JOHN ARNE RIISE'S brother has revealed the depth of the Liverpool defender's despair by admitting it will be days before they speak about his Champions League aberration against Chelsea.
The Norwegian was among the last to leave the scene of his own-goal at Anfield on Tuesday night, the misery of his stoppage-time header compounded when he was selected for a compulsory drugs test after the semi-final first leg. Riise could give only a brief response when asked for his reaction to handing Avram Grant's team the advantage - "What can I say? I'm just so disappointed" - and the defender's reluctance to speak was confirmed as genuine yesterday by his younger brother, Bjorn Helge.
Riise, who plays for Lillestrom, revealed: "I tried getting in contact with John Arne after the game. Eventually he sent me back a text message saying, 'I don't want to speak. I'm so disappointed. Give me a call back in a couple of days and we'll speak then'."
Rafael Benitez absolved Riise of blame for the 95th-minute error that turned the tie in favour of Chelsea and Liverpool's players have been quick to rally behind the 27-year-old in what may prove his final season at Anfield. The left back, who replaced the injured Fabio Aurelio in the 62nd minute of the semi-final, reaches the final 12 months of his Liverpool contract this summer and has yet to be offered an extension.
Liverpool's captain, Steven Gerrard, vowed to "pick him up, that's my job as captain" before next Wednesday's return at Stamford Bridge. Gerrard said: "It was a horrible way for the game to finish for John and I really felt for him. He has been here a long time and done some wonderful things for this club. He is a great lad, too, and no one is pointing any fingers at him over what happened."
The goalkeeper Jose Reina, who was otherwise untroubled, said there were no repercussions for Riise even in the seconds following the own-goal. Reina said: "What could John say to me? Of course it was a bad way to concede but he was just trying to clear the ball. It was an accident. Going into the last minute it was going to be a great result for us but we have to help him now and he knows that. I just said to him, 'Carry on, that's football'. How many times has he cleared things and played fantastic for us? We have to support him."
Liverpool's co-owner Tom Hicks, meanwhile, visited Benitez for a second time at the club's Melwood training complex yesterday as the Texan attempts to reassure the manager his ownership dispute with George Gillett will soon be resolved and will not hinder the club's summer transfer plans.
Hicks, together with his son and fellow Liverpool director Tom Jr, met the Spaniard yesterday morning. Speaking after Tuesday night's draw with Chelsea, Hicks claimed Benitez was encouraged by his proposals to hold a meeting with Gillett and, possibly, the chief executive, Rick Parry.
"I visited the manager at the training ground and we had a great meeting," Hicks said. "We talked about a lot of things and it was a very positive, encouraging meeting. We have agreed to meet again to discuss the future and it is a very healthy situation. Rafa is happy and he wants to talk about where he is taking the club in the future. The talks were really positive, so I am surprised if anyone else is saying different. We plan to all get together and discuss the future and Rafa is happy with that."
Gerrard remains confident Liverpool can win the tie, saying: "We are a very good side in Europe away from home and that is the key point, not what people are saying about how we never seem to score at Stamford Bridge. We have got the players and the belief to go down there and beat Chelsea. We haven't been to Stamford Bridge yet with Fernando Torres in the team and that could make a difference.
"I could see on his face how disappointed he was at not scoring (on Tuesday night), but that's how he is. I think he expects to score in every game and he has more often than not. It was still apparent how he causes real problems for defences and it will be the same down there. You wouldn't put it past him to get that all-important away goal that could end up taking us through. Even this season we have been to places like Inter Milan and Arsenal and scored, so I don't see why we can't do the same at Stamford Bridge. There is a real confidence we can do it." Guardian Service
