Rafa Benitez is unique. He turned a squad
containing Djimi Traore into champions
of Europe. He sat calmly, cross-legged
on the sidelines to watch a Champions
League semi-final penalty shootout. He
moulded Fernando Torres into one of the
world’s most prolific centre-forwards.
And he built Liverpool’s best team for
two decades.
When Rafa arrived on Merseyside in
2004,he’d already earned respect from
Liverpool supporters who witnessed and
applauded his Valencia side at Anfield two
years earlier. That 1-0 loss highlighted how
far away from Europe’s elite the Reds were
at the time.
Benitez’s six-year spell was a
rollercoaster, with a massive high in
Istanbul at the start followed by peaks
and troughs in reaching, and losing,
another Champions League final against
Milan in 2007.
On the European stage, the Spaniard was
a mastermind, recording notable victories
at the Camp Nou, the Bernabeu and San
Siro, restoring the reputation of Liverpool
Football Club across the continent.
Domestically, however, it was sometimes
more of a struggle. But the spine of the
Reds’ team that finished 2nd in 2008-09
showed exactly what Benitez was about,
with a solid core and the ‘best midfield in
the world’, as supporters often sang.
Political turmoil with owners Tom Hicks
and George Gillett certainly took its toll,
but fans acknowledged how Benitez had
been so quick to call out the American
duo’s false promises.
Rafa is still revered for all the work he
did at the club, but also for his
understanding of the city, the people and
the Hillsborough justice campaign – he
donated £96,000 following his departure.
For many people, there was a sense of
unfinished business, and it has frequently
been pondered what he might have
achieved under the current owners.
Benitez and Jurgen Klopp made
Liverpool European champions in
massively contrasting styles and
circumstances. Had the Spaniard enjoyed
the resources of the current regime, then
Anfield’s long wait for a league title may
well have ended under Rafa.Matt Ladson from This Is Anfield explains how Benitez became a hero on Merseyside
THE VIEW FROM LIVERPOOL
ImagePA“I like tactics – I like to play chess and I like to play Stratego,” he
says, referring to a board game in which each player controls an army.
“I liked it when I was 13, when I was playing and taking notes, and at
17 I was a coach and a player at the same time at university, so I’ve
always liked tactics. I went to Italy to watch Arrigo Sacchi, Fabio
Capello, and Claudio Ranieri when he was in charge of Fiorentina. I
travelled all around the world, analysing tactics.
“But it doesn’t matter what’s inside your head. You can’t lose a
game on the blackboard. When you draw arrows on the flipchart, you
always win. The other team have a manager, and he’s good, too. You
prepare your game plan, but you have to be sure that your players
can follow it. If not, it doesn’t matter. It’s not just about being good
tactically; you’ve also got to coach the players so they understand
what you want to do.”
As a coach, Rafa has never been easily pleased. Captain Gerrard
once remarked that it was exceedingly difficult to get a ‘well done’
from him. “Yes, but you’ve been at school, no?” he asks us, with asmile. “Do you remember the nice teachers, or the good teachers
who were pushing you? Who got more from you? The ones who were
pushing you. If not, you wouldn’t be doing this interview! Normally,
the good teachers, the good coaches, push you a little bit more.
“If you see Stevie’s numbers, he was scoring more goals with us. He
was playing better with us. If you see the record of Fernando Torres,
he had the best record with us. Why? Because you push them nicely
and they perform well.
“Stevie was very nice to coach. He was the captain; an example. I’ve
had some conversations with him since he joined Rangers: not advice- I don’t say I’m giving him advice – but we will talk about things. He
has everything to do well as a manager.”
Gerrard is one of five captains to lift the European Cup with
Liverpool, and Benitez is part of an even more exclusive club: just four
managers have secured the trophy for the Reds, a fact that clearly
means a lot to him. At the start of the interview, as he flicked through
his photos from China, he showed us an illustration on his phone that
depicted himself, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Jurgen Klopp as the
Beatles’ Fab Four, on the zebra crossing at Abbey Road.
He explains, “I was lucky because I came to Liverpool from Valencia
after we had won La Liga for the first time in 31 years – two league
titles and the UEFA Cup. I am the only manager to have won the UEFA
Cup with one team, then the Champions League with another. I was
really proud of that.” Jose Mourinho also won the two trophies
consecutively, but both were with Porto.
Benitez was in Madrid to see Liverpool win their latest European Cup
in June, and soon offered his congratulations to Klopp. “I have a good
relationship with him,” reveals the Spaniard. “I sent him a message
and said, ‘Welcome to the club’.”
Aided by a solid structure behind the scenes, Klopp has put
Liverpool in contention once more to win that long-awaited Premier
League title. It was the one thing that eluded Benitez during his time
on Merseyside. Things weren’t always straightforward back then,
under the controversial ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
“My memories of Liverpool are really good with David Moores, but
he couldn’t spend the money to compete against the other teams,”
admits Benitez. “When he decided to sell, I think it was to the wrong
people. It was very clear – I knew that and the fans knew that, then
afterwards was the proof. Now I think they have a model that’s more
competitive. They make more right decisions, which means they’re
able to compete against Manchester City.”
Despite the difficulties under Hicks and Gillett, Liverpool did lead the
Premier League in January 2009. Then came Benitez’s infamous ‘facts’
press conference, railing against Alex Ferguson. Some believe it was the
moment they lost the title to Manchester United, but Benitez disagrees.
“People tried to compare that press conference with Kevin Keegan’s
[in 1995-96], but it was nothing like that,” he insists. “I was very calm.
Everything I was saying was a fact, even though people were
laughing about my way of pronouncing the word ‘fact’. But it was
very clear – if you analyse it now, I was right.
“Later on, we went to Old Trafford and I remember a father and his
son had a banner saying, ‘Rafa is cracking up’. We beat United 4-1. In
the last 11 games of the season, our only draw was the 4-4 with
Arsenal, when Andrey Arshavin scored four goals. We won 10 out of 11.
“They [Manchester United] had played in the Club World Cup and
had a couple of games in hand. They won them and continued
winning, but we continued winning as well. That’s not cracking up.
People have short memories. They follow the propaganda of the
people who are winning.”
Benitez also had a rivalry with Jose Mourinho, and the pair regularly
sparred in the press. “He was doing what he had to do, and I was
doing what I had to do,” Benitez says now. “That was the reason why
Liverpool were competing against a club spending double or triple the
money we were spending. But that’s all finished now.”
FROM ROMAn ABRAMOVICH TO FLOREnTInO PEREZ
The very modern Liverpool-Chelsea rivalry made things a little
awkward when Benitez became the Blues’ ‘interim manager’ in
November 2012. However, he does attribute some of the adverse
reaction to his arrival in west London to a made-up quote, insisting, “aAbove “Now, Stevie,
remember to thank
Didi for doing all of
your dirty work, OK?”
FourFourTwo.com The Managers 67RAFA
BEn ITEZ