As Liverpool’s Barclays Premier League season begins with an away match against Tottenham Hotspur on August 15, 2009, one can only imagine the thoughts that are racing through the mind of Rafael Benitez, their manager since the year 2004. The 2008-09 season saw Liverpool’s dominance in English club football finishing in second place… thanks to Manchester United’s inspiring performance! Football is much like life, requiring one to expect the unexpected and to embrace loss with as much grace as victory, knowing that it’s only temporary as long as you get off that field in one piece, of course. Good Lord! What am I talking about? This is not croquet we’re talking about… This is English club football… Er… a post-modern form of war… a matter of life and death really where winning is not just everything but the ONLY thing! And caught in a blast of aspirations, fan opinions and manager expectations is the team Liverpool FC that finished second in the Premiership for the season 2008-09. Some things never change… and they never will. For any passionate Liverpool football fan (and passionate they are!), their fervor is only matched by their appreciation for Steven Gerrard (who has spent his entire career at Liverpool), Robbie Keane (who was recently transferred amidst controversy from Tottenham Hotspur) and the Dutch-born Dirk Kuyt known for being one of the hardest working players in the game. There’s no need to introduce, the defender Jamie Carragher (also known as Mr. Liverpool) for his last ditch tackles and the striker Fernando Torres with his unbelievable streak of 33 goals in his 2007-08 debut season campaign for Liverpool that broke the 30-goal record previously held by Robbie Fowler in the same position, and is not very far in achieving Godlike status in the hearts of his Anfield fans. There’s also the midfielder Javier Mascherano, who is described by the one and only Maradona as a monster of a player in recovering possession of the ball and Pepe Raina, the goalkeeper who is known to have a knack for saving penalties. And then there’s the Spanish midfielder from Real Sociedad who joined Liverpool in August 2004, Xabi Alonso, the man who is considered by many as one of the best passers in the game of football, and was responsible for breaking the invincible Chelsea 86 match record of not losing a game at Stamford Bridge in the 2008-09 season. Of course, it was delightful moment for him as this was the key to Liverpool taking the second spot behind Manchester United in the 2008-09 final Premiership League Standings. With a strong performance behind them in the previous season, and a team that has been carefully and lovingly built by their manager for the past 5 years, one can only say that the mix of experience and youthfulness that has made Liverpool so successful during the last season is merely a foretaste of what is to come in the upcoming season of 2009-10. So, since they prefer letting their feet to do the talking, let’s watch a compilation of the top 10 goals that Liverpool scored in the 2008-09 season clearly indicating their rise and dominance in the English Premier League: {youtube}7AK_EVXLRLI{/youtube}