Former Liverpool striker Anthony Le Tallec has recently shared about how much he regrets the decisions that led to his career at Anfield go downhill.
The Anfield giants have had their fair share of silverware glory and emergence of promising talents throughout history.
Many young prodigies across the world have came to the club and left with the world-class legend status.
However, there are also cases of players who have not been able to reach that glorifying threshold and left unnoticed. One such player was Anthony Le Tallec.
The retired Frenchman joined the Reds back in 2002 from French side Le Havre’s U-19 side for €2.5M.
The then 17-year-old forward was considered a promising talent in Europe. However, his time at LFC was not as fruitful as everyone thought it would be.
Le Tallec was a member of the club till summer 2008 before the €1.5M move back to France with Le Mans UC 72.
Even though he was under contract with the Reds for six years, he managed to accumulate only 32 appearances with only one goal and two assists across all competitions.
Most of his Liverpool career was spent on loan spells across France and England. As soon as he was signed in 2002, the Merseysiders loaned him back to Le Havre.
After a season-long loan, Anthony returned to England. Then he spent the 2003-04 season at Anfield where he made 23 appearances in the Reds outfit while scoring his only Liverpool goal.
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Anthony Le Tallec: The ‘Fatal’ Decision In His Liverpool Career
In a recent interview with L’Equipe, the Frenchman revealed about the biggest regret of his career. He mentioned that him wanting to leave Anfield in 2004 was definitely the most obvious mistake.
This was also the season where Rafael Benitez took charge of the PL giants. Le Tallec stated,
“For having asked Rafael Benítez to leave on loan [in July 2004]. I was stupid and he was mad at me.
I came back from Saint-Étienne in January because there were injuries at Liverpool and, at the end of the season, Benítez said to me: ‘For me, you are a crazy. You were one of the three attackers, now I put you in 8th place’.
I was young, but he didn’t want to know anything and lent me every year. I blame him. My career could have been different, but that one thing was fatal for me.
This decision would prove to be drastic which would eventually harm his career trajectory.
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In the summer of 2004, the French striker again moved to France for a short-term loan but this time with Saint-Etienne.
Upon returning to Merseyside, he was a part of the UCL squad up until the first leg of the semi-final. But Benitez dropped him for the second leg of semi-final and the final against AC Milan.
The legend of Istanbul has become a folklore in the footballing world. Every member of that Champions League-winning Liverpool side earned a legend status.
However, young Le Tallec missed the opportunity to ingrain his name in that part of history. He mourned about that incident by saying,
“More like not being called up. In 2005, Benítez didn’t include me in the squad for the Champions League final. It made me cry.
Harry Kewell came back from injury but was injured again after 20 minutes. I was in the stands during the final, but I didn’t celebrate the title in Istanbul or take part in the parade through Liverpool. I stayed at home, I was too sad.”
Since that missed opportunity his career never took off well. After a few loan moves, the former French U-21 international left the club in 2008.
With his appearances across France, Greece and Romanio, he retired from club football in 2021 aged 36.
Anthony Le Tallec’s story can serve as a cautionary testimony for young players. As a young promising talent one should always remain patient, waiting for the right time to shine while preparing for it.
An ardent football fan and a proud Red. I take immense pleasure in analyzing the intricacies of the game.
