All Rafa Benitez 45 signings for Liverpool ranked!
By David Gate
Number 39: Philipp Degen
When the Swiss right back arrived in 2008 it was considered to be a bit of a coup. He came of a free from Borussia Dortmund and came to challenge Alvaro Arbeloa who had not overwhelmed in his first two seasons.
Injuries conspired to delay the growth of his Liverpool career. During his debut he collided with Hyypia to suffer broken ribs and a punctured lung. That kept him out for two months only for him to break his metatarsal on his return. That injury would keep him out for the rest of the season.
While he was out Liverpool signed Glen Johnson from Portsmouth for £19 million; the record fee for a Liverpool defender at the time. There was no way he was going to displace the superior Johnson.
His Reds career was effectively over after Hodgson arrived and he went on loan to Stuttgart for the season before being released. He joined his former youth club Basel. @davidgatesports
Number 38: Mark Gonzalez
Mark Gonzalez was meant to be the missing piece of the Liverpool midfield. Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard were one of the best midfield duos in Europe and Luis Garcia was manning the right flank with craft and guile. The speed and trickery of Gonzalez was going to complete the set.
After a drawn out process of obtaining a work visa he finally made his debut in 2006, scoring against Maccabi Haifa from the bench. His first start for the Reds was against Spurs in the Premier League, another game he scored in.
Those two goals set the Liverpool fans abuzz with his potential. Unfortunately that was two-thirds of his eventual tally for the club. He made a host of appearances that season but never looked a threat after his promising start.
Benitez decided to cut the losses by selling him at the end of his first season to Real Betis. @davidgatesports