‘I couldn’t cope’ – former Liverpool man explains why he flopped at Anfield
Former Liverpool striker Andriy Voronin has spilt the beans on why he failed at the club, blaming the Scouse accent, amongst other things, for his disappointing spell in England.
Voronin joined the Reds in 2007 on a free transfer from Bayer Leverkusen and scored six goals in 40 appearances for the Merseyside club.
The Ukrainian spent a season on loan at Hertha Berlin in 2008-09 before being allowed to join Dynamo Moscow in January 2010.
Baggies could boing-boing their way absolutely nowhere
Speaking to Goal, Voronin said that his issues on the pitch were down to his struggles with living in England.
“Scouse. I understood almost nothing, my English wasn’t good anyway. When Carragher and Gerrard talked, I asked them to repeat it in English.
“Liverpool didn’t suit me as a city overall, even though it has a lot of history to offer, such as the Beatles. My father is a big fan of the band.
“When I told him I had signed with Liverpool, he started crying.
“I also couldn’t cope with the weather and the rhythm of the games without a winter break. I was just travelling and playing, which was very exhausting.”
Despite his struggles understanding Carragher’s accent, the ex-Ukraine international had no doubt about his abilities as a footballer when asked about the toughest defenders he has faced.
“Carragher, among others,” he said.
“I hated playing against him in training. I would also include Fabio Cannavaro, a great player and a great guy. Playing against Roberto Carlos was a disaster.”
Elsewhere, it has been reported that Liverpool are going to test the resolve of Leicester City as they step up their pursuit of Youri Tielemans.
The Reds have reportedly made a replacement for outgoing midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum a priority after he agreed to join Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month.
The Reds have been linked with a number of players, including Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini, with speculation they are about to trigger his €30m release clause in his contract.
But now the Daily Mirror reckon Leicester midfielder Tielemans, who is on international duty with Belgium at Euro 2020, is still a target for Klopp and his transfer team.
The Reds now look set to get a head start on Manchester United and Juventus, who are ‘also keeping tabs on the situation’.
However, Leicester aren’t giving up without a fight and they will ‘pull out all the stops to tie down’ Tielemans to a new contract at the King Power Stadium.
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