The 2009–10 season was Liverpool's 118th season since their foundation, and their 48th consecutive year in the top flight. They were sponsored for an eighteenth and final season by Carlsberg. Rafael Benítez was the club's manager, this being his sixth and final season in charge.
Having finished second in the previous league campaign, Liverpool qualified automatically for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time since the 2002–03 season. This season Liverpool made major moves in the transfer market, selling players such as Xabi Alonso and the ageing Sami Hyypiä, while signing Alberto Aquilani from Roma and Glen Johnson from Portsmouth.
After a season of poor results and inconsistent play, as well as injuries to main striker Fernando Torres, Liverpool finished 7th in the Premier League, their lowest finish in 11 years, and failed to progress beyond round 4 of either domestic cup. They were eliminated from the League Cup at the hands of Arsenal in the Fourth round in a 2–1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium on 26 October. They were then knocked out of the FA Cup on 13 January. After a 1–1 draw with Championship team Reading at the Madejski Stadium in the Third round, Liverpool lost the replay at Anfield 2–1 after extra time.
In addition to a poor domestic campaign, Liverpool failed to qualify for the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League, finishing third in their group and entering the UEFA Europa League Round of 32; Liverpool were knocked out in the semi-finals by eventual winners Atlético Madrid. They lost the first leg at the Vicente Calderón Stadium 1–0, and despite forcing extra time in the second leg, and then going on to win 2–1, they were eliminated on the away goals rule.
A week after the end of the Premier League season, Liverpool announced they had terminated Rafael Benítez's contract by mutual consent.
Pre-season Liverpool confirmed that long-serving centre-back Sami Hyypiä would be leaving the club after 10 years to join German club Bayer Leverkusen.SAMI AGREES BAYER LEVERKUSEN MOVE Paul Eaton, 4 May 2009, Retrieved on 17 May 2009 Liverpool also confirmed that José Segura, the ex-Olympiacos manager, would be joining the club as Academy technical manager, starting on 1 June. Paul Hassall, 16 May 2009, Retrieved 17 May 2009
Liverpool announced their pre-season programme on 6 May 2009, including a tour of Asia and a friendly against Espanyol, as part of a clause of the deal that brought Albert Riera to the club. Liverpool started their pre-season campaign against St. Gallen in Switzerland on 15 July, which ended 0–0, a game in which Rafael Benítez gave playing time to most of his players. Glen Johnson made his debut for Liverpool and earned himself the Fans Man of the Match award from Liverpool F.C. TV. They played their second encounter with Rapid Wien at the Ernst Happel Stadium on 19 July, which Liverpool lost 1–0 from a goal from midfielder Steffen Hofmann. The Asian tour began with a match against Thailand on 22 July, which ended 1–1, with Liverpool's early goal coming from Ryan Babel and the Thai's from substitute Sutee Suksomkit. This was followed by a trip to Kallang to play Singapore, a game which Liverpool won 5–0 with goals from Andriy Voronin, Albert Riera, two by Krisztián Németh and Fernando Torres. They then played Espanyol on 2 August, where they suffered a heavy 3–0 defeat thanks to two goals from Ben Sahar and one from Luis García. They then enjoyed their first win of the campaign, against Lyn Oslo on 5 August, winning won 2–0 with goals from Voronin and David Ngog. They ended the pre-season with a 1–2 loss against Atlético Madrid on 8 August at Anfield. Goals from Sergio Agüero and Diego Forlán put the Spaniards 0–2 up until Lucas pulled one back late on for the Reds.
Team kit The team kit for the 2009–10 season was produced by Adidas. The home kit remained the same as the previous season. The away kit was black with gold trim. The third kit changed in August 2009 to a new white kit. It was announced that longtime sponsor Carlsberg would be leaving the club after 18 years to be replaced by British bank Standard Chartered, who commenced a four-year £80 million deal with the club in May 2010.
Technical staff
NameRole Rafael BenítezManager Sammy LeeAssistant manager Mauricio PellegrinoFirst team coach Dave McDonoughHead of Technical Analysis Kenny DalglishAcademy Development Officer/Club Ambassador José SeguraAcademy Technical Manager Paco de MiguelFitness Coach Eduardo Parra García Liverpoolfc.tv, 2 July 2009, Retrieved on 1 August 2014Fitness coach Xavi ValeroGoalkeeping coach John McMahonReserve Team Manager Gonzalo RodríguezReserve Team Fitness coach John AchterbergReserve Team Goalkeeping Coach
NameRole Eduardo MaciaChief scout Mike McGlynnAssistant Chief scout Mark WallerClub doctor Rob PriceSenior physiotherapist Chris MorganPhysiotherapist Matt KonopinskiPhysiotherapist Iván OrtegaSports Therapist Félix Fernández LedesmaAssistant Sports Therapist Paul SmallMasseur Graham CarterKit Manager
First-team squad
No. Name Nationality Position Date of birth (age) Signed From Goalkeepers 1 Diego Cavalieri GK Palmeiras 25 Pepe Reina GK Villarreal Defenders 2 Glen Johnson RB Portsmouth 5 Daniel Agger CB Brøndby 12 Fábio Aurélio LB Valencia 16 Sotirios Kyrgiakos CB AEK Athens 22 Emiliano Insúa LB Boca Juniors 23 Jamie Carragher CB The Academy 27 Philipp Degen RB Borussia Dortmund 34 Martin Kelly RB/CB The Academy 37 Martin Škrtel CB Zenit Saint Petersburg 40 Daniel Ayala CB Sevilla Midfielders 4 Alberto Aquilani CM Roma 8 Steven Gerrard CM/AM The Academy 11 Albert Riera LW Espanyol 15 Yossi Benayoun RW West Ham United 17 Maxi Rodríguez RW/LW Atlético Madrid 19 Ryan Babel LW Ajax 20 Javier Mascherano DM West Ham United 21 Lucas DM/CM Grêmio 28 Damien Plessis DM Lyon 31 Nabil El Zhar RW Saint-Étienne Strikers 9 Fernando Torres ST Atlético Madrid 18 Dirk Kuyt FW Feyenoord 24 David Ngog ST Paris Saint-Germain 39 Nathan Eccleston ST The Academy 47 Dani Pacheco ST The Academy As of 9 May 2010.
Squad statistics
|colspan="17"|Players sold or loaned out after the start of the season:
Reserve squad Updated 23 March 2010 Squad Numbers refer to players' first team squad number (for season 2009–10), where applicable. Reserve and youth games are 1–11. See Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy
Transfers
In First Team
Reserves and Academy
Out First Team
Reserves and Academy
Loaned in #PosPlayerFromStartEnd MF Zsolt Pölöskei MTK Hungária 01-07-2009 30-06-2010 FW Krisztián Adorján MTK Hungária 01-08-2009 30-06-2010 FW Patrik Poór MTK Hungária 01-08-2009 30-06-2010
Loaned out #PosPlayerToStartEnd26 MF Jay Spearing Leicester City 23-03-2010 30-05-201029 FW Krisztián Németh AEK Athens 21-08-2009 30-06-201030 GK Charles Itandje Kavala 31-08-2009 30-06-201032 DF Stephen Darby Swindon Town 12-03-2010 31-05-201035 MF Ryan Flynn Falkirk 10-07-2009 14-09-200938 DF Robbie Threlfall Northampton Town 21-08-2009 19-09-200938 DF Robbie Threlfall Bradford City 22-02-2010 22-03-201038 DF Robbie Threlfall Bradford City 22-03-2010 30-05-201039 MF Nathan Eccleston Huddersfield Town 28-01-2010 08-05-201042 GK Péter Gulácsi Tranmere Rovers 16-04-2010 23-04-201042 GK Péter Gulácsi Tranmere Rovers 23-04-2010 30-04-201042 GK Péter Gulácsi Tranmere Rovers 01-05-2010 08-05-201043 GK Dean Bouzanis Accrington Stanley 26-11-2009 02-01-201043 GK Dean Bouzanis Accrington Stanley 03-01-2010 30-01-201043 GK Dean Bouzanis Accrington Stanley 01-02-2010 30-05-201044 GK David Martin Tranmere Rovers 16-10-2009 16-11-200944 GK David Martin Leeds United 26-11-2009 28-12-200944 GK David Martin Leeds United 29-12-2009 30-01-201044 GK David Martin Leeds United 01-02-2010 10-02-201044 GK David Martin Derby County 12-03-2010 10-04-201045 MF Mikel San José Athletic Bilbao 15-08-2009 30-06-2010 GK Nikolay Mihaylov Twente 01-07-2008 30-06-2010 FW András Simon Córdoba 21-08-2009 30-06-2010 MF Vincent Weijl Helmond Sport 30-01-2010 30-06-2010
Match results
Pre-season FriendliesKick OffOpponentsH / AResultScorersRefereeAttendanceReport2009-07-15 20:00 St. GallenA 0–0 – Cyril Zimmermann20,000MR2009-07-19 19:15 Rapid WienA 0–1 – Gerhard Grubelnik50,000MR2009-07-22 20:00 ThailandA1–1Babel 6'55,000 MR2009-07-26 20:00 SingaporeA 5–0Voronin 45', Riera 54', Németh 73', 83', Torres 80' Abdul Malik Bashir55,000 MR2009-08-02 21:00 EspanyolA 0–3-40,000 MR2009-08-05 19:00 Lyn OsloA 2–0Voronin 44', Ngog 59' MR2009-08-08 15:00 Atlético MadridH 1–2Lucas 82' Phil Dowd44,102 MR
Premier League August The fixtures for the 2009–10 Premier League season were announced on 17 June, with Liverpool being handed an away fixture to Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs took the lead a minute before half time when left back Benoît Assou-Ekotto scored from 30 yards, after Tom Huddlestone's free kick had been blocked. Liverpool showed more urgency after half time, and were awarded a penalty on 55 minutes when Glen Johnson's run was ended by keeper Heurelho Gomes' challenge. Steven Gerrard converted the penalty to equalise for Liverpool. However, Tottenham regained the lead on 64 minutes when Cameroonian centre-half Sébastien Bassong headed home a Luka Modrić free kick. Liverpool seemed unable to respond, and fashioned few chances. They had a penalty appeal turned down on 84 minutes when Andriy Voronin seemed to be tripped by Assou-Ekotto in the box, but Spurs hung on for a 2–1 win. Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez later criticised referee Phil Dowd for his failure to award Liverpool a penalty, and was later charged with improper conduct by the FA.
Liverpool's first home match was against Stoke City four days later. Liverpool took the lead after five minutes when Fernando Torres swept home Steven Gerrard's cross. The lead was doubled moments before half time when Glen Johnson acrobatically finished after Dirk Kuyt's header had been blocked off the line. Good work from Gerrard on the right saw Kuyt make it 3–0 five minutes from time, before Frenchman David Ngog headed a fourth in stoppage time.
Liverpool suffered their first home league defeat since a 0–1 loss to Manchester United on 16 December 2007 against Aston Villa the following Monday. The away side took the lead when Lucas inadvertently headed into his own net from an Ashley Young cross on 33 minutes. Villa doubled their lead in first half injury time when Curtis Davies headed home from a corner. Liverpool did manage to pull one back through Fernando Torres, but Gerrard's poorly timed tackle on Nigel Reo-Coker led to a penalty, which Ashley Young converted to consign Liverpool to a 3–1 defeat. Manager Rafael Benítez criticised his senior players for the defeat and demanded a better performance for the next match, away at Bolton Wanderers.
At the Reebok Stadium, Liverpool had to twice come back from behind against Bolton. They took the lead on 33 minutes when poor marking from a corner saw Kevin Davies bundle the ball home from close range. Glen Johnson equalised four minutes before the break when a Liverpool corner was not properly cleared, and he stroked home left-footed from twenty yards. Bolton regained the lead two minutes after the break when Davies headed down Jussi Jääskeläinen's long punt for Tamir Cohen to smash home. The turning point of the game was Sean Davis' sending off on 53 minutes for a second bookable offence. Liverpool equalised just a few minutes later when Fernando Torres finished tidily following good work from Dirk Kuyt. Liverpool continued to press and finally got the winner on 83 minutes, when Torres' knockdown from a Glen Johnson was met by a shot from Gerrard, who had earlier hit the bar. Gerrard later felt he "owed" the performance after poor performances in the defeats to 'Spurs and Villa.
September