Pepe Reina

Following 10 years of playing time at the Santiago Bernabeu as a player of Real Madrid, Pepe penned a 2 year deal with the Turkish outfit Beşiktaş.

Pepe is a 34 year old player who is entering the final phases of his professional playing career and despite having that elevated age; he was still an attractive player that could be signed by many clubs.

One of the main reasons of why a few clubs showed interested in signing the Portuguese is due to the vast experience that he has after playing in some of the biggest stages in the world of football as well as having secured major pieces of silverware such as the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid and the UEFA Euro´s with his national side, just to name a few of his more recognized trophies.

In spite of not being in the younger side of age, Pepe certainly has traits that any club can benefit from.

The agent of the Portuguese veteran has recently revealed details concerning all of the teams that approached him and wanted to secure his services. Surprisingly enough, a few of the clubs that attempted to do so were Juventus, Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain as his agent Ahmet Bulut said: ¨The talks lasted three months; we didn’t find the agreement with Besiktas in a week.

¨Paris Saint-Germain and Inter wanted him, and Juventus made an attempt at the last minute but we were at a point where the Bianconeri were no longer an alternative¨

From the looks of it, Pepe denied offers to join top clubs as he instead opted to make a move to Turkey and compete in Beşiktaş.

Napoli shot stopper Pepe Reina is set to reunite with former manager Rafa Benitez at Newcastle United when the Premier League resumes in August.

They were together at Anfield and when Benitez moved to the Serie A to coach Napoli, he brought in the Spaniard.

Reina has just a year left on his deal and he is 34 years old. United were hoping they could get him easily but the £5million price tag is putting the Magpies off. Benitez wants an experienced hand this season so he was exploring going for Reina.

After Manchester City released Willy Caballero, it seems Newcastle could look at that direction. The manager of the Serie A side Maurizio Sarri has insisted that Reina is crucial to the team and a loyal player of the club so he expects him to remain.

Reina was the main man as Napoli finished in the top three of the Italian top flight. They secured Champions League football and are better suited for exposure compared to United. Only the strong bond between the keeper and Benitez can convince him to move back to England.

Sarri spoke highly of Reina when he was interviewed by Corrieredello Sport. He claims Reina is a very strong personality in the dressing room. He added that the former Red goalie has “better feet than any other goalkeeper in the world.”

Benitez wants a top hand in between the sticks. It seems he is not very interested in Tim Krul and Freddie Woodman set to return from AZ Alkmaar and Kilmarnock when there are keepers like Karl Darlow, Matz Sets and of course Rob Elliot. Woodman would likely go elsewhere on loan while Benitez would sell two others to get a top rated hand.

Napoli manager Maurizio Sarriclaims that goalkeeper Pepe Reina is unlikely to make it to the first-team for the game against Juventus.

Reina has been unavailable for selection since the international break. He had to leave the international action with a calf injury. Up until now, it appears that the player has been performing well to treatment and may just feature in the game against Juventus. It is an extremely important match for the club in the context of the Italian Serie A title and Champions League qualification. In such a match, the presence of the best players would often make the difference.

Yet,Sarri says that the goalkeeper was only 65% fit in the last tests. He may not be risked in the game considering that the Napoli team has even bigger games coming up in the next few weeks.

Even if Napoli do not beat Juventus, it is important that the club managed to get the 34-year-old goalkeeper as soon as possible. A veteran of several games throughout his career, Reina has the experience to deal with the business end of the campaign in a calm and collected manner. Napoli are third in the Italian Serie A, but it looks like the club will be missing out on a second spot, which is occupied by Roma.

“The decision is up to him, he’ll realise if he’s fit or not.Tests results can well be comforting, but it’s also about how the lad feels. If he is efficient enough to play, then we’ll evaluate it.As I said, it depends on him. Reina has great experience and intelligence,” said the Napoli manager. Napoli come into the game on the back of three consecutive wins in the Italian Serie A, although they did suffer a heavy loss against Real Madrid the Champions League last 16 round.

Napoli number one shot stopper Pepe Reina has openly confessed his wish to lift the Scudetto title with the club.

The former Liverpool No 1 told the Serie A club’s website that winning the title would be “the biggest accomplishment” of his life.

“It’s an idea that doesn’t leave my mind. It would be an important point in my career after 17 years at a high level. They always tell us that we can’t imagine what the city would be like. I want to see it! Whoever wins the Scudetto will always remain in the hearts of the Neopolitans and I want to be one of them,” the goalkeeper said.

The outspoken player was recently in a heated controversy that led to a red card for Matias Silvestre when Napoli clashed with Sampdoria. In the heated game, which Napoli eventually won 2-1 despite earlier going down 0-1, Reina caused Silvestre to earn his second yellow card of the game for clipping him when he wanted to take a goal kick.

“It was definitely a foul and the red card was the correct decision. I felt him get in the way and interrupt my kick, which is why it went so far off the course. I know looking at the replays you can’t see it, but there was contact. I felt it,” when he spoke to Sky Sports Italia about the incident.

Sampdoria asked that the league’s management ban Reina for simulation but he was eventually cleared. The club’s lawyer Antonio Romei said: “We put in a wonderful performance that was decided by a refereeing error on a situation that was pretty easy to read, so that’s very irritating.

“The action was clearly visible the fourth official was close by and he could’ve seen that Silvestre didn’t even touch him, but Reina fell down anyway.”

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has backed current one Loris Karius in the wake of heavy criticism following Reds loss to Bournemouth in the Premier League over the weekend.

The shot stopper arrived Anfield from Mainz for £5 million this summer as coach Jurgen Klopp sought for more squad options in his first full season in charge.

The goalkeeper came under heavy criticisms after he made errors that ensured Liverpool dropped from second place in the Premier League standings. Bournemouth fought to overturn the result despite Liverpool leading 3-1.

Reina defended the player, saying he faced a tough start at Liverpool too before he settled. The Spanish goalkeeper spent eight years at Anfield before his move to the Serie A in 2013.

“I think he doesn’t need any encouragement. I think he’s a brilliant goalkeeper who is doing realy well. It’s a team, you know, that also at times has to do better for the goalkeeper,” Reina told ITV Sport.

The loss on the South Coast has big implications on Liverpool’s chances this term in the face of Chelsea’ strong run. Chelsea are the log leaders and they have enjoyed eight successive victories that has sent them to the top of the table.

Reina backed his former club as well. He said: “I think they will do really well this season and I’m happy for them.”

The Napoli keeper is known for being outspoken he was one of those who advised compatriot David De Gea to remain at Manchester United in the wake of serious interests from Real Madrid.

Liverpool have been hit by an injury crisis that might further derail their title chances this term if not well managed. Klopp is expected to add new names in January, despite the long list of summer additions.

Napoli first-choice goalkeeper Pepe Reina has asked that fans of the club not jeer at them despite mistakes they make.

He pleaded with the fans to express their dissatisfaction in other ways but no further sink their poor self-belief. He accepted the blame for the second goal Napoli conceded when they played Besiktas. The Turkish side thrashed them 3-2 at home, attracting jeer from the fans who were disappointed with the result.

Napoli won initial Champions League group games but made errors that Besiktas capitalized on to defeat them at home.

“The fans are the most important thing and we must always respect them, but what we need most now is self-confidence,” said Reina.

“I would prefer for the crowd not to jeer, but they can express themselves any way they want. So many errors could well be down to our lack of self-belief right now. At times these moments happen in a season and you have to accept criticism, because it motivates you to get better.

The shot-stopper then confessed that the team made errors in the game that led to the loss. He admitted to being at fault in Besiktas’ second goal.

“I saw a very different performance compared to the losses with Atalanta and Roma. The team took control of the match, but certain errors should not be allowed. On the second goal I was at fault, because I should’ve waited and not tried to read the play early. A goalkeeper must learn to expect anything. I thought he was going to shoot in the other direction and threw myself there.

“Napoli is a special place. We want to stay calm and confident, but when we lose, we really feel the pressure rising. If the team enjoys its football, then it tends to win,” the former Liverpool player added.

Napoli recently returned to the Champions League and used goalkeeper Pepe Reina as the first choice option in the opening game against Dynamo Kyiv.

Even though the goalkeeper was not able to keep a clean sheet in the match, Napoli managed to get all three points from this difficult away trip courtesy of goals fromMilik. The forward managed to get two goals as Napoli managed a comeback victory. Incredibly, Reina is playing in the Champions League whereas the club that sold him to Napoli – Liverpool – are struggling to even feature in the Europa league.

Once regarded as a top goalkeeper, Reina has spent time at the likes of Bayern Munich in order to get first team football. His best level in the last five years came with Napoli and it was not a surprise that the Italian club decided to bring him back to Italian Serie A. The 34-year-old has been the first choice for Napoli at the start of this league season. Napoli have one of the best defences in the division and Reina is an integral part of it. He has conceded only four goals in the opening five matches and it has left Napoli only one point behind champions Juventus.

After having witnessed Juventus win the title for the last five seasons, Napoli are very determined to end the run. “We needed to finish the game off better in the end, but for the first European match, the result is a positive one. In the Champions League it’s natural to not dominate like we are used to. It’s important to have won on the road. Milik will give us a big helping hand, and so will Gabbiadini. Together they will score many goals over the course of the season. All the new signings are acclimatizing nicely to the group that works hard and with great humility,” said Reina.

Runner-up in the Serie A in the last campaign are set to begin a new season with a charge for the title.

However, there are doubts to that possibility seeing how defending champions Juventus reinforced their squad, while Napoli sold its best striker Gonzalo Higuain to same Juventus for a record transfer fee. Napoli added a few players but not to the quality they lost.

Reports indicate that Napoli might leave on Arkadiusz Milik as replacement for Higuain. Milik showed his capability when he scored his debut goal in a 4-1 win over Hertha Berlin. Former Liverpool goal keeper returned to the team after his Allan mistake but was later replaced by Sepe in the 46th minute as the Partenopei played the Germans in a friendly game. Faouzi Ghoulam made a mistake which Vedad Ibisevic converted to send Berlin ahead.

Napoli showed their quality when they fought back and got a creative goal when Marek Hamsik did a back flick on ball sent from the corner. The team entered another gear when coach Maurizio Sarri introduced Polish players Milik and Piotr Zielinski. Jose Callejon latched onto a Hamsik assist but couldn’t quite convert it. Few minutes later, he got another chance from a through ball from Mirko Valdiflori and sent a shot straight into the back of the goal post.

Dries Mertens tried getting the third as he tested the goal keeper a few times, then he decided to give the opportunity to new signing Malik who tipped the ball past the on-rushing goal keeper to make it 3-1. Martens was still insistent on getting a goal and Milik repaid the favour with a well timed pass that saw Mertens convert. Napoli might likely not get another number 9 – the short worn by Edison Cavani and Higuain as talks of Mauro Icardi joining from Inter Milan has died down.