Liverpool FC goalkeeper Pepe Reina will be writing a blog for uefa.com during the UEFA Champions League and in his first of the season, he looks ahead to the new campaign, talks about life after Xabi Alonso and sets his sights on Wednesday's Group E opponents Debreceni VSC.

Pepe Reina blog
We start every new season with the hope of winning titles. We want to win the Premier League because Liverpool are due a league title. Last season we came close and we're going to try again with everything we've got. We always go a long way in the Champions League too, and we'll try to keep up our good performances in that competition. Our objective is to play in the final at the Santiago Bernabéu. It'll be hard, but we've already played in two finals in this decade, and we want to finish it by playing in another.

The Champions League is a competition all players love playing in and I'm really looking forward to getting started. It's crucial to win the first Champions League game, even more so when we're playing at Anfield. We can't let victory slip away when we're playing at home. We'll go out very motivated because whenever we play in front of our own fans we give our all so that we can reward their support with a win.

Debrecen are opponents who merit as much respect as Real Madrid or Barcelona. We'll go out very focused on our game, our attitude will be very positive and we'll play with a determination to get the first three points. We'll know everything there is to know about Debrecen because Rafael Benítez and his staff make sure we have all the information on our opponents so that we know their strengths and weaknesses before every match. A team that plays in the Champions League is always a good team, always.

At the start of a new season there are always new team-mates to meet, while others are opting for a change of scene. We always try to make sure the new guys adapt as quickly and easily as possible. We put ourselves at their disposal and offer our advice. We try to help them look for houses in the nicest areas to live, give them the useful phone numbers, tell them about the best restaurants, which nursery they should take their children to, everything they'll need so they feel at ease in their new team and their new city. The club is devoted to making sure they don't want for anything, and we give them all the advice they ask for.

We don't do anything special in terms of initiation ceremonies, although when the club Christmas dinner comes round they're usually on the receiving end of some prank. We pull some kind of trick on them, like making them get up to sing karaoke, and other funny stuff. One of the players to leave was Xabi Alonso. He's a very important player, fundamental to any team, as he was to Liverpool, he will be to Real Madrid, and as he is to Spain. Everyone in the dressing room thinks it's a shame he went, but life's like that in football.

Players move on but Liverpool remains. We're looking to the future with optimism, and we have confidence in the players who are playing in his position, who certainly also put in performances of real class and quality. Xabi's departure hasn't affected the dressing room psychologically because it's something that happens routinely in life and football – people come and people go. Alonso wanted a change of scene and he'll always be well liked at Liverpool. We wish Xabi Alonso the best of course. We wish him luck for the rest of his career.

If you would like to put a subject to Pepe to discuss in his next blog, click here. We will choose the most interesting and put it to him.