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Former Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has named an unlikely player as among the best he has ever managed.
The 70-year-old, who oversaw two spells at the helm of the club, managed legends like Steven Gerrard and Alan Shearer, but reserved special praise for Lucas Leiva. The Brazilian plied his trade at Anfield for ten years after joining from local side Gremio in 2007, but only 18 of that period came under Dalglish.
Yet the former Liverpool and Celtic forward has picked Leiva as one of the best players he has worked with, largely for the qualities the player brought off the pitch.
Speaking on the Kenn 7 Official Podcast on YouTube, he said:
“It depends how you define best; it doesn’t necessarily have to be the best player; people make huge contributions in many ways that the punter doesn’t get to see."
Liverpool midfielder was 'brilliant', says former coach
Despite spending a decade at Anfield, during which he made 346 appearances in all competitions, Leiva was among the less heralded players.
His only trophy at the club was the League Cup in 2012, when Dalglish, coincidentally, was the Liverpool manager. Dalglish feels the 35-year-old was crucial in keeping the side together off the pitch, saying:
“You see what they can do on the pitch, Steven (Gerrard), Luis (Suarez), Alan Shearer you mention the names, and that’s the names that come to your mind because they were brilliant and their ability to play football was fantastic ,and their honesty and integrity in the games they played in were great as well and the contribution they gave to the team, but you look at Lucas Leiva.
“By the way, Lucas was brilliant, and you look what goes on in the dressing room, and you need a really good dressing room to be led by really strong people in there, and they’re not always the best players”.
Leiva joined Lazio in 2017 for £5 million, and remains a key figure for the Serie A outfit. He was understandably delighted to see Dalglish wax lyrical about him, and took to Twitter to share his reaction:
