Rafael Benitez recently gave some public praise to his club's #1, Jose "Pepe" Reina, but that wasn't the end. Even in reference to a very notable mistake by Reina last season against Everton the compliments were flowing:
"Pepe will remember this mistake as important, so for him it was a test and he showed that he can come through difficult situations and be really good. He has a lot of character. One of the keys to being a top professional and a top-class player is to be able to show character in difficult situations. If you are always playing well and without difficulties you cannot test the character of the player. Pepe made some mistakes but after this he showed quality and character. Also, you can see when he has been under pressure in finals and other big games that he is a player with a very good mentality."
These were Benitez's words to Liverpool's official website, and they were uttered to once again confirm the many talents of Reina. If you think back I'm sure that you can remember many goalkeepers who's confidence and growth were ruined by single mistakes. Even lacking the words of Benitez, I'm certain that everyone can realize that Reina is not one of those cases. Indeed, the progress post-error that Reina has shown is symptomatic of great goalkeeping, because great goalkeeping is about growth, about experience and resilience. Do you remember how he followed up that error at Goodison Park? He finished the season winning his second consecutive Barclay's Golden Glove. Basically, he recovered from ridicule by claiming praise as the best in the league.
Benitez also revealed that he has been a long time admirer of Reina. All the way back to when they were both in Spain:
"The first time I saw him play he was still at Barcelona and I was manager of Tenerife. We were looking for a new keeper and we were playing a tournament in Lanzarote which Barcelona were also involved in. On this occasion Pepe was going through his warm-up with Victor Valdes and I was stood behind him watching. It was clear just from watching him in a warm-up that he was a very good keeper and although I did not manage to sign him for Tenerife I did sign him for Liverpool a few years later."I'm not certain one can tell how great a goalkeeper can be from watching a warm-up, but I am certain Reina's performances at Villarreal reminded Benitez of the warm-up he saw, and made him certain that he wanted to bring Reina to Liverpool. However, regardless of whether or not Benitez has the talent to find great goalkeepers by watching warm-ups, I don't think anyone can argue that Reina's arrival at Liverpool has been mutually beneficial.
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