Pepe Reina’s performances and figures stand him out as one of the best Liverpool goalkeepers of the modern era.
The Spaniard was brought in from Villarreal in July 2005 to demote a ’keeper who had won the Champions League a few weeks earlier – Jerzy Dudek – to the bench.
But supporters would soon learn why Rafael Benitez made that bold decision.
Reina was a master with the gloves and, in a rarity for that era, superb with the ball at his feet; so much so that he once played as a midfielder for the Reds in a pre-season friendly.
During his debut season at Anfield, Reina and those players in front of him kept a club-record 11 clean sheets in a row.
That term ended with victory in the FA Cup final against West Ham United, with the No.25 displaying his penalty-saving brilliance three times in the shootout win.
His first 50 games in the league had seen him produce 28 clean sheets – three more than Ray Clemence. Reina also beat the Liverpool great to a half-century of shutouts in all competitions, again by three games.
He was the recipient of the Premier League Golden Glove award for three consecutive seasons from 2005-06 to 2007-08.
Reina also starred in Europe and helped Benitez’s team reach the European Cup final in 2007, becoming just the third player to follow their father in appearing in the competition’s showpiece.
Liverpool narrowly missed out on the Premier League title in 2008-09 – but not for the want of trying as Reina matched his own club record by posting 20 clean sheets in the division.
Such was his quality and reliability, Reina’s position in goal was never threatened in the years that followed and he was voted Player of the Season in 2010.
