By Liverpool REDS, quotes from Official Magazine:

WITH his 2 goals in the opening month of the Premiership, Titi Camara made everyone sit up and take notice. He even had fans wondering "Michael who?"...Well almost at least. (NOT in the Watford and Boro games!). Quite an achievement considering that he was brought in as cover for Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler.

Camara never let that fact get him down and he outlined his intentions right from the start, saying: "I know there will be competition for places but that doesn't worry me. I had that with Marseilles.

"At the start of last season there weren't too many people who expected me to do much with Marseilles, but I worked hard and forced my way into the side. That is what I want to do here at Liverpool."

Before the season began, few were confident of this £2.6 million striker from Guinea. Even as Houllier described him as "big and strong" and raved about his reputation as a proven goalscorer, few believed that he would make any impact. Afterall, before Camara made Premiership history by being the first Guinea national to play in the league, he did not command a first team place at Marseilles after falling out with the manager.

It happened that the French club had intended to sell him to Newcastle during the winter, but when Camara opted to stay put, he was left on the bench. During that bleak period, Camara "didn't feel mentally right to give one hundred percent to the club", and he described it as "a great shame", having already established a good relationship with the fans during his first season.

That incident left Camara "disillusioned with football for a while" but his move to Liverpool has brought back his hunger for the game. Of his move to the Reds, Camara had this to say: "I'm very happy to be at Liverpool...I know Gerard Houllier, though not as manager, but I do know Patrice Bergues very well because he was in charge at Lens when we had a fantastic season."

Being part of Liverpool is certainly easier for Camara, since he knows both the manager and the coach and he can consider himself lucky that a move to Tottenham a year ago fell through after the scaking of Christian Gross. Although he was happy to return to Marseilles eventually, he is still eager to prove a point and looks forward to facing Spurs.

"I want to prove to Tottenham that they should have signed me when they had the chance." Camara says of the club he nearly signed for. For the moment, he has his heart set on helping Liverpool back to its former glory. He is eager to be part of the Red's Revolution and his goal is clear as he states simply:

"I want to help the club become the best in the Premiership."

IF Gerard Houllier is to be believed, then SAMI HYYPIA's arrival at Anfield was alomost an accident. After last season's shaky campaign, the club's management knew what they wanted - good, solid defenders. And it was with that in mind that a group of Liverpool representatives headed to Germany.

As it turned out, signing this Finnish international was far off their agenda. What they did see was a remarkable display of determination and grit coming from a defender with obvious club, a defender playing for the opposing Finnish side! If the scouts were on the lookout for German talents, they left impressed by Hyypia.

Hyypia displayed true character in that match, managing to shut out Oliver Bierhoff in spite of an earlier collision that left him with a bandaged head. The rest is history as Hyypia soon entered the Liverpool fray under the scrutiny of the sceptics.

Not one to be bothered by the mammoth task that lay ahead, Hyypia displayed his confidence, bravely declaring "I'm strong and good in the air, and if that's where Liverpool nedd to improve, then I'm sure I'm the man."

HYYPIA's confidence probably comes with his experience in the European scene. Prior to his arrival at Anfield, Hyypia enjoyed a wonderful season at Willem II, captaining the Dutch side to a second place finish in the league - and qualification for the Champion's League.

With his move to Liverpool, Hyypia did in fact, give up a chance to play in Europe. He has no regrets on his move to Merseyside though, proclaiming "I know I've given up the chance to play in the Champion's League by leaving Willem, and I also know that Liverpool are not in Europe. But I've great confidence that with the players at Anfield we can soon be back in Europe and of course, the aim has to be qualifying for the Champion's League."

The man once touted as Jaap Stam's replacement at PSV Eindhoven has certainly settled more quickly than his more illustrious Dutch counterpart. Much is expected of Hyypia as well as the other summer signings. To ask him to turn the Red's famously lame defence around so quickly may be unreasonable, but if his tremendous display against Arsenal is anything to go by, then Liverpool are in for a much brighter season.

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Liverpool REDS created 1999 © Nuke