'Morientes said we're a pleasure to watch'

One of the most instantly-recognisable faces at the club's Kirkby complex, Rodolfo has been at the heart of Liverpool's youth development since 2009.

And in his first weekly column, the Spaniard talks about Qatar, Jamie Carragher's decision to retire and how Fernando Morientes hailed Liverpool's young talents after watching them in action recently...

On Wednesday I returned from Qatar, where I had been for 11 days with our Academy youngsters competing in the Al-Kass Cup.

It was a great experience for the players, the coaches and the staff and there was a very high level of competition including teams from all over the world.

Fantastic clubs and academies were involved, like Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Boca Juniors, Fluminense, PSG and many others.

The facilities over there were unbelievable, as was the organisation. And our lads who travelled were very young compared to a lot of other teams but they did very well. They played some fantastic football with good style - especially in the first four games.

One of our games was against Real Madrid, whose manager is Fernando Morientes - a man Reds fans will know well. It was a fantastic game but we lost 2-1 and we were beaten by a set-piece with eight minutes to go. At the end of the game, it was nice to hear from Morientes and his staff.

Later on in the hotel, he said it was a pleasure to see a British side playing such good football. He and his staff were impressed with the kind of play and the style that we were trying to play. This was great to hear.

But our trip was not all about football. When Frank McParland, academy director, Dee Kundra, Liverpool commercial PR manager and myself were looking at this tournament, we were not only looking at the football side of it, we were also looking at trying to represent Liverpool Football Club in a positive way.

As a club we are always very keen to take on activities in the community. We do this constantly, in Liverpool, in the surrounding areas and around the world - we want to leave our own stamp.

So during our visit, we went to the Shafallah Center, a foundation for excellence caring for children with disabilities, and took part in plenty of other community events and interviews involving local people.

Back in England, we returned to the news that Jamie Carragher will retire from football at the end of this season.

For me, Jamie, along with Steven Gerrard, is the perfect example of what Liverpool Football Club is all about. Ever since I came in here, I have tried to use him as an example, on so many occasions, to my players. I did it with the U18s and I did it when I was manager of the U21s.

I think he is what Liverpool is all about, in terms of focus, mentality, determination, passion for the game and leadership.

Even the careers of great players, sooner or later, have to end and he has decided that this moment is right for him to go. He has shown how great he is, even in deciding on the timing of the announcement. Right now we are in an international break before we go back into the Europa League and so his announcement is perfect timing.

He could have been selfish but he has been thinking of the team. He represents all the values of Liverpool Football Club.

He comes down to watch games at the Academy - his son trains here. But Jamie always tries to be in the background, he never looks for attention. He's usually quiet in a corner, watching his son. I have had the pleasure of talking to him and you can feel his passion for the game when you chat.

In general, the new generations of players don't always have that sort of passion for the game because, unfortunately, there are many other distractions that surround them. He's been a great example to so many young players who have come through.

And the last three years have been a very successful period at the Academy, in terms of producing players for the first team.

A lot has changed recently and I think we have a very good model here now, in the way we play, right through the age groups. We are trying to improve still but I think, as an Academy, we have a very clear identity and everyone around the country recognises that.

At the Academy, we are all very proud of all of the players who go up to Melwood. Jack Robinson was the first one to get through, we kept it going with Jon Flanagan and then later on Andre Wisdom, Raheem Sterling, Suso and also the likes of Conor Coady, Adam Morgan and Jerome Sinclair, who have already made their debut in the first team.

In the years to come, we will look to produce even more.