Liverpool hero Jose Reina
feels his strength is helping him on his way to becoming a 'great'
goalkeeper.
Reina's two saves in Tuesday's penalty shoot-out against Chelsea
took Liverpool into a second UEFA Champions League final in three
years.
His spot-kick prowess also helped The Reds to win last season's FA
Cup final, although Reina puts his record down to 'luck'.
However, the Spaniard believes his mental toughness is playing a
key role in establishing him as one of the game's top
keepers.
"My penalty record is down to luck, but you have to like football
too," said Reina in The Sun.
"The more you watch games, the more information you learn. Ahead of
the Chelsea game I didn't do too much different than I would
normally do, but it is important to know what their players do at
other moments.
"It depends always on the situation of the game. There are many
things. But I won't say too much more because that is my
secret.
"To be a great goalkeeper - and that is what I am trying to be -
you must be f***ing strong. Excuse me for using that word.
"Your mistakes are magnified and, at a club like Liverpool, more
so. Every one is seen as the end of the world and you have to be
very strong mentally to ignore that.
"But throughout my career I have had to be strong. The start of
this season was like that and when I had to leave Barcelona for
Villarreal it was the same. I learned a lot from that
experience."
