Liverpool boasted an array of impressive youngsters at the end of the 1990s breaking into the first team, including Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen, but one agent missed out on the opportunity to sign them.
While still only 17, Owen made his debut during the 1996/97 season, with Gerrard following him a couple of years later. Both quickly developed at Anfield and became important players under first Roy Evans and then later Gerard Houlier, with the pair standing out in Liverpool training among seasoned professionals like Paul Ince, Steve McManaman and Rigobert Song.
German international Karl-Heinz Riedle joined Liverpool in 1997 after having just won the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund, and was immediately impressed by the academy graduates – so much so that even phoned his agent urging him to sign them.
“They had two young players who were both 17 years old when I arrived: one was called Michael Owen and the other one was Steven Gerrard,” Riedle exclusively tells FourFourTwo when asked which Liverpool players impressed him the most.
“When we had the first training session, I couldn’t even believe how good those two guys were. I said to our coach, Roy Evans, ‘What is this? What do you have here?!’
“Michael was incredible at his age, and with Steven you could see straight away that he had no restraint at all – he was tackling Paul Ince in the first training session and he couldn’t even train any more after that. Normally 17-year-old players are more in awe, but Stevie killed him in the five-a-side. You could see his desire, his talent – everything.
“Actually, I phoned my agent after the first training session and told him about them because I knew they both had no contracts. I said ‘Listen, you have to come over – there are two boys who you should sign if you’re not silly.’ But he didn’t come! You could see their talent straight away.”
That missed opportunity from Riedle’s agent later proved a costly mistake.
While Gerrard stayed at Liverpool to become club captain and one of the best-paid players in the Premier League, Owen completed a lucrative move to Real Madrid before returning to England with Newcastle, Manchester United and Stoke.
Riedle, meanwhile, spent two years at Anfield before joining Fulham in the second tier. He became caretaker manager there, utilising the help of his former Liverpool manager Roy Evans.
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