RB Leipzig No 1 Peter Gulacsi recalls facing Steven Gerrard penalties and Luis Suarez free kicks in Liverpool training and learning an ‘elite mindset’ from Pepe Reina ahead of showdown with former side (where he didn’t get a game in SIX YEARS!)
- Peter Gulacsi spent six years with Liverpool but didn’t play a single minute
- He was understudy to Pepe Reina and Doni plus had three spells out on loan
- Hungarian stopper is now preparing to face his old club as RB Leipzig No 1
- First leg of Champions League last-16 tie takes place in Budapest on Tuesday
- Gulacsi says he is grateful to Reina for teaching him an ‘elite mindset’
Peter Gulacsi has revealed how he never got anywhere near Steven Gerrard’s penalties or Luis Suarez’s ‘phenomenal’ free-kicks in training at Liverpool as he prepares to face his old club.
The Hungarian keeper, now No 1 at RB Leipzig, had a strange career at Anfield between 2007 and 2013 as he made the Liverpool matchday squad 52 times but didn’t play a single minute.
He spent time out on loan in the Football League with Hereford United, Tranmere Rovers and Hull City before moving on to Red Bull Salzburg in 2013 and then on to their sister club in Leipzig.
Peter Gulacsi is preparing to face his former club Liverpool with RB Leipzig this week
Gulacsi had an odd six-year career at Liverpool as he didn’t play a single minute, serving instead as understudy to Pepe Reina (right)
But as Gulacsi, 30, prepares to face Jurgen Klopp’s team in the last-16 of the Champions League, he recalls his days with Liverpool not with frustration at a lack of opportunity but fondness.
‘I can count the number of pens I saved from him [Gerrard] on one hand,’ Gulacsi told The Athletic.
He added that ‘Suarez’s free-kicks were phenomenal’ and Fernando Torres was ‘the best in one-vs-one situations’ as he recalled training sessions at Melwood at a time when Brendan Rodgers was moulding a team to challenge for the Premier League title.
‘I have the best memories. Just being at a fantastic club with unbelievably good players was a great experience,’ Gulacsi said.
Gulacsi speaks fondly of the competitive spirit at Liverpool, admitting he didn’t get close to Steven Gerrard’s penalties and that Luis Suarez’s free-kick were ‘phenomenal’
Suarez fires one of his free-kick during a Premier League fixture against Wigan in 2013
Steven Gerrard converts one of his penalties for Liverpool against Tottenham in 2014
‘Every training felt like a game, nobody wanted to lose. As a young goalkeeper, you had to be 100 per cent all the time.’
Despite being understudy to Spanish keeper Reina, Gulacsi is grateful for the education he received from him.
‘We are completely different in terms of build and style. Technically, he was a really strong goalkeeper but what I learned from him especially was having a kind of elite mindset,’ he said.
‘In those six years he missed, I think, maybe a few games. Because he was really, really focused on playing every single game.
‘He was so consistent, never showing any weakness, he was strong all the time. To see that up close was an experience I could really use later in my career.’
Gulacsi has just passed 200 appearances for the Bundesliga club as they try and chase down reigning champions Bayern Munich at the top of the table.
Hungarian keeper Gulacsi makes a save for RB Leipzig against Bayern Munich last season
Gulacsi makes a save during Leipzig’s German Cup win over Bochum earlier this month
Leipzig defeated Augsburg 2-1 in Friday night to move within four points of Bayern but the recently-crowned world champions have the chance to response when they host Arminia Bielefeld on Monday night.
Meanwhile, Leipzig play the ‘home’ leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Liverpool at the neutral venue of the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, on Tuesday night.
It’s a good time to face Liverpool, who lost 3-1 to Leicester City on Saturday in the Premier League, their third straight defeat, after which Klopp conceded the title.
The Reds, in fourth, are 13 points behind leaders Manchester City, who beat Tottenham later in the day and retain a game in hand.
‘I don’t think we can close the gap,’ Klopp admitted. ‘We are not worried about the title, we are not silly.’