'A bit of a farce' - Twitter reacts to Gerrard, Carragher return for Liverpool-Sydney FC friendly

Michael Huguenin

'A bit of a farce' - Twitter reacts to Gerrard, Carragher return for Liverpool-Sydney FC friendly image

Liverpool have announced that club legends Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Steve McManaman and Daniel Agger will be involved in May's friendly with A-League premiers Sydney FC but not everyone is pleased.

While the majority of Liverpool fans in Australia will jump at the chance to watch Gerrard and Carragher - two members of the Reds' 2005 Champions League-winning side - run around again, there are some questioning whether including past players will dilute the quality of the contest.

Gerrard to play for Liverpool again

Liverpool claimed the "unique concept" is due to their 125th anniversary, as the friendly at ANZ Stadium will be the closest match to the club's birthday on June 3.

No one expects post-season friendlies to be full-blooded matches but some fans and pundits in Australia couldn't resist criticising the decision on Twitter.

Many of them called on Sydney to bring back a number of their ex-players.

 

 

Gerrard and Carragher were part of a Liverpool Legends side that played a team of past Socceroos in Sydney in January 2016, which the Reds won 4-0.

That match led to Central Coast Mariners to bring former Liverpool forward Luis Garcia out of retirement, with the veteran Spaniard playing 10 games in the A-League in the second half of the 2015-16 campaign.

Luis Garcia joins Central Coast Mariners

Carragher, 39, hasn't played a competitive match since 2013, while 36-year-old Gerrard officially hung up his boots in November 2016 after two seasons with LA Galaxy.

Agger, 32, also retired last year after two seasons with Brondby in his native Denmark, while 45-year-old McManaman last played in 2005 for Manchester City.

Unsurprisingly, however, plenty Australians of a Reds persuasion were thrilled they will have an opportunity to watch the quartet in action with Jurgen Klopp's current squad.

 

 

Michael Huguenin