When Pepe Reina Played In Midfield For Liverpool

We often wonder whether certain goalkeepers are good enough to be an outfield player but we kind of already have an answer for Pepe Reina.

That's because the Spaniard had a brief cameo in midfield while playing for Liverpool in a 2006 friendly defeat to German side Kaiserslautern.

When goalscorer Luis Garcia told Rafa Benitez he was suffering from neck pains with the scores poised at 2-2, after Fabio Aurelio had already limped off earlier in the game, it meant the Reds were down to nine men.

Robbie Fowler, already having been substituted off, was allowed back on to fill one spot before Reina tried his hand at playing in the middle of the park - pulling on the club's third shirt and getting a 15-minute run-out.

Not only that, Reina almost bagged himself a goal when his eyes lit up after Craig Bellamy got to the byline and cut the ball back to him. However, his contact was utterly dreadful and saw him blaze it high and wide with the sort of effort from a man who uses his hands more than his feet on the pitch.

Seeing Reina without his gloves and running around a headless chicken is both very weird but incredibly entertainment value at the same time.

The decision to give Reina a shot as an outfielder came just over a year after Stuart Pearce moved David James upfront in an attempt to secure UEFA Cup qualification on the final day of the 2004/05 Premier League season against Middlesbrough.

With just two minutes of normal time remaining and City needing a goal, 'Psycho' lived up to his name by replacing midfielder Claudio Reyna with Nicky Weaver and throwing England's No.1 up top to "unsettle" the Boro backline.

£5 million striker Jon Macken was sat on the bench but Pearce elected to bring in James, who already had an outfield 'James No.1' shirt ready.

The crazy call nearly paid off though, even if James spent most of his time as an outfielder chopping the opposition down. City were awarded a late penalty to win the game but Robbie Fowler saw his spot-kick saved by Mark Schwarzer.

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Topics: Liverpool, Football News, Aston Villa, Football

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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