NewsPepe Reina reaches milestone of 1,000 professional games
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina played the 1,000th professional match of his career on Wednesday night.
The Spaniard, now 40, reached the remarkable milestone by starting for Villarreal in their La Liga clash with Cadiz – and celebrated the occasion with a clean sheet in a 2-0 win.
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More than a third of those appearances – 394 – came during a nine-year spell at LFC after Reina was signed by Rafael Benitez in the summer of 2005.
The stopper collected UEFA Super Cup and FA Cup winner’s medals during his debut season on Merseyside and went on to help the Reds reach the Champions League final in 2007.
Reina lifted the League Cup as part of Kenny Dalglish’s side in 2012, while on a personal level he was the recipient of the Premier League Golden Glove three times (2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08).
This is currently his second spell with Villarreal, and the ’keeper has also represented Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Aston Villa and Lazio, as well as his country on the international stage.
“I feel very thankful and very lucky because I love what I do,” Reina told the BBC World Service. “That’s the only secret: dedication, being as professional as I can.”