Xabi Alonso

Cultured midfielder Xabi Alonso became one of the first players to join the Rafalution with a £10.5million move from his native Spain in August 2004.

The pass master is the son of former Barcelona star Miguel Angel 'Periko' Alonso and brother of Bolton midfielder Mikel.

Both sons came through the ranks at Real Sociedad, with Xabi making his senior breakthrough in a Copa del Rey match versus Logrones in December 1999.

From there, he was loaned to Spanish minnows SD Eibar, only to be called back when Kop legend John Toshack took the reins at Estadio Anoeta.

Alonso swiftly developed into a defensive midfielder with an eye for a pass few of his contemporaries could spot.

It came as no surprise when, in April 2003 and aged just 21, he earned his first Spain cap against Ecuador. A year later he travelled to the European Championships in Holland and Belgium, though featured in just one of his country's three group games.

His arrival at Anfield followed hot on the heels of the appointment of Rafa Benitez, who viewed his countryman as the man to set the tempo in a new-look Liverpool.

Alonso made his debut at Bolton's Reebok Stadium on August 29, 2004. Two months later he put in a dazzling performance against Fulham at Craven Cottage which had Kopites purring. With the Reds 2-0 down at half-time, Benitez threw on his new boy. The midfielder duly inspired a miraculous comeback, with the game ending 2-4.

His first season in English football was interrupted by a broken ankle following a tackle from Chelsea's Frank Lampard on New Year's Day. After three months out, he returned in the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Juventus. Alonso played 90 minutes as the Reds held the Italians to a goalless draw and thus progressed to the semis.

Next up were Chelsea, though a wrongly-awarded yellow card following a brush with Eidur Gudjohnsen meant the midfield anchorman missed the second leg.

Never mind, his teammates got the job done, and Alonso would play a pivotal role in Istanbul when the club won its fifth European Cup. It was he who scored Liverpool's third and equalising goal on 59 minutes, knocking in the rebound from his own missed penalty.

The Spaniard's second season in England was perhaps most notable for his performance against Luton Town in the third round of the FA Cup. With the Reds 3-1 down early in the second half, he scored two corkers, including a 65-yard punt from inside his own half.

Reports afterwards revealed the strike won one lucky fan £25,000. Spookily, the gent had placed £200 on the Reds number 14 scoring from his own half during the 2005-06 season.

Liverpool went on to win the FA Cup in Cardiff four months later, with Alonso playing 66 minutes of the final against West Ham.

From there, the popular Spaniard was selected for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where he scored his first international goal in a group match against Ukraine.

Alonso returned to Melwood following a second-round defeat to France to prepare for what would turn out to be another memorable season.

Not only did he play in his second European Cup final, he also scored another goal from inside his own half in a match against Newcastle United. Remarkably, it was his first Liverpool strike since the almost identical effort against Luton, and he remains the only modern player to score consecutive club goals from beyond the half-way line.

In June 2007 Alonso penned a new five-year deal, though sadly much of the following campaign was spent on the sidelines with a metatarsal injury.

Fortunately for Spain, he was back in time for Euro 2008 - and the tournament provided another career high as he and his countrymen defeated Germany in the final. Though not always in the starting XI, Alonso featured three times from the bench and wore the captain's armband in the final group game against Greece.

Alvaro Arbeloa

Versatile defender Alvaro Arbeloa was brought to Anfield in January 2007.

The Spaniard started out at Real Zaragoza before being lured by Real Madrid aged 16.

The Spanish capital was where he first worked with Rafa Benitez, who was then youth team coach at the Bernabeu.

Arbeloa made his full debut for Madrid against Real Betis in October 2004, but managed just one further appearance in the next two years.

By July 2006, the time had come to move on. His destination was northern Spain and Deportivo La Coruna.

Little did he know, however, that within six months he'd be on his way to the Premiership.

It took just 21 appearances at Depor to convince Benitez that Arbeloa was the man to challenge Steve Finnan for the right-back slot at Anfield.

The defender, who represented Spain at every youth level, made his Reds debut as a substitute against Newcastle on February 10.

This was followed by a first start in the Nou Camp, where Arbeloa was deployed as a left-back. It proved a tactical masterstroke on the part of Benitez as the new boy excelled, thwarting Barca starlet Lionel Messi and helping the Reds return home with an unlikely 2-1 lead. The trick was repeated two weeks later and Liverpool were through to the quarter-finals of the European Cup.

The full-back featured 14 times in his first six months on Merseyside, scoring once against Reading and coming on as a late sub in the Champions League final.

Arbeloa's club form finally brought international recognition in March 2008 when he came on with 15 minutes to go as Spain recorded a friendly victory over world champions Italy. Three months later he was part of the squad which triumphed in Euro 2008, though started just one game.

Source: liverpoolfc.tv

Ian Rush (Legend)

Standing supreme as Liverpool's all-time scoring king the lean Welshman was one of the deadliest strikers in football history, blending superb anticipation with lethal finishing. His attack partnership with Kenny Dalglish is widely rated the best ever in British football.

Rush became Britain's most expensive teenager when Bob Paisley paid £300,000 to sign him from Chester in 1980. During his two-part Anfield career, split by a season with Juventus in 1987-88 when he left and returned for a combined £6 million, Rush scored 346 goals in 660 senior outings, although in the League only he was 16 goals short of Roger Hunt's club record 245.

It was about the only one to elude him. Rush's haul of 44 FA Cup goals (39 of them for Liverpool) is a 20th century record while his five-goal total in FA Cup Finals (two in 1986 and 1989 and one in 1992 all on winning Liverpool sides) is an all-time best by an individual. Rush shares with Geoff Hurst the League Cup scoring record of 49 and was the first player to win that competition five times, completing his nap hand as Liverpool captain against Bolton in 1995. He scored 10 times in 18 Wembley outings for the club.

He also collected five Championship medals, one European Cup and was awarded the MBE. Rush scored an all-time Mersey derby record of 25 goals against Everton, won Europe's Golden Boot with 32 League goals in 1984 when he was also double Footballer of the Year and captained Wales, for whom he scored a record 28 goals in 73 games. He joined Leeds in 1996 and later played for Newcastle, Wrexham and Sydney Olympic.

Robbie Fowler (Legend)

Robbie Fowler was born on April 9th 1975 and was brought up on the Toxteth estate in Liverpool, England. As a youngster he supported Everton. While at Nugent Secondary school he was selected to play for Liverpool Schools Under-14's where he was spotted by Jim Aspinall, a scout from Liverpool Football Club. Two Years later he signed on as a YTS trainee and on April 9th 1992, on his 17th birthday, Fowler signed professional forms. Fowler helped England Under-18's win the European Championship in the summer of 1993. Robbie Fowler was given his professional debut for Liverpool by Greame Souness against Fulham in the League Cup in September 1993. Fowler scored in a 3-1 win and in the second leg two weeks later scored all five of Liverpool's goals in a 5-0 win, becoming only the fourth player in Liverpool's history to score five goals in a senior fixture. In only his fifth league game Fowler scored his first Premiership hat-trick against Southampton. 12 goals in his first 13 games for Liverpool led to Fowler making his England Under-21 debut against San Marino in November 1993, and he scored the opening goal after 3 minutes. By the end of the 1993/94 season Fowler had scored 18 goals in a brilliant debut season, finishing as Liverpool's leading goalscorer despite missing two months with a hairline fracture on his ankle.

Pepe Reina

Jose Manuel Reina is one of the world's top stoppers with an uncanny knack of saving penalties.

He became the latest Spaniard to join the Rafalution in July 2005 and has already smashed a collection of Anfield records.

The bald-headed goalie ousted Jerzy Dudek as first choice despite the Pole's heroics in Istanbul just two months earlier.

Reina, who goes by the nickname Pepe, certainly had the pedigree having come through the ranks at Barcelona.

Having helped lead his country to European Under-16 Championships glory, he made his Nou Camp debut aged just 18.

The charismatic 'keeper played 33 games for the Catalan giants in 2000-01, including two against Liverpool in the UEFA Cup semi-final.

He would later reveal how the reception he received from the Kop during the second leg was key in his decision to join the Reds.

Reina, who is noted for his superb distribution, played just 11 times during the 2001-02 season, prompting a loan move to Villarreal. The transfer was made permanent in May 2004.

The agile stopper helped Villarreal secure a Champions League spot in 2004-05 season, saving an incredible seven out of nine penalty kicks. It was to be his final deed for the club.

On arriving in Merseyside, the new boy was labelled "the best goalkeeper in Spain" by Rafa Benitez.

Immediately installed as number one at Anfield, his debut came in a Champions League qualifier on July 13, 2005 against TNS. A month later he won his first Spain cap in a 2-0 victory over Uruguay.

What a year it was turning out to be for the young 'keeper. And it was to get even better on December 15 when he and his teammates kept a club record 11th successive clean sheet against Deportivo Saprissa in the World Club Championships.

Reina's first season ended with an FA Cup final against West Ham, and though he made a number of errors in normal time, his habit of saving spot kicks once again made him a hero. Three out of four of West Ham's penalties were blocked and the Cup was heading to Anfield for the seventh time.

Spain coach Luis Aragones took the Liverpool man to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, though Real Madrid's Iker Casillas and Valencia's Santiago Canizares prevented him playing any part.

Back on Merseyside, Reina would soon destroy another club record. His shut out against Blackburn in April 2007 was his 28th in his first 50 league games - three more than Kop legend Ray Clemence.

But there was no time to bask in his own glory, for just around the corner laid a Champions League semi-final against Chelsea. Benitez had his man between the sticks to thank when the Reds returned from the first leg at Stamford Bridge with just a one-goal deficit. The tie ultimately went to penalties, and it was no surprise when Liverpool prevailed. It was later revealed that while Reina was thwarting Arjen Robben and Geremi, thieves were ransacking his home.

Three weeks later in Athens he became only the third player to follow in his father's footsteps by appearing in a European Cup final. Unfortunately, like former Atletico Madrid stopper Miguel Reina Santos, he was on the losing side.

In June 2007, Reina signed a new deal five-year deal at Liverpool.

The season that followed ended without a trophy for the Reds, though our custodian had the personal honour of winning the Golden Glove award for most clean sheets in the Premier League for the third successive year.

Source: liverpoolfc.tv

Fabio Aurelio

Left-back Fabio Aurelio became the first Brazilian to sign for Liverpool in July 2007.

The number 12 has immense technical ability but his Anfield career has so far been blighted by injury.

Aurelio came through the ranks at Sao Paulo, making his first-team debut in 1997.

He represented Brazil at under-17, under-20 and under-21 level, as well as at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

The defender moved to Spanish side Valencia in 2000, working under manager Hector Cuper for a year until Rafa Benitez took the reins.

The 2001-02 season saw Aurelio help Valencia win their first title in 31 years.

From there he established himself as one of La Liga's best left-backs, bagging 10 goals during the 2002-03 campaign.

The following year brought another league title as well as the UEFA Cup, though a broken leg meant the Brazilian defender managed just two games.

Having fulfilled his six-year contract at the Mestalla, Aurelio joined Liverpool on a Bosman free in July 2007.

He made his debut as a substitute in the Community Shield victory over Chelsea on August 13, though a series of injuries would restrict him to 25 games in his first year on Merseyside.

The full-back's season was ended prematurely when he ruptured his Achilles' tendon during a Champions League quarter-final victory over PSV.

After five frustrating months on the sidelines, Aurelio made his comeback as a second-half substitute when Liverpool opened their 2007-08 European campaign in Porto.

A string of impressive performances followed until injury once again meant he saw out the campaign in the treatment room.

Source: liverpoolfc.tv

Javier Mascherano

Midfield enforcer Javier Mascherano signed from West Ham in February 2007.

Since then his dynamic style has established him as a Kop favourite and one of the first names on Rafa Benitez's teamsheet.

The Argentinean has quite a pedigree having come through the ranks at South American giants River Plate. Such was his potential that he earned his first international call-up before kicking a ball for his club.

Having already represented his country in the FIFA Under-17 Championships, Mascherano made his senior debut against Uruguay in July 2003.

The following summer saw him compete in the Copa America. Argentina lost the final to Brazil on penalties but Mascherano was voted player of the tournament by his teammates. A month later he and his countrymen won Olympic gold in Athens.

By this stage, the youngster had accrued quite a fan club, including one of the greatest players of all time. Diego Maradona described him as "a monster of a player destined for great things."

Mascherano joined Brazilian club Corinthians in July 2005, helping them to win the Campeonato Brasileiro in his first season.

From there he travelled to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where his performances led to links with several of Europe's top clubs.

It was West Ham who eventually clinched Mascherano's signature alongside compatriot Carlos Tevez in August 2006, though his time in east London was troubled at best.

After featuring just seven times in six months, he jumped at the opportunity to try his luck on Merseyside.

Despite the presence of Momo Sissoko, Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso, the new boy quickly established himself as a regular in the Liverpool midfield.

Mascherano made his debut against Sheffield United on February 24, 2007 and three months later won fans' man of the match for his performance in the Champions League final.

While goals are not his forte, he did bag two in the summer of 2007 to help Argentina win the Copa America. His first for Liverpool arrived against Reading in March 2008.

What he lacks in height, he makes up for in power, and the sight of our number 20 thundering across the field to recover possession is as familiar to the Kop as a Fernando Torres goal or a last-ditch tackle from Jamie Carragher.

Source: Liverpoolfc.tv