Barnes offers support for Benitez

Liverpool and Juventus are enduring a torrid season but John Barnes and Massimo Bonini, two former stalwarts of these two European heavyweights, believe that their embattled coaches should be given time to turn things around.

"The club went through a very difficult time a few years back," Bonini said, referring to Juve's demotion from the Serie A for their role in the 2006 match-fixing scandal.

"It was not easy for Juve to build a competitive squad after being relegated from the Serie A. The club's financial resources have diminished but I still think that Juve have a valid squad this season.

"Juve have been disrupted by injuries to key players like Momo Sissoko and Vincenzo Iaquinta. It's also equally true that they have signed players who are not getting any younger, like Fabio Cannavaro and Fabio Grosso, while Diego and Felipe Melo have not had an easy time getting used to the demands of Italian football."

"I don't know what Massimo said but Liverpool are doing worse than his old team," Barnes, 46, said.

"The current Liverpool squad isn't as strong technically as that of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. (Steven) Gerrard and (Fernando) Torres are world-class but Liverpool have lost Xabi Alonso and Alberto Aquilani has just come into the team.

"Liverpool's first game against Tottenham this season told the whole story. Tottenham's substitutes bench was stronger than Liverpool's.

"Liverpool overachieved last season. I still believe that they can finish in the top four but they are going through a difficult spell and with Torres, Gerrard and (Yossi) Benayoun out injured, the situation is not very good.

"I still think that (manager) Rafael Benitez is the right man for the job. I don't see the point of changing the manager if you don't have money to spend on new players.

"The season is not over for Liverpool. Yes, they are out of the Champions League and the FA Cup but they're in the Europa League and they can still make the top four. Fourth place in the Premier League is what Liverpool should aim for."

Like Benitez, Ciro Ferrara, the Juventus coach, has come under fire for his team's spluttering form.

"Ferrara is a young, inexperienced coach," the 50-year-old Bonini said.

"It's hard to handle a squad like that of Juventus but you've got to have faith. I mean Melo is a first-choice player for Brazil and Diego had done great things in the Bundesliga."

Fielding a question about the impact the influx of foreign coaches and players is having on English football, Barnes replied: "The foreign players improve the clubs at the top of English football but, in the long run, it will be detrimental for the English national team.

"At present, England are doing well because they still have Gerrard, Lampard and Rooney but in seven to ten years' time, they will struggle unless English players are playing regularly for the top clubs.

"Anything that stifles the development of the English players coming through is not good for the national side."

Barnes believes England have as good a chance of going far in this year's World Cup as the other top nations.

"If they play to their potential, England can win it but so can the likes of Brazil," Barnes said. "Consistency will play a key role. If England get to the quarter-finals, they've got a chance of winning it but so do the other top teams."

Despite their status as reigning world champions, Italy are not being bracketed among the favourites to triumph in South Africa.

Scepticism about Italy's chances stems from their disappointing showing in Euro 2008 and their somewhat inconsistent performances over the last two years.

Bonini acknowledged that Italy face an uphill struggle but he's not writing them off.

"The national team is not going through a great moment but Italy have this knack of showing their true mettle in tough times," Bonini said.

"Brazil and Spain are very strong but, at every big tournament, much will depend on the form and fitness of the players during that period."

After Italy's exit to Spain at the quarter-final stage of Euro 2008, the FIGC sacked Roberto Donadoni and re-appointed Marcello Lippi who had led the Azzurri to their 2006 World Cup triumph.

"If I were Lippi I wouldn't have accepted the job after winning the World Cup but he clearly relishes the challenge of trying to do it all over again," Bonini commented.

"In the past few years, I think Lippi should have given more players a chance with the national team but it is clear that he has great confidence in the group that won the World Cup."

The subject of racism in football was also raised during yesterday's news conference, hosted by the Kunsill Malti għall-iSport who sponsored the visit of Barnes and Bonini for last Saturday's SportMalta Awards - L-Għażliet Sportivi Nazzjonali.

"It (racism) didn't affect me," Barnes, who won two league titles with Liverpool and played 79 times for England, said.

"More than footballers, we're human beings and people react differently to certain situations. Samuel Eto'o responds differently to me when he is subjected to racial abuse but he does what he believes is right for him.

"Personally, I took no notice of it whatsoever. I didn't allow it to affect my performances on the pitch."

Bonini said sport is meant to unite people.

"The Heysel tragedy (when 39 Juventus fans lost their lives after crowd trouble prior to the 1985 European Cup final against Liverpool) was a very harrowing experience," Bonini, who won several honours during his eight-year stint with Juventus, recalled.

"Several innocent people died that day. Sport should unite not divide people."

Barnes, who still harbours hopes of making his mark as a manager despite a string of unsuccessful spells with different clubs, named Diego Maradona as the best player he's played with.

"Five years ago, when I was 40, fat and overweight, I played with a certain Diego Maradona. He has always been my favourite player.

"In my Liverpool days, I played with many great players, Ian Rush, Alan Hansen, but I would stick with Maradona as the best of all time."