Remember when Liverpool signed midfielders of this quality for just £16.7m?
On this day in 2004, Liverpool announced the double signing of La Liga stars Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia.The two players, 22 and 26, respectively, joined the Merseysiders for a combined £16.7million fee from Real Sociedad and Barcelona, as Rafael Benitez looked to bring some Spanish style to Anfield.And they would both prove to be well worth the outlay as they had a huge impact on the team and their fans.Alonso’s incredible passing ability was notable from an early age as he took delight in his role as a deep-lying midfielder and with La Real, helping them to a second place finish in La Liga back in 2003, just two points behind Real Madrid.A year later after continuing to excel and impressing at international level, Benitez swooped, beating Real Madrid to his signature.His technical brilliance shone immediately at Anfield but a broken ankle received when tackled by Frank Lampard cost him three month of his debut season. He made up for it in style though.Alonso’s return to the first-team was the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Juventus and his display helped the Reds claim a 0-0 draw and progression to the semi-finals.Liverpool would only finish the Premier League season in fifth but managed to reach the Champions League final and the Spaniard was a key part of their incredible comeback against AC Milan.Alonso may have missed his penalty but made the score 3-3 as he hit home the rebound from Dida’s save and he put in a stunning display throughout as the Reds won the trophy. Not a bad way to end your first season.He would win another trophy in his second campaign as he helped the Reds to triumph in the 2006 FA Cup final, and he furthered his reputation as a superb technician by scoring from his own half against Luton in the third round of the competition.Alonso’s brilliance in midfield continued but Benitez’s interest in Gareth Barry left the player unsettled at Anfield and after a move failed to materialise in 2008, he reluctantly left the club in 2009 to join Real Madrid in a £30million deal.For Garcia, his career will be forever defined by Liverpool’s run to the Champions League final in 2005.He grabbed the winning goal against Juventus and also hit the controversial winner in the semi-finals against Chelsea – the fourth minute goal was cleared by William Gallas but ruled to be a goal by the referee with camera angles of the incident proving inconclusive.And Garcia would go onto play the full 120 minutes for the Reds as they came from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan on penalties, as he finished the year with 13 goals in 44 games.His impact at Anfield would slowly decrease over the following two seasons but another key goal against Chelsea, this time in a 2006 FA Cup semi-final clash, increased his popularity with the club’s fans as the two teams sparked up a bitter rivalry, but his sending off against West Ham in the Premier League meant he missed the final, which the Reds won.An anterior cruciate ligament injury in January 2007 would mean his last match for the club was during their thrilling 3-6 defeat to Arsenal in the League Cup quarter-final.Even though both exits were tinged with disappointment, both men are still considered heroes on Merseyside. 1 Xabi Alonso celebrates against Juventus in the Champions League 
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has claimed former club AC Milan were interested in signing him in the transfer window.Ibrahimovic, who made his return from injury for Paris St Germain in the 3-0 win over Monaco on August 30, was linked with a move back to Italy this summer.Having played for Milan during two spells – the first on loan – between 2010 and 2012, Ibrahimovic moved to PSG where he has established himself as the club’s talisman.He is currently on international duty with Sweden, but, when asked about the Rossoneri’s interest in him, said on www.expressen.se: “I know that Milan were a bit desperate.“As I said before, when there is interest from other clubs, it’s (agent Mino Raiola) who takes care of it – you’ll have to ask him.“The only thing I can say about any interest is that I take it as a compliment that there is interest in me. That means I’m still performing and that makes me happy.“I have not discussed anything. Mino Raiola will take care of it if something happens. If I had decided that something would happen, I would have discussed it. But during this summer, I’ve simply rested.” Zlatan Ibrahimovic 1
Antonio Conte is the favourite to land the permanent managerial position at Chelsea.The 46-year-old, currently head coach of the Italian national team, is reportedly days away from confirming a summer switch to Stamford Bridge. Sky sources in Italy have stated that positive talks took place between his representatives and the English champions on Thursday, and optimism is high that he will agree a three-year deal within the next 10 days.But just who is the man poised to take over in the Chelsea dugout?Here, talkSPORT has taken a look at what those close to the manager himself have had to say on his approach, tactics and influence as a coach, including comments from Andrea Pirlo.‘When Conte speaks, his words assault you. They crash through the doors of your mind, often quite violently and settle deep within you. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve found myself saying, “Hell, Conte said something really spot-on again today”.’– Former Juventus midfielder Pirlo Antonio Conte is reportedly close to agreeing a three-year deal to become the next manager of Chelsea “I believe Conte is the best coach I have ever worked with. He is a tactician who really focuses on the details and knows absolutely everything about his opponents.”– Paris Saint-Germain and Italy midfielder Marco Verratti ‘I think he’s already on the same level [as Sir Alex Ferguson]. He’s not lacking anything. He shows that in every game and in every competition he’s involved in. He’s a top, top coach.’– Former Manchester United and Juventus striker Carlos Tevez “The secret of our success is the ambition our coach has. Conte has brought a new mentality to the club. He has pushed us to sweat, to find strength and to undergo hard work in order to cancel out the last two disappointing campaigns.”– Juventus and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon 2 2 “[Conte’s] 3-5-2 is the best in history. He’s the only coach who doesn’t play a 5-3-2. But he struggles against opponents with good wingers, who are able to switch play quickly. Big teams don’t have any problems doing that. You can’t dominate or set a trend with 3-5-2.”– Former AC Milan midfielder Zvonimir Boban ‘He told me [before leaving Manchester United for Juventus]: “With me, there’s no youth, it’s the best who plays. If you think you can establish yourself here, come, and we’ll see if you’re able to do it, show us what you can do.” He pushed me, he struck where it was needed to convince me. I like being given challenges like that. I like indirect provocation. That’s my goal: to be the best in my position, then the best in Europe and then the world.’– Juventus midfielder and France international Paul Pogba
AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MOREGame Center: Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, 10 a.m.Although such items as blue ice and plane parts have fallen in flight, a Web site for business travelers said it had never heard of luggage falling. CHICAGO – To the traveler who thinks he has the worst lost-luggage story, think again. A search continued Monday for one of two pieces of luggage that vanished Sunday after a cargo door on an airplane apparently opened in flight, airline officials said. Shortly after the plane took off from Midway Airport here, its controls indicated an air pressure problem, said a spokeswoman for Atlantic Southeast Airlines, which operated the Delta flight to Atlanta. The plane circled back and landed. None of the 70 passengers was injured, but the ground crew found a cargo door open. 160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set!
Indeed, the situation is so dire that at least one council member, Bernard Parks, has floated the idea of re-directing trash fees that were supposed to pay for new cops to the general fund. Apparently L.A. can afford a lavish new police headquarters; it just can’t afford the police officers to put inside it. Funny how things always work that way in City Hall: An extra $40 million to help beautify the downtown skyline? Sure thing! Need $300 million to boost salaries for city employees, whose unions just so happen to bankroll council members’ campaigns? You’ve got it! But when it comes to paving sidewalks, relieving traffic, hiring cops, trimming trees or meeting any of the other basic requirements of municipal government, suddenly cash is in short supply. The people have to make do with less, agree to more taxes, or – as is usually the case – both. In three months, city leaders are going to ask the public to approve a 9 percent phone tax, citing their supposed poverty. They call it a cut from the current illegal 10 percent tax, but don’t want to mention the measure extends the tax to Voice Over Internet Protocol, text messaging and every other form of telecommunications imaginable. When you go to vote on this tax, remember how city leaders casually tacked $40 million more to the Parker Center Project on Tuesday. Is this a group that really needs more of your money, let alone deserves it?160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MOREStriving toward a more perfect me: Doug McIntyre Is there a person alive who thinks the costs – especially given Tutor-Saliba’s history of price creep – won’t eventually hit the half-billion mark? What’s remarkable is that at the very time city leaders think nothing of spending tens of millions more on a monument to their municipal mismanagement, they’re pleading poverty. They’re so short of cash, they say, that they need to pass an “emergency” tax on telephones. They’re so poor, they argue, that they need to hike rates on water and power, then raid money from the crumbling public utility to help keep the city’s books balanced. And because of their great financial hardship, they insist, they have no choice but to cut city services this year. `IF the city is lucky,” we wrote in an editorial back in July of 2006, “it would get its new police HQ for just $400 million when all is said and done.” For all those wondering, no, the city of Los Angeles is not lucky. On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved another increase in the cost for the new Parker Center. The latest price tag is $437 million – an 80 percent increase from the time of that 2006 editorial, when the highly connected firm of Tutor-Saliba got the contract on a $243 million bid. Of course, that was already up $43 million, or 22 percent, from the $200 million that City Hall had budgeted for the project. And the latest estimate of $437 million is nearly triple the amount city leaders originally predicted when they unveiled plans for the new downtown structure. 
To reopen the street, giant cranes removed or rearranged hundreds of blast barriers and tons of barbed wire. Grass was planted in the park, foot bridges built and children’s swings and benches installed. Restaurants and other businesses were refurbished and owners were promised cash grants to get them through what promises to be a slow start. The opening was delayed several times because of security concerns, and Saturday’s celebration was heavily guarded by U.S. and Iraqi forces. Salam Jabar, a 37-year-old father of eight, made the trek from Baghdad’s main Shiite district of Sadr City with his family, saying the street’s reopening was a sign of success of the Baghdad security plan. “At first, when I saw the heavily deployed forces on the street, I was reluctant to attend the celebration, but I did not want to let my children down so I went ahead with it,” he said, sitting on a bench with his wife and watching their children playing on the swings and other playground equipment. “This is a great day that shows that Iraq is witnessing security,” he said. The street still has not regained a full sense of normalcy.160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! BAGHDAD – The smell of grilled fish and the sound of children’s laughter provided moments of joy for many Iraqis on Saturday as the government reopened Abu Nawas Street, a famous riverside promenade that has been largely barricaded from the public since the U.S.-led invasion. The Iraqi government hailed the renovation of the street – named for a ninth century poet and once known for its art galleries – as a sign of improved security. But the presence of U.S. troops and armed private security guards underscored the fragility of the new signs of calm. Lt. Gen. Abboud Qanbar, the Iraqi commander for Baghdad, recalled the concrete barriers that once lined the street before a U.S.-Iraqi security operation began in mid-February to quell spiraling violence. “The reconstruction of Abu Nawas is considered one of the bright results,” he said during the opening ceremonies. But he warned the fight was not over, saying “we realize that the enemy will not lay down his weapons as easily as some would think, but we are determined to defeat them.” AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MOREPettersson scores another winner, Canucks beat KingsAbu Nawas Street, which sits on the east side of the Tigris River, was long a popular retreat for Iraqis with its old eucalyptus trees and trademark fish restaurants. But it became a no-go zone shortly after U.S. Marines toppled Saddam Hussein’s statue at the nearby Firdous Square in 2003 and hundreds of American troops moved into the Palestine Hotel, an 18-story tower standing halfway along the street. Soon most of the smart apartment blocks built for officers of Saddam’s elite Republican Guard were abandoned, their occupants fleeing out of fear of reprisals. Squatters, mostly Shiites from the capital’s poorest districts or the south of the country, moved in. Mortars fired from eastern Baghdad toward the U.S.-protected Green Zone just across the river often have fallen short, crashing into the street, the park or the wide Tigris. Areas close to the street, such as the mainly Shiite Karradah district and Tahrir Square, have seen some of the worst bombings blamed on insurgents. Late-night gunfights still rage on Firdous Square and adjacent streets. 
• Photo Gallery: McKibben Elementary School Library • Video: Library grand opening SOUTH WHITTIER – South Whittier School District board President Jan Baird distinctly remembers when the district’s elementary school libraries were downsized in favor of more classroom space. It was about 15 years ago, Baird said, and her youngest son was in first grade. She worried then about the ramifications, but understood the district’s need to comply with class-size reductions. Her concern turned to action in 2004, when she and fellow trustee Sylvia Macias headed a committee for Measure I, a $7.5million bond measure that would mostly finance new elementary school libraries in South Whittier. AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MOREPettersson scores another winner, Canucks beat KingsNow, three years after voters approved Measure I, Baird joined district officials Monday at McKibben Elementary School for the first grand opening of the renovated libraries, which are up and running at all of the district’s elementary schools. “This is really something,” said Baird, 54, as she stood in the midst of the library, which was built out of two classrooms and features new carpeting, shelves, books and computers. “As a child, I remember how it felt when I got my first library card – it was empowering,” Baird said. “And I love to read, so this was important to me. It’s taken a while to build them, and we’re just about done, but they are amazing.” Former South Whittier Superintendent Richard Graves and current Superintendent Erich Kwek were also on hand at the opening, as well as trustee Sharon Stys and hundreds of students, parents and McKibben staff. “This is a really special occasion,” said Principal Kathy Miyamoto, who joined the school’s staff in mid-October. “The district had a dream to build these libraries, and now, after all the red tape (officials) went through, now they get to cut this ribbon and open this library,” Miyamoto told students. “This is just the beginning.” Kwek said much of the library construction at six of its elementary schools – Loma Vista, Telechron, McKibben, Monte Vista, Los Altos and Lake Marie – took place over the summer and wrapped up about the time the fall semester began. The library at the district’s seventh elementary school, Carmela, was updated a couple of years ago so it only needed to add new books, officials said. At McKibben, the library’s renovation was a hit with kindergarten teacher Carmen Ornelas, 38, who said she could make good use of a reading corner with carpeted stairs for youngsters to sit on during group readings. “Just the smell of the new carpeting and the wood, and they picked the best color for the paint – it’s so exciting for us,” Ornelas said. “I love that cozy little reading center,” she added. “This gives children a real, true sense of a public library, and we’re so grateful and appreciative of the community, PTA and board members who helped make it happen.” But there was no doubt about fourth-grader Gilbert Hernandez’s favorite part of his new school library. “The best part is that it has a lot of books,” said Hernandez, 10. “And it has a lot of books about fiction, which are the kind of books that I like.” tracy.garcia@sgvn.com (562) 698-0955, Ext. 3051160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set!
BURBANK – A sixth-grade student at John Muir Middle School collapsed during a run with his gym class Thursday morning and later died at a hospital, apparently of heart trouble, officials said. Austin Cook, 11, was taking a morning run with his gym class when he stumbled and fell, said Joel Shapiro, deputy superintendent with the Burbank Unified School District. The boy was taken to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, where he later died. “It’s a tragedy for anyone, and it’s particularly a tragedy at a school community when someone of this age passes away,” Shapiro said. “And our deepest condolences are with the family.” Austin was initially conscious and complaining of chest pain, Shapiro said. Then he lost consciousness again, until paramedics arrived and he regained consciousness briefly, Shapiro said. 160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! The boy underwent surgery at the hospital before being pronounced dead about 2 p.m., Shapiro said. Police and school officials said the child appears to have died of heart trouble, but a coroner’s examination is pending to determine the exact cause of death. Dan Boyle, a spokesman for Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, said the hospital could not immediately comment on the case. Austin did not complain of any pain before collapsing, and John Muir Middle School had nothing in the student’s health record showing that he had any problem with his heart, Shapiro said. The school district plans to have more than a dozen counselors and psychologists on hand today at the school to help students deal with their grief. 
AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MOREPettersson scores another winner, Canucks beat KingsDunford was among nine candidates who initially applied for appointment to Greer’s seat. term expires in a year. Greer, 49, announced in September she would be resigning at the end of November because she no longer had children attending schools in the district. Greer said she hoped another district parent would step up to fill her seat and serve from that perspective. “We had a number of very capable and well-qualified individuals come forward to volunteer to serve,” said board President Darin Barber. “This was a very difficult decision,” he added, “as all of the trustees would be proud to serve with any one of the applicants.” Dunford said he’s been involved with education for some time, mostly with his alma mater, Utah State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing. He also has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Redlands. “Being a banker and having advanced degrees in business, I think that’s probably the first area where I would add the most value to the district” as a board member, Dunford said. The district has struggled financially over the past few years, sparked by budget discrepancies in the 2005-06 fiscal year that led to a nearly $2million shortfall in 2006-07. But Lowell Joint’s financial outlook brightened last year with more dollars coming in from the state and the sale of Grovedale Elementary, which was being leased by the private Carden School. As a board member, Dunford said he hopes to “look at things we can do to help improve the finances of the district because we have limited resources and dollars coming from the state.” “The district’s foundation is an avenue to get additional revenue for the schools,” he said. “That way, we can bring back programs that we’ve lost over the past few years.” Greer’s tracy.garcia@sgvn.com (562) 698-0955, Ext. 3051160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! WHITTIER – Lowell Joint School District trustees have appointed local parent and U.S. Bank executive Eugene N. Dunford to serve out the unexpired term of Cathleen Greer, who has stepped down after seven years. Dunford, 42, was sworn in Monday evening at the board’s annual organizational meeting. He has two children, one of whom is an eighth-grader at Rancho-Starbuck Intermediate School. “I believe everything I have is because of my education and the teachers who helped me,” said Dunford, a U.S. Bank vice president in the Los Angeles commercial banking division. Dunford said he was motivated to apply for the board seat because he feels “very strongly that I want to give back to the community. That’s my responsibility.” 
On 18 April, Tottenham Hotspur were eight points clear of Arsenal and had four games left to play in the 2015/16 Premier League season.Spurs were five points behind leaders Leicester City and dreaming of a first league title since 1961.On 15 May, Tottenham were thrashed 5-1 by the 10-men of relegated Newcastle United, to finish the season on 70 points.Meanwhile Arsenal beat Aston Villa to end their campaign on 71 points.St Totteringham’s Day came late this year, but it arrived as usual! 1 Arsenal finished above Spurs thanks to an Olivier Giroud hat-trick and Newcastle thrashing their north London rivals 5-1 