LOVREN JOSE WILL PARK BUS AGAIN FOR CRUNCH CLASH
DEJAN LOVREN says that Liverpool could never park the bus and play for a point like Manchester United do.
In a thinly-veiled attack on the cautious tactics of Old Trafford boss Jose Mourinho, Kop defender Lovren says he expects United to play for a draw when the two sides meet tomorrow lunchtime, just as they did earlier in the season
DEJAN LOVREN isn’t a man for excuses.
He has escaped war zones, poverty and prejudice to forge a career at the summit of world football. He is the very definition of a tough defender. Yet there is surprising emotion when he speaks candidly about the “horrific” ordeal his wife and family suffered when their home in Liverpool was burgled late last year. Lovren, on duty at Anfield that night, walked into the dressing room after the game to be given the sketchy details of an attempted home invasion. He lifts the lid on his torment not to provide a screen to hide behind but simply to show that footballers are human. “Unfortunately my wife and two kids were in,” he said of the break-in. “It was horrific. “It is not easy because we are also humans and everyone has problems. “I am doing my best but sometimes it doesn’t depend just on me because people want to come into my home and steal things, even though I have nothing in my home!”
Lovren’s performances were criticised earlier in the season but, in his last three games in a Red shirt, Liverpool haven’t conceded a goal.
“I think I responded quite well given what was going on in my life, burglars and things like that,” he said. “It wasn’t easy for me.”
That is something of an understatement. At the end of October his life was turned upside down with events off the pitch hampering his performances on it, and he suffered the indignity of being substituted just half-an-hour into a meltdown at Spurs (right).
Fans were quick to criticise – he even received death threats online – amid suggestions he should never play for Liverpool again. Yet it got worse 10 days later when burglars using sledgehammers tried to break into his home while his kids lay sleeping.
Lovren was at Anfield that night, though not playing, for a Champions League tie against Maribor.
It followed another shocking incident in Zagreb last year when a holiday home Lovren and his family were renting was broken into, again when his kids were sleeping.
Lovren has put all that behind him to form a hugely promising partnership with Virgil van Dijk, with Liverpool’s defence suddenly looking watertight.
Most Liverpool fans thought Dutch international Van Dijk would replace Lovren but the Croatian international has rediscovered his best form, and pays tribute to the support he received.
“Some people can understand you are human and some cannot,” he said. “But during those very difficult situations I had support from really good people like the manager, my teammates and of course those fans who are ready always to support you. “I don’t know one player who doesn’t make a mistake, especially a defender and especially how we play at Liverpool. We play offensive football and sometimes you are one against one against top strikers. “Top strikers need just one chance and if they score then you get the blame. But in the end it depends on how you recover.” And Lovren believes his partnership with Van Dijk will go from strength to strength. “I think we have done well well in the last couple of games we have played together. We understood each other – hopefully that can continue.”