The Premier League can be an unforgiving division, as the level of competition in England has always been quite high. Players who come in from abroad know this more than anyone else. It’s quite a difficult league to get adjusted to, as it requires incredible pace and strength in equal if not similar levels. Many players have found it hard to acclimatise to the rigours of the Premier League.
First of all, not every player can cut it out in the Premier League. The players’ skill levels and understanding of the game of football need to be at an all-time-high if they desire to make the move to English football’s top tier league. Liverpool are a club that have always invested heavily on foreign-based players and here are 3 such top players who hit the ground running soon after their arrival –
Fernando Torres
After impressing for a few years at his hometown club and even captaining them, Fernando Torres moved to Liverpool in 2007 at the age of 23. He soon began to build a reputation for himself as a goal getting striker of extraordinary proportions. He scored on his Anfield debut, in a 1-1 draw against Chelsea. He ended his debut campaign with 24 league strikes and 33 in all competitions.
Torres was unstoppable at Anfield, as he even equalled Roger Hunt’s feat of scoring in 8 consecutive home league games. He went on to serve the Merseyside club for quite some time, before opting to move to Chelsea in 2011. His Merseyside fairytale didn’t repeat itself at Stamford Bridge, to say the least, and he was eventually shipped out to Milan on loan, where he again struggled. He has ironically found a home again at Atletico Madrid, where he wrecks havoc on La Liga defences with French international Antoine Griezzmann.
Patrik Berger
Liverpool have always loved bringing in players who perform well at major tournaments. In the summer of ’96 after a string of good performances in the Euros, Berger was signed from Dortmund. The Czech Republican had spent only one year in Germany before moving to England, where he had quite a dynamic start.
After not starting a game until September of that year, he replaced Stan Collymore as a half-time substitute against Leicester with the scored tied. His appearance off the bench paid dividends as he scored 2 goals in a 3-0 win and followed that up with another brace against Chelsea in a 5-1 win at Anfield. The winger ended that season well and continued to do well for the Merseyside club until his influence soon began to wear out. He was moved onto Portsmouth, from where he went to Aston Villa and eventually returned to Sparta Prague and finished his career there.
Luis Suarez
Liverpool were 12th in the league when this Uruguayan arrived from Ajax for a fee of £22.8 million in January 2011. Little did anyone know that the South American striker, who enjoyed a prolific spell in Netherlands, would become the player he is today. He was brought in following Fernando Torres’ sale to Chelsea and was expected to replace the Spanish talisman. He did not disappoint in his partial debut season in England, as he scored 4 goals in 13 appearances and most importantly took Liverpool from 12th in the table to 6th at the end of the campaign
He eventually went on to establish himself as not only the league’s but also one of the world’s best forwards during his time at Liverpool, as he scored 82 goals in 133 appearances. Suarez was instrumental in Liverpool’s 2012/13 season when they came agonisingly close to winning the league. Such form saw interest seeping in from Barcelona and obviously the front man could not resist such a big move. He is now part of a fearsome attacking trio that also includes Neymar and Lionel Messi.