Djimi Traore exclusive on close relationship with Rafa Benítez, rejecting Everton and helping Liverpool win the Champions League

In a Blood Red podcast special, former Liverpool defender Djimi Traore sits down with Joe Rimmer and Paul Gorst to talk through his career.The ex-Mali international made 141 appearances for the Reds, which included the Champions League triumph of 2005.Traore details what it was like arriving on Merseyside as an unproven teenager and tells us what he learned playing alongside defenders like Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypia.Traore also revealed how he nearly wasn't part of the Reds' most famous European night - after strong interest from David Moyes' Everton! An infamous own goal at Burnley is touched on as Traore discusses how he went from his lowest Liverpool ebb to winning the Champions League just a few months later.A coach himself now with Seattle Sounders in the MLS, Traore tells us what he has learned working under revered Reds managers like Rafa Benitez and Gerard Houllier, and France's World Cup-winning coach Didier Deschamps.It's a must-listen. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices