http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...gue/liverpool/5354948/Liverpool-manager-Rafa-Benitezs-five-best-and-five-worst-signings.html
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez's five best and five worst signings
Rafa Benitez has admitted every single one of his summer transfers this year have to be perfect if his Liverpool team are to catch Manchester United next season.
By Rory Smith
Five of the best
1. Fernando Torres, £20m, Atletico Madrid, 2007
Most of Benitez's transfer errors have come on mid-priced players and the Spaniard certainly has a case to suggest that when he does spend big, he gets it right. Torres, the club's record signing, was seen as a risk but his pace, power, skill and heart have made him the most dangerous striker in England.
2. Xabi Alonso, £10.5m, Real Sociedad, 2004
Benitez's first big-money signing settled immediately into the English game, orchestrating Liverpool's play expertly on the way to Istanbul, where he sealed his place in the fans' hearts by scoring the third in that miraculous comeback. His form dipped slightly in the previous two campaigns but he has been the club's best player this season.
3. Jose Reina, £6m, Villarreal, 2005
His claims are widely scorned by those who see him only fleetingly, but Reina has developed into one of the world's best goalkeepers in the last four years. The Spanish international more than makes up for a very occasional nervousness on crosses with his organisational prowess and the outstanding accuracy of his distribution.
4. Javier Mascherano, £18m, West Ham, 2007
An unmitigated disaster at Upton Park, where he suffered the ultimate indignation of being used as a reserve for Hayden Mullins, the Argentine international captain has blossomed since Benitez took him to Anfield, initially on loan, in January 2007. Arguably the finest defensive midfielder in the world, there are few more terrifying sights in football than Mascherano, in full flight, determined to make a tackle.
5. Luis Garcia, £6m, Barcelona, 2004
The diminutive attacking midfielder may have frustrated as much as he delighted, but his place in Anfield folklore is secure. The so-called ghost goal which sent Liverpool to the Champions League final at Chelsea's expense in 2005 repaid every single penny of his £6 million fee, but just as memorable were his long-range strikes against Juventus in the previous round and Jose Mourinho's side again in the 2006 FA Cup semi-final.