Phillip Buckley

On the 1^st of July 2003 two young Frenchmen were introduced to the press at Anfield by Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier. Anthony Le Tallec and Florent Sinama Pongolle had actually been bought by Liverpool in 2001, but, as part of the agreement were allowed to mature a little more at their French club Le Havre. What made Houllier part with £3M of Liverpool’s money for two unproven (and at the time 16 year old) kids? Well, both had excelled in the UEFA Under-16 European Championship to such an extent that scouts from Europe’s big clubs were drooling. Le Tallec himself said “I had 10 clubs following me, but I preferred Liverpool”.

 

Houllier, despite having just finished 5^th in the Premier League (after a previous 2^nd place) when they arrived, was still regarded as a great manager and one who was more than likely to take the Reds to their first title since 1990. Thus when Houllier said “both look to be very good for the future, they are gems”, Liverpool fans gobbled the prediction up.

Unfortunately for Le Tallec and Sinama Pongolle, Houllier’s Liverpool Empire had already reached its zenith and Red forces were in retreat everywhere. As the pressure mounted on ‘Le Boss’ this produced a less than ideal environment for the young Frenchmen to be carefully nurtured and eased in to the first team. It is always easier to develop youngsters as part of a winning first team than it ever is to push them into a crisis situation.

Thrust into the first team before they were ready both acquitted themselves adequately, yet, despite flashes of skill, it was too soon and too much was expected of them. The arrival of Rafael Benitez after the sacking of Gerard Houllier offered both players a fresh chance.

Le Tallec chose not to try and make a fresh start under the Spaniard and requested a loan move. Benitez acquiesced and Le Tallec has never worn the red of Liverpool again. It is a decision the Frenchman regrets even to this day “In my mind I believed he would bring in Spanish players and I would not play anymore. It is my biggest mistake”.

Sinama Pongolle decided to remain despite fierce competition for places up front. Pongolle had impressed the Anfield faithful with his pace, workrate and dribbling ability. This was in stark contrast to Le Tallec who often seemed uninterested when things were not going his or the team’s way.

In his first season under Benitez, Pongolle made 25 appearances scoring 4 times. When looking at that low goal return, one must also bare in mind that many of those starts were from the bench, and some on the right wing rather than his natural position, striker. Indeed, arguably Pongolle’s most significant contribution to club came when coming on as a substitute and helping Liverpool to turn around a 1-0 scoreline against Olympiacos in the Champions League. Pongolle’s performance was full of running and skill. His pace frightened the Greek defence and just 2 minutes after coming on for the second half, he had his reward. Liverpool of course went on to win the Champions League that very same season, but for Pongolle chances were becoming fewer and further between.

With the arrival of Peter Crouch, Sinama Pongolle was forced even further down the Anfield pecking order and it was no surprise when, in the summer of the next season he went, initially on loan, to Recreativo de Huelva in Spain.

Pongolle enjoyed an excellent season in Spain, surprising defenders with his willingness to run at them as well as his quick acceleration. Given that Recreativo were widely expected to battle in the lower half of the table, a eventual finish of 8^th place was a fine performance. Key to this was Florent Sinama Pongolle.

Pongolle finished the 2006/07 season with 11 goals in La Liga, a very decent tally given that it was his debut season. It stands comparison with other more experienced forwards. Samuel Eto’o of Barcelona also finished with 11 goals, whilst the man who had been partly responsible for Pongolle’s limited Anfield action, experienced Spanish marksman Fernando Morientes, only managed 2 more than this young Frenchman new to the Primera Division.

Pongolle had further shown his class in an amazing 3-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Bernabeu, in which the Frenchman opened the scoring. Indeed, in the more technical environment of La Liga, Sinama Pongolle has looked at ease and rarely out of place.

The €4M that Recreativo paid to land Pongolle in the summer of 2007 now looks a snip. So far Florent has proved that last season was not a fluke. He has notched up 8 goals in this season’s La Liga as Recreativo are embroiled in a real relegation battle.

Although his form was not, at the beginning of the season, on a par with that of his first campaign, the turning point came in Barcelona, against Espanyol in February. A difficult trip was made all the easier for Recreativo when Pongolle produce a brilliant double salvo to shoot down the home side. In truth, such was the level of the Frenchman’s performance that he could have had 3 or 4. After the match Pongolle declared “I’ve returned to being the Sinama Pongolle of last season”.

As Recreativo’s form has recovered in the past couple of months, so Pongolle has gained recognition beyond La Liga, from his homeland. Ahead of the friendly against England next week, Pongolle has been called up to the France squad by Coach Raymond Domenech. This is a reward he richly deserves for the form he has shown in what is widely considered to be Europe’s highest quality league.

When weighing up the achievements of Rafael Benitez at Liverpool, we will probably have to put the failure to develop Sinama Pongolle and then subsequent decision to sell him for a measly €4M in the negative column.

Pongolle’s success in Spain should also be put against the background of the club he is plying his trade for. Just as Peter Crouch (some would say his actual replacement at Anfield) produced greater performances and looked ten times better at Liverpool than ever he did at Southampton. So we too must think if Pongolle would look even better were he playing in a better team than Recreativo.

There seems little doubt however that if Recreativo do lose their battle for survival in the Spanish top flight, plenty of clubs will be queuing up to ensure that Pongolle’s own La Liga adventure does not end.