am in good form, having undergone stringent physical and mental training, he was quoted as saying. Some fans have said that Reina is a natural born goalkeeper and that it was no coincidence that when he was just eight years old, he was left dumbstruck when legendary Spain goalkeeper Andoni Zubizaretta handed him his gloves after a game. Standing at a statuesque 1.87m, Jos 'Pepe' Reina cuts a formidable figure between the posts, the kind of goalkeeper that makes difficult saves appear simple. The excitement of the World Cup is overwhelming and me and my team mates are looking forward to a great outing. We do not want to say anything about our chances for now, but are confident or a good performance, Reina had told the Spanish media. |
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