Record signing Fernando Torres may have signed in at Anfield amid a blaze of publicity during the summer – but he wasn't the only new arrival from Spain to join the Reds.
While manager Rafael Benitez was spending millions to secure the services of one of European football's most feared forwards, LFC TV were swooping on the world famous Bernabeu to strengthen its front line team on the club's new channel.
After two years working for Real Madrid TV, 23-year-old Claire Rourke has jumped at the chance of a return to England to become a senior presenter on the Reds' new channel, available exclusively on Setanta Sports from September 20.
"I'm so excited about this opportunity," said Claire, who will be a regular member of the presenting team, hosting news, discussion and talk shows on LFC TV. "It's the only job I would have left Madrid for. Being a Liverpool fan, this was just the perfect job for me and I couldn't turn it down when the chance came up.
"It wasn't that I was looking to leave Madrid because my whole life was in Spain and I loved my job there, but I knew this was something I had to do. I'd only been abroad for two years but when I saw the plans for the Liverpool channel, I was desperate to be involved. In fact, it scared me how much I wanted the job and now I'm looking forward to contributing to what we're all sure is going to be a great channel for the club.
"As well as being one of the presenters on LFC TV I'll also be producing a number of the shows. It's a role I really enjoyed in Madrid and with this being a new channel the opportunities will be there to create the kinds of programmes the fans are going to love watching."
After graduating from the University of Central Lancashire with a 2:1 in Broadcast Journalism, Claire was handed the chance of a lifetime when she beat off challenges from hundreds of other applicants to land a position as one of the presenters on the English version of Real Madrid TV.
"Even though I loved the job, and even though I knew it was a dream opportunity, it was still a big decision to go out there because moving to a different country obviously felt a bit scary," she said. "But the job just seemed so exciting and so challenging and it felt like a reward for the hard work I had put in at University.
"On a day to day basis we were responsible for presenting the news and match coverage programmes on the channel, whether they were live or pre-recorded. I travelled with the first team all across Europe and was with them throughout their La Liga campaigns.
"Of course last season was extra special because Madrid won the title and it was on that final night against Real Mallorca when I realised moving to Liverpool was definitely the right thing to do because I had experienced the ultimate high in Madrid and I was now ready for a new adventure at Anfield."
Based in her home town of Doncaster – where Claire once played for the Doncaster Belles Ladies team, helping them to success in the reserves Premier League and FA Cup – her family are understandably thrilled with her return to England, and in particular with her new job.
"I'm from a family of Reds and grew up supporting the club with my mum, dad and brother so, obviously, they're all delighted for me," she added. "We went to the games on and off when I was younger when we had season tickets for a few years.
"My first ever Liverpool game was a 2-0 defeat away to Aston Villa. I went to the match with my brother's football team, of which my dad was the manager. I remember me and my friend were the only two girls on the trip. Even though it wasn't Anfield, just to be at a stadium like that was incredible and I thought to myself, 'I could get used to this!'
"I've got great memories of Anfield. I remember one of my first games was a European Cup Winners Cup tie against FC Sion in 1996 when we won 6-3. My abiding memory of that night was the way the away fans all started singing 'Liverpool – Liverpool!' The entire stadium then all started singing 'Sion – Sion!' I remember not being able to see any of the goals go in because I was so small. When it got to the fourth goal I knew we had scored because my dad would pick me up.
"We always used to sit in the Kop and my favourite players were always Robbie Fowler, because he scored the goals, and Steve McManaman, because he was a winger and my dad said I used to play like him. They were really special times and gave me so many happy memories. I'm really looking forward to the prospect of being a regular again at Anfield."
Claire had only been in her new position at LFC TV for a matter of hours before jetting out to Rotterdam to work on the club's pre-season tournament in Holland in early August.
Hours of filming around the picturesque Dutch city for a special pre-season round-up show - to be broadcast on the channel's second night on air - were interrupted only by the opportunity to meet up with chief executive Rick Parry and manager Rafael Benitez for the first time.
She also conducted her first LFC interview – with another Spanish arrival.
"After Fernando Torres scored his first goal for us against Shanghai, we knew we had to interview him and I spoke to him in Spanish after the match for the website," she recalls. "I am sure Fernando will do a great job for Liverpool. He was hero-worshipped at his previous club and I'm sure it'll be the same here.
"Meeting up with the manager was an experience I'll never forget because he spoke to me only in Spanish!
"I've really been made to feel welcome by everybody at the club and absolutely know I've made the right decision to come here."
So, with the launch of LFC TV now just one week away and with the production team having worked around the clock for months to get the operation up and running, what does Claire believe will be the key to a successful channel?
"I think the fans are going to want to see something that nobody else can offer," she added. "Because the supporters are so passionate about this club, I'm sure the channel will be equally as passionate. The majority of people working on LFC TV are Liverpool fans and so they – along with everybody else - are putting everything they have into making it as good as it possibly can be."
And despite having spent hundreds of hours in front of the cameras in Madrid, Claire admits the nerves will kick in before her first appearance on LFC TV.
"I'm used to working in front of cameras and fronting shows, but I know I'll still be terrified the first time I appear on air at Liverpool," she says.
"I will be really, really scared but at the same time so proud because even though I've only been here a few weeks, I know how much it means to everybody involved and, as a fan, I know how much it will mean to everybody watching it." |
發表於 2007-9-12 10:08 PM
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