Izuchukwu OkosiLiverpool assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders addressed the media on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the Reds’ Carabao Cup game away at the Vitality Stadium against Bournemouth.
The coach also spoke on the global attention to the kidnap of the parents of forward Luis Diaz.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelDiaz’s parents were kidnapped last week in his native Colombia which sparked wide outrage including the country’s president.
The player’s mother was secured but his father is still in the hands of his underworld.
Consequently, Diaz played no part in the team’s league game against Brentford.
“We have to try to support him as much as we can, a lot of things are out of our hands. We hope the authorities can find his dad, we pray for that. As long as we do the right thing for him, he is one of us.
“The team responded brilliantly by putting the shirt up, and the way the stadium reacted was a special moment. Our motto is You’ll Never Walk Alone. So we just pray for a good situation.”
The Colombian Police has offered to reward anybody with useful information about the whereabout and possible release of the player’s father.
Lijnders on team news ahead of the game against the Cherries said: “Stefan Bajetic is definitely not available, Curtis Jones trained yesterday, he has made unbelievable steps. He is available.”
On squad rotation: “It’s the quality of the players, our squad is full of potential. In the Toulouse game [in the Europa League], we made eight changes and kept our identity. That comes from training, meetings, videos, our players’ hunger and desire, they all want to achieve.”
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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