Live Matches Online !!

Play Football Online through FIFA !

FIFA had now made it online for all the soccer lovers to play FIFA online with your favourite teams .

Initially FIFA will ask you to confirm your email address . You will have to register your email address and then set an online Username and Password for playing it online .

After the Username and password , FIFA will ask you to select your team manager , Select your favourite League team and also your World Cup .

Here is the link where you need to register yourself and after the registration is complete , FIFA will ask you to install the game .. below you will find the installation guide for installing the game . Once it is done , then enjoy playing FIFA with your username and Password . Invite your friends and make Friends online to play with them and play against them .

Link for registration ;

http://fifa-online.easports.com/web/guest/fifawelcome?p_p_id=fifaonlineverificationcodevalidation_WAR_fifaonlineaccount&p_p_lifecycle=1&p_p_mode=view&p_p_state=normal&_fifaonlineverificationcodevalidation_WAR_fifaonlineaccount_userid=7362355&_fifaonlineverificationcodevalidation_WAR_fifaonlineaccount_verificationcode=128878546EF387C5689CAFEE5F1B036C4BA30634

Link for Installation Guide ;

http://fifa-online.easports.com/web/guest/guide-installation-firefox

Demo ;;;

Barca takes centre stage !

Spanish sides took centre stage as the UEFA Champions League returned with a bang on Tuesday, big wins for FC Barcelona and Valencia CF perhaps eclipsed only by FC Twente's memorable introduction to the group stage as they held holders FC Internazionale Milano 2-2.

Bursaspor endured a more difficult introduction to life in Europe's elite club competition as the Turkish titleholders were overwhelmed 4-0 at home by Valencia. Tino Costa set the visitors on their way with a memorable long-range effort, though the opening goal of the group stage came on 13 minutes at SV Werder Bremen as Petri Pasanen put through his own net against Tottenham Hotspur FC.

It ended 2-2 at the Weserstadion, as did the other fixture in Group A as Dutch champions FC Twente earned a point against Inter. Lionel Messi was at his unstoppable best as Barcelona recovered from a goal down to beat Panathinaikos FC 5-1 and their next opponents, FC Rubin Kazan, were undone by a Dame N'Doye goal three minutes from time at FC København.

There was just one goal in it at the Stade de Gerland as Olympique Lyonnais edged past ten-man FC Schalke 04 while nothing could separate Manchester United FC and Rangers FC in a match overshadowed by a suspected broken ankle for Antonio Valencia. Finally, SL Benfica scored a goal in each half at home to Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC to complete a night that brought 22 goals in eight matches.

Group A

FC Twente 2-2 FC Internazionale Milano

SV Werder Bremen 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur FC

Group B

Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 FC Schalke 04

SL Benfica 2-0 Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC

Group C

Manchester United FC 0-0 Rangers FC

Bursaspor 0-0 Valencia CF

Group D

FC Barcelona 5-1 Panathinaikos FC

FC København 1-0 FC Rubin Kazan

Champions League is back again !

Champions League is back again starting on 14th September . The draw for the group stages of the Champions League has thrown up some interesting matches.

Barclays Premier League champions Chelsea have been drawn in Group F against Olympique Marseille, Spartak Moscow and Zilina of Slovakia.

Manchester United will face Valencia, Scottish champions Rangers and Bursaspor of Turkey in Group C

Arsenal are in Group H where they will take on Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga and Partizan Belgrade. Tottenham Hotspur's reward for beating Young Boys of Bern is a mouth-watering series of matches against holders Inter Milan, Werder Bremen and FC Twente in Group A.

They will all be bidding to win through to the last 16 and keep alive their hopes of making the final at Wembley.

GROUP A

Inter Milan

Werder Bremen

Tottenham Hotspur

FC Twente

GROUP B

Olympic Lyonnais

Benfica

Schalke

Hapoel Tel Aviv

GROUP C

Manchester United

Valencia

Rangers

Bursaspor

GROUP D

Barcelona

Panathinaikos

Copenhagen

Rubin Kazan

GROUP E

Bayern Munich

AS Roma

Basel

Cluj

GROUP F

Chelsea

Olympique Marseille

Spartak Moscow

Zilina

GROUP G

AC Milan

Real Madrid

Ajax

Auxerre

GROUP H

Arsenal

Shakhtar Donetsk

Braga

Partizan Belgrade

Official FIFA World Cup Song by Shakira !

Official Fifa World Cup Song sung by Shakira , Please view it in fullscreen mode

Video of Wavin' Flag by K'NAAN

Watch live video

FIFA 2010 - Final Draw

The 32 teams participating at next year's FIFA World Cup™ finals discovered their fate this evening when the Final Draw for South Africa 2010 took place in Cape Town.

While South Africans learned that the host nation's Opening Match on 11 June would be played against Mexico at Soccer City, it was the Group D line-up which caused arguably the biggest stir. Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana will battle it out for two qualifying places for the Round of 16, meaning two nations with passionate support will depart the tournament early. There could be a high-profile casualty from Group G too, after Brazil, Korea DPR, Côte d'Ivoire, Portugal were drawn together.An estimated global television audience of 200 million joined the 2,000 invited guests in the Draw Hall in watching the colourful and entertaining ceremony unfold.

With African sporting stars such as athlete Haile Gebreselassie, rugby player John Smit, cricketer Makhaya Ntini, and footballers Matthew Booth and Simphiwe Dludlu assisting with the draw, along with England's David Beckham, it was always going to be an exhilarating occasion, but the undoubted centrepiece came when the eight groups were revealed.
An early highlight of the draw was the eye-catching encounter between England and USA, scheduled for 12 June, which evokes the Americans' famous 1-0 win over their transatlantic cousins at Brazil 1950. Argentina, Nigeria and Greece will get the chance to revive their group rivalry from 1994, while the heavyweight collision between Portugal and Brazil on 25 June also has the feel of a derby.

Groups for South Africa 2010

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France

Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, Korea Republic, Greece

Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia

Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana,

Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon

Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia

Group G: Brazil, Korea DPR, Côte d'Ivoire, Portugal

Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile

A night to rememberWith such an array of stars, the event dazzled from start to finish. After a welcome sequence from Lions Head, the mountain that provides Cape Town with such a dramatic backdrop, award-winning musician Johnny Clegg performed 'Scatterlings of Africa', a song made famous by the Academy Award-winning film Rain Main.

Fittingly, the first speech of the night came from the man without whom a FIFA World Cup in South Africa would never have been possible: the country's former president Nelson Mandela. The 91-year-old, speaking in a special video message, urged his nation to make the most of their opportunity as tournament hosts. "We must strive for excellence in our hosting of the World Cup, while at the same time ensuring the event leaves a lasting benefit to all our people," he said.

Next it was time for two special presidents to take to the stage. FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter and South African President Jacob Zuma showed their excitement at both the Final Draw and the 2010 FIFA World Cup itself in an entertaining dialogue lasting several minutes. Giancarlo Abete, President of the Italian Football Federation, then handed over the holders' FIFA World Cup Trophy to Mr Blatter, confirmation that sport's holy grail is in South Africa and ready to be contested next year.

Legendary Portugal striker Eusebio, born in neighbouring Mozambique, was introduced to the crowd before examples of the 'Win in Africa, With Africa' campaign were showcased before an expectant audience. Beninese singer-songwriter Angelique Kidjo duly took to the stage to perform her Grammy-nominated song 'Agolo'.

The first duty of the show's guest presenter, Academy Award-winning actress, Hollywood producer and proud South African Charlize Theron, was to show off the official 2010 Match Ball, adidas's Jabulani, a name meaning 'to celebrate' in Zulu. Soweto’s Gospel Choir continued the theme of happiness with a lively rendition of Pata Pata before the arrival of Draw Master and FIFA Secretary General, Jerome Valcke, signalled the moment of truth.Some of the assembled coaches will have headed away feeling confident, others concerned by the task presented here, yet at least all now know what lies in store as they begin their planning and preparation for next year's showpiece.

Wenger not happy with United play !

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has slammed Manchester United's methods of breaking up his side's play after they lost at Old Trafford on Saturday evening.

Wenger has spoken out after the defeat, claiming Sir Alex Ferguson's tactics were nothing short of "anti-football" - and he believes that is worse than Eduardo's alleged "dive" against Celtic in midweek.

The Gunners' boss launched a thinly veiled attack on United midfielder Darren Fletcher, who he claims is in the team purely to make tackles and is the chief culprit.However, the match stats show that out of the seven players who committed the most fouls, five were from Arsenal. And as the Gunners had six players booked, they automatically receive a £25,000 fine from the Football Association.

"There are other points [than diving] that, for me, are more urgent - players who play only to make fouls and who are never punished; players who make repeated fouls and who get out of the game without a yellow card. That, for me, is more anti-football than a player who did what Eduardo did."

"I have seen a player who plays only on the pitch to make repeated fouls. Look at how many deliberate fouls some players make and get away with."I think that's a bigger problem [than diving] because it cuts the flow of the game. And people come and pay to see football. They do not come to see free-kicks. You should ask the referees [how they get away with it]."

Wenger also defended Eduardo over the claims of diving: "I think it is difficult with diving. Sometimes players dive to escape being hit. It's not always necessarily diving because you want to dive. Sometimes it's a way of getting out of the way."The borderline between being sensible, being shrewd or being a cheat is very slim so, in some cases, to assess which is which is very difficult.

"Uefa have made the case of Eduardo. If you watch the Super Cup on Friday then they will have to charge (Lionel) Messi for headbutting or they will lose credibility. They have opened something there that over the weekend I'll find you 50 situations where they can intervene, or if they don't Eduardo will be singled out for being a wrong victim. I do not want Messi to be punished but if they go for Eduardo then people will demand it. Pedro, also of Barcelona, dived as well [in the Super Cup] and so I don't think there's any logic to Eduardo's case. We have clear proof that from behind he was touched on his right leg.

"There is no common sense. I believe it was a more emotional decision really because if Uefa had said before the season starts, 'Listen, let's get together and no matter what happens in Uefa games, if we suspect someone of diving he will be punished' then you could say, OK, we've always been told they will do that. But suddenly, out from nowhere because it was an emotional situation in Scotland, we have this situation and have to live with that."

And Wenger was also quick to support the English stance on diving: "I think it's a quality in this country. In some countries it is a quality to dive. I'm still more proud to be part of England where they fight against that."

Arsenal qualify for Champions League !

Eduardo's controversial penalty helped Arsenal secure another shot at the £30m jackpot of the Champions League with a comfortable 3-1 win on the night - 5-1 on aggregate - over Celtic at Emirates Stadium.

The cost of failure, both financial and in sporting terms, would have been immeasurable on the Gunners, who have consistently competed among the elite clubs of European football for more than a decade.

However, manager Arsene Wenger knows maintaining such a level will prove the biggest challenge ahead this season for his young Arsenal side, which tonight coped admirably without injured captain Cesc Fabregas and took the lead in the first half when Croatia striker Eduardo converted from the spot after he had gone down somewhat lightly under a sliding challenge by Celtic keeper Artur Boruc.

Emmanuel Eboue made sure there would be no comeback for Tony Mowbray's side with a neat finish after 53 minutes before substitute Andrey Arshavin slotted in a third to complete a 5-1 aggregate win.

Celtic midfielder Massimo Donati volleyed home a superb consolation goal in stoppage time.

For now, at least, the likes of Manchester City must sit and watch as Arsenal will take their place in the pot for Thursday`s group stage draw in the millionaire's playground of Monaco, with expectations once again set high the Gunners can go one better than the semi-final appearance last season.

Celtic, meanwhile, may be giants in Scottish football, but dropping into the Europa League will prove little consolation for the missed revenue and big-match experience.

Arsenal had the luxury of a 2-0 lead from the first leg in Glasgow, and so Wenger decided to start with Robin van Persie and Arshavin on the bench.

However, the front two of Eduardo and Nicklas Bendtner still provided plenty of movement, combining to set up a chance for the Brazil-born Croat after nine minutes.

Eduardo was unable to stab the ball home at the far post after Boruc had palmed away Bendtner's close-range flick.

Celtic boss Tony Mowbray named an unchanged XI from the side which defeated St Johnstone 5-2 last time out, and knew his men would have to take the game to Arsenal if they were to stand any chance of progress.

The Bhoys looked to make the most of the counter-attack, but too often delivery was poor following good build-up.

The much-maligned Eboue had been pressed into a more advanced midfield role tonight, and almost opened the scoring with a shot on the turn from the edge of the Celtic area.

After 29 minutes, Arsenal were awarded a penalty when Eduardo went down following what looked minimal contact at best by Boruc after he skipped into the left side of the box.

It was, though, enough to convince Spanish referee Manuel Gonzalez, which was all that mattered - and Eduardo was certainly not worried by chants of "cheat'' from the massed ranks of green behind the goal.

The Croatia striker, set to face England in next month's crucial World Cup qualifier at Wembley, stepped up to send the keeper the wrong way - and all but kill off the tie.

Celtic were clearly aggrieved, and for a spell lost composure.

It was not the Scots' lucky night, as Scott McDonald saw his far post tap-in ruled out by an offside flag with four minutes left of the first half.

In stoppage time, Boruc was at full stretch to push Eduardo's curling 20-yard effort around the post.

The Croatian - who on another night could easily have netted a hat-trick by now - was on the end of a quick break and some neat footwork found himself space on the edge of the area, only to scuff a shot wide.

After 53 minutes, Eboue showed Eduardo how it was done, drilling a low shot past Boruc following more neat build-up from a clever flick by Bendtner and Abou Diaby's centre.

Arshavin was introduced for the final 20 minutes, along with teenager Jack Wilshere, the latest off the production line at London Colney.

The Russian netted his first Champions League goal for Arsenal after a neat turn and finish after collecting Wilshere's pass after 74 minutes.

Donati salvaged some wounded pride in stoppage time with a stunning volley in off the post from Andreas Hinkel's right-wing cross.

Next up for Arsenal is the small matter of a trip to Manchester United. There Wenger's youngsters will face another stern test of character - which so far this season have all been answered.

Villa rocks sorry Liverpool !

Liverpool slumped to their second Premier League defeat in nine days as they lost 3-1 to Aston Villa to put their title credentials firmly on the line.

Villa produced a defiant, organised display and deserved their first win at Anfield since 2001.

The result also ended Liverpool's 31-match unbeaten home league record stretching back to December 2007, when Manchester United were the last winners at Anfield.

But the spotlight will now be on Liverpool, who only lost twice in the league last season and still did not win the title.

The margin for error is now very fine. You rarely win the crown by losing more than five games in a season, and Liverpool's hopes could already have suffered a mortal blow.

A Lucas own goal and a Curtis Davies header saw Villa 2-0 up at the break. Fernando Torres pulled one back but an Ashley Young penalty settled the points.

Martin Skrtel returned to Liverpool's defence in place of teenager Daniel Ayala, having recovered sufficiently from a jaw injury to be risked.

This was the only change in the Liverpool side from the one that beat Stoke at home last week, with new Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos not included in the squad.

Villa included Curtis Davies, who had recovered from a shoulder injury. Brad Friedel, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Stiliyan Petrov all returned to the side after being rested in the Europa League defeat away to Rapid Vienna last week.

Liverpool produced a vibrant start, but found themselves frustrated by the quick-tackling, quick-thinking Villa midfield.

The hosts could have been ahead in the first minute when Yossi Benayoun's back-header from Torres' chip into the area, beat Friedel but dropped inches wide.

A taste of what was to follow came from Villa's first chance came when Davies met a Nicky Shorey cross with a strong header, but it went straight at Jose Reina.

Torres and Steven Gerrard both saw shots blocked in the six-yard box, before Young was booked after 12 minutes for halting a Dirk Kuyt run.

Then Gerrard struck a first-timer from 20-yards just over from Kuyt's touched pass.

But Liverpool's problems were beginning to mount in a midfield that they were unable to dominate.

Javier Mascherano and Lucas were both fortunate not to be cautioned for fouls on Petrov and Agbonlahor in quick succession.

Torres was also coming in for some rough treatment from Carlos Cuellar, two tackles from behind going unpunished by referee Martin Atkinson.

By now Nigel Reo-Coker and Steve Sidwell were successfully breaking up Gerrard's flow in midfield, and Villa were soon to take the lead.

It came after 33 minutes when Lucas gave away a needless free-kick in midfield. Young swung the set-piece towards the near post, and it was the unfortunate Lucas who rose to head the ball past Reina for an own-goal.

Liverpool's play was sloppy and far too much possession was being conceded with ill-directed passes.

Further calamity came after Reina was booked in first half injury time for kicking the ball away in annoyance when referee Atkinson awarded a disputed corner, Sidwell's shot looking to have clipped a defender.

And from that disputed corner Villa found themselves two up. Shorey's corner swung into the near post and was headed home by Davies.

The hosts have staged some amazing comebacks in this stadium over the years, and they were going to need another massive performance to salvage anything from this situation.

Villa defended with organisation and desire. Roe-Coker was booked for kicking the ball away, and Friedel produced a fine save from a Kuyt header.

Kuyt then saw another header hit a post from a Gerrard corner from the left.

But Villa were still showing great resilience, and breaking quickly to cause Liverpool all sorts of problems at the back, Reo-Coker being only inches away from a third with one sliding attempt.

Liverpool sent on Andriy Voronin for Lucas after 66 minutes, with Friedel producing another fine stop from a Gerrard drive soon after.

But after 72 minutes Liverpool finally gave themselves some hope when Emiliano Insua got down the left and rolled the ball into the six-yard box for Torres to score.

Two minutes later Liverpool were back in despair and Villa celebrating. Shorey's pass into the path of Reo-Coker saw the midfielder surge into the box only to be felled by Gerrard's desperate tackle.

It was a clear penalty and Young stepped up to restore Villa's two-goal lead.

Liverpool's frustration was obvious. Torres was booked for dissent when Young went down injured and asked for treatment. He was eventually replaced by Heskey.

Ryan Babel came on for Benayoun, Liverpool still coming forward. Friedel again made a fine save from a Torres flick, before Kuyt sent a close range effort wide of the far post.

The outstanding Friedel, against his former club, saved from Torres and Glen Johnson, with Skrtel booked in the dying minutes, but Villa held on for a famous victory.

Lyon thrashes Anderlecht in Champions League show down !

Lyon blitzed Anderlecht 5-1 with four first-half goals at the Stade Gerland to virtually book their spot in the Champions League group stages.

Miralem Pjanic opened the scoring for Les Gones with a sublime free-kick before summer signings Lisandro Lopez, Michel Bastos and Bafetimbi Gomis also found the target before the break.

Matias Suarez reduced Anderlecht's deficit just before the hour mark but Gomis notched his second of the evening soon after to put the French side within touching distance of qualification for the Champions League's main draw for the 10th successive year.

Anderlecht have begun their new domestic campaign superbly, winning their opening three games, but their start tonight was disastrous.

Gomis headed just wide from Aly Cissokho's whipped cross from the left early on but Lyon's fans were soon cheering when playmaker Pjanic gave the hosts the lead, curling home a ninth-minute free-kick exquisitely from 25 yards.

Anderlecht goalkeeper Silvio Proto stayed rooted to the spot as Pjanic's effort flew past him and he will have wished he had remained on his line six minutes later, when he rushed out of his goal in an attempt to stop the inrushing Lopez.

Proto was adjudged to have clipped the legs of the Argentina striker, who got up, dusted himself down and dispatched the resulting penalty with some aplomb.

Left winger Bastos made it three with a wonderful swerving strike from 25 yards, cutting in from the right and giving the beleaguered Proto no chance with a left-footed piledriver.

And worse was to come for Anderlecht when Gomis sidefooted in from 12 yards after more good work by strike partner Lopez down the left.

The Belgians were blown away in that first half but they came out fighting after the break, Jonathan Legear off target from close range before Tom De Sutter brought a smart save from Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 53rd minute.

The visitors deservedly pulled one back when Suarez beat Mathieu Bodmer to De Sutter's flick, rounded Lloris and slotted home his finish.

But Gomis restored Lyon's four-goal cushion after 62 minutes, the former St Etienne striker running onto Bastos' through-ball, skirting around Proto and firing home from the angle.

Substitute Cesar Delgado wasted four late chances to extend Les Gones' lead even further, the Argentinian hitting the bar with one of them.

Champions League showdown – Gunners beat Celtic at home !

A deflection and an own goal helped Arsenal overcome Celtic in Glasgow to leave the Gunners with one foot in the Champions League group stages.

Arsenal took the lead two minutes before the break when William Gallas inadvertently diverted a Cesc Fabregas free-kick past Artur Boruc, and Gary Caldwell put through his own net in the 71st minute.

Only Barcelona and Dinamo Moscow, in the previous round, had beaten Celtic in the previous 36 European matches at Parkhead.

But Arsene Wenger's side enjoyed a comfortable second half to leave them in a commanding position ahead of next week's play-off second leg.

Barcelona have also lost at Celtic Park during that run, along with the likes of Juventus, AC Milan and Manchester United, but Celtic failed to put their latest visitors under serious pressure.

Although both sides had enjoyed comfortable away wins in their opening league wins on Saturday, Celtic manager Tony Mowbray opted for radical alterations to his frontline while Arsenal were unchanged following their 6-1 win at Everton.

Mowbray dropped Scott McDonald and Marc-Antoine Fortune and played Aiden McGeady up front alongside Georgios Samaras, who scored the stoppage-time winner against Dinamo Moscow in Russia in the previous round.

Scott Brown came into right midfield while Caldwell returned after missing Saturday's 3-1 victory at Aberdeen through suspension.

Arsenal looked more comfortable in possession from the start, finding space in front of Celtic's back four.

Andrey Arshavin was causing problems when he drifted in from his position on the left of Arsenal's three-man attack, and Fabregas and Denilson were always looking to break forward from midfield.

Arsenal were playing the ball through Celtic and it needed a last-ditch block by Caldwell on Robin van Persie to stop the Gunners profiting from one such move, with the offside flag raised before Arshavin fired home the rebound.

However, Celtic had a good chance to hurt Arsenal on the counter-attack when Shaun Maloney released McGeady down the left after Van Persie's free-kick was cleared.

The Republic of Ireland international rode one challenge and lofted the ball towards Brown but Thomas Vermaelen did enough to put the midfielder off.

Celtic tightened up in central midfield, although a slip by Massimo Donati allowed Arshavin the chance to run at the Celtic back four, with Boruc getting down comfortably to save his deflected effort.

Full-back Andreas Hinkel then created Celtic's best chance of the half when he burst into the box and cut the ball back for Maloney.

The Arsenal defence closed him down but the ball fell for Brown, whose low shot was well saved by Manuel Almunia.

Celtic looked like they would comfortably survive until half-time but luck was against them after Caldwell was penalised for a foul on Fabregas 30 yards out.

The free-kick was rolled short to the Spaniard, whose 30-yard drive bounced off the back of Gallas and spun into the opposite corner to where Boruc was heading.

The game almost drifted beyond Celtic within a minute of the restart after Landry N'Guemo miscontrolled a simple take in the centre circle.

Arshavin carried the ball to the edge of the penalty box before slipping the ball outside to Van Persie but the Dutchman shot past the far post.

Denilson soon curled just wide from 20 yards following another Arshavin run while Fabregas dragged a left-foot shot just wide from a similar distance after Gallas had easily won a 50-50 challenge with Donati.

McGeady had dropped deeper after the interval and Mowbray made a double switch in the 56th minute with McDonald and Fortune replacing Donati and Samaras.

Celtic struggled to create chances but Gallas made another crucial interception when he cut out Fortune's low cross as McDonald waited at the far post.

Abou Diaby replaced Arshavin and immediately played a key role in Arsenal's second goal.

The substitute burst forward and set up Gael Clichy for a low cross that was turned home by the outstretched boot of Caldwell.

Only McGeady looked capable of creating anything for Celtic and most of the final 20 minutes was played out in the middle third.

EPL kicks off -- Alberto Aquilani waits for EPL debut !

Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani has spoken of his pride at wearing the same colours as Steven Gerrard.

Aquilani was presented to the media today after arriving from Roma for a fee reported to be about £15million.

He was keen to point out he is a long-term admirer of Gerrard's qualities.

Aquilani said: "Even before coming to Liverpool, I thought Steven Gerrard was the strongest midfielder in the world.

"I will be very proud to play alongside him and hope I can learn from his game.

"I am looking forward to playing in the same team with players of that kind.

"Liverpool have had good players for a number of years and I have always liked their system of play."

Aquilani and Gerrard have something in common apart from being midfielders - they are both injured.

Gerrard remains doubtful for the match against Tottenham on Sunday with a groin injury, which forced him to miss England's 2-2 draw against Holland.

Manager Rafael Benitez is closely monitoring his talisman's progress and said: "I am not sure about Steven. I was really pleased he was pulled out of the squad as a precaution.

"You could see there were six substitutions in the game, so Fabio Capello was doing great for the players.

"As our game is on the Sunday, then maybe Steven will have a chance. If it was on Saturday it would be more difficult."

Aquilani arrived at Anfield with an ankle injury, which Benitez knew about. It means he will not make his debut for several weeks.

However the Italian believes Liverpool have already got to the root of the problem and come up with a long-term solution.

He said: "At Roma my worries were linked with injury. But when I came to Liverpool, the doctor highlighted exactly the problem I have.

"We now have a very good picture and I hope it will be solved so that I will not be absent again.

"It is a shame I cannot play straight away but it is important to get better, then play well. I am focusing on that."

Despite his setback, Aquilani is not concerned about the physical aspect of England's top flight.

He said: "I cannot wait to be involved as it is a different type of league to the one in Italy and a difficult level to play in. I am very excited about what lies ahead.

"This is a very important occasion for me as I am joining a big club with a rich history.

"While this is one of the best leagues in the world, Liverpool have to be one of the main candidates for winning the title."

Aquilani has replaced Xabi Alonso at Anfield and added: "He was very important player at this club.

"But I am not his natural substitute as I do not have the same characteristics as him.

"I have different style in that I like to move around and not stay in the same place."