Portugal and Real Madrid star Coentrao has firmly established himself as one of the finest left-backs in the world currently, showing both attacking and defensive expertise in abundance. Prior to his move to Santiago Bernabeu in 2011, however, Liverpool were very interested in bringing the then Benfica man to Anfield. Left-back had been an area of the pitch the Reds had struggled in ever since the exit of John Arne Riise in the summer of 2008, and Coentrao was seen as the perfect man to fill that void. He was young and had vast potential. Instead, manager at the time Kenny Dalglish missed out on his man, and Jose Enrique was signed from Newcastle United instead. The Spaniard has never even come close to reaching the Portuguese's level though, and it is a real shame that the Liverpool faithful never saw him in the famous home strip. Coentrao has enjoyed three very fine seasons in La Liga, winning a league title and the Champions League. At 26, he still has many great years ahead of him.
