FRANK De BOER was, for once, conspicuous by his silence yesterday. The garrulous Barcelona defender, who has spent the past weeks taking every available opportunity to tell the world that Liverpool are a disgrace to football, was declining all interview requests. Ordinarily, a goalless draw, Barcelona's first in 60 Champions League matches, would have fuelled De Boer's half-baked theory, but Liverpool's performance in the Nou Camp on Wednesday may have given him some food for thought.
Despite a glaring lack of goals, Liverpool have proved themselves in recent months to be far more than just a boring, defensive team. The contrast between the game in the Nou Camp, in which they had the chances to win, and last season's mind-numbing Uefa Cup semi-final first leg on the same ground, was there for all to see. In keeping their quarter-final hopes alive, they proved a subtle point to their detractors.
The criticism from De Boer and others has, whether or not they care to admit, hurt Liverpool. Phil Thompson, acting manager in Gérard Houllier's absence, pinned a few of the Barcelona player's sneering remarks on the dressing-room wall on Wednesday night. “Those comments motivated us,” Abel Xavier, the defender, said. “Barcelona were wrong about us. It's a shame we couldn't pay them back by beating them, but I think we made a point.”
In Thompson's eyes, it was all about gaining respect, a theme of which he is particularly fond. “I don't think our players deserved what was said about them,” he said. “They're a great bunch of lads, great professionals, and they certainly didn't deserve that lack of respect that was shown.
“But hopefully they made a point or two to certain people.Certainly the Barcelona coaching staff were honourable and complimentary towards us afterwards, which was pleasing.”
However, Liverpool are now looking forward. Victory over AS Roma at Anfield next Tuesday will see them through — although a two-goal margin will be needed if Barcelona draw with Galatasaray in Istanbul — and Thompson would clearly relish the prospect of beating De Boer and company to a quarter-final place. “We have got great belief in ourselves and I think we can do it,” he said. “When these lads want something badly enough, they get it.”
RESULTS: Nov 20: Liverpool 1 Barcelona 3; Galatasaray 1 AS Roma 1. Dec 5: Barcelona 2 Galatasaray 2; AS Roma 0 Liverpool 0. Feb 20: Liverpool 0 Galatasaray 0; Barcelona 1 AS Roma 1. Feb 26: Galatasaray 1 Liverpool 1; AS Roma 3 Barcelona 0. Mar 13: Barcelona 0 Liverpool 0; AS Roma 1 Galatasaray 1.FIXTURES: Mar 19: Liverpool v AS Roma; Galatasaray v Barcelona.