Benitez stunned at Riise call up

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez can’t believe Norway have selected crocked wing-back John Arne Riise for their European Championship qualifying squad. “John is not ready to play for Norway,” said Benitez today. “The situation with John and Carra is the same. They are injured and I don’t believe it’s fair they should have to go with their national teams. “The players understand that although the national team is important, the club, the supporters and their team-mates are even more important at this moment. “We have a lot of people with high expectations this season, who want us to achieve big things, but we played the most important game with some of our best players short of a month’s preparation due to the World Cup. “Now there are two qualifiers at the start of the season. It’s crazy. “This is not just a problem for Liverpool, but all the big clubs. “I saw the Liverpool fans in Kiev, and I want to thank them, but it’s wrong we could not prepare properly for such an important game because our World Cup players did not have the same level of pre-season training. It was very dangerous for us. “The supporters spend a lot of money to travel to watch us play and expect us to be in the Champions League, and it’s crazy if we are not able to have the players at the right level because of so many international games.”