I have copied and pasted all of this from the main site, El matador sent the link, but I really think all of these are very interesting and worth discussions on there own and confirms in my eyes how good a manager Rafa is, how lucky we are to have him and just how much he is revolutionising this famous club
Paco de Miguel – Fitness Coach
In the second of a series of interviews with Rafa’s backroom staff, Liverpoolfc.tv talks to fitness coach Paco De Miguel about rotation, working alongside Benitez and his time at Atletico Madrid with a 10-year-old Fernando Torres.
If you blinked last summer, you probably missed a new addition to the Anfield bench. Amid the fanfare which surrounded record signing Fernando Torres, Paco De Miguel's arrival on Merseyside went largely unnoticed.
The manner of their respective moves to the Premier League could hardly have been different, yet in other ways the fitness coach's transfer from Spain drew remarkable parallels with that of Liverpool's new number nine.
Rewind 12 years and all becomes clear, for it was at the Vicente Calderon during the mid-1990s that both De Miguel and Torres began their respective football careers.
For a pair born and raised in Madrid, one a fledgling coach fresh from university and the other still in pantalones cortos (short trousers), it was a dream come true.
Both would go on to spend a decade or more at Atletico, learning their trade through the highs of a league and cup double to the lows of relegation. Little did they know that their careers would soon take an 800-mile detour to the north of England.
You could put their joint journey down to destiny, though De Miguel's English wouldn't yet stretch to such an assertion. However, there is one thing he was always sure of: The Kid, or El Nino as Los RojiBlancos would eventually christen him, was destined for great things.
"Even at 10 or 11, he was a very good player and everyone knew he could be the player he is now," says the diminutive Spaniard, whose mission from Madrid to Merseyside came via a two-year spell at Valencia.
"He had more speed than the other forwards and more intelligence on the pitch, both of which are very important for strikers. He was always searching for chances and always ready to strike. He had a lot of talent."
The baby-face may suggest otherwise, but the world of Fernando Torres has changed immensely since his days kicking a ball around the streets of Madrid's Fuenlabrada district. So, what of the man who terrorises Premier League defences week in, week out? Has superstar status gone to his head?
"No, he is just the same," reveals De Miguel. "I enjoy working with him very much."
While details of Torres' move to England filled tabloids and broadsheets alike for the best part of a week last July, little is known of how Paco the Third came to join the Rafalution.
Asked to fill in the gaps, he recalls: "I hadn't met Rafa before but he called me and said he wanted me to work here. I said 'yes' straight away because it's a great chance.
"I am happy here. I'm at one of the best teams in Europe and everyone's okay: the players and the staff. The dynamics of work in Spain are different. I prefer it here because I think it is a little bit more professional."
Anyone who's been to Anfield since the 6-0 defeat of Derby in September will have seen De Miguel leading the players in their pre-match warm up, a job he inherited from Pako Ayestaran. This is just a fraction of the work he's employed to carry out, however.
A typical day starts with a hearty Melwood breakfast before checking on the condition of the players as they arrive for training. From there he'll liaise with Doc Waller and the physios.
Once all that's out of the way, De Miguel plays a key role in devising the day's session, a task which takes him to Rafa's first-floor office. Then it's out onto the pitch, where one of his main duties is to collate information.
The Spaniard was initially brought to Anfield to work on preventative work and injured players, but his job description was re-written following the departure of Ayestaran.
"When Pako left, I started working directly in the fitness department," explains De Miguel. "It was a big chance for me. Now I have more responsibility and I am enjoying it. In Spain I had this responsibility when I was at Valencia.
"Not a lot has changed for the players. The dynamics of the work are the same and the training sessions are very similar. My first goal here was to not change anything, because we were working well and hard before. I changed things but only little details, nothing important."
While De Miguel is content to stick with the status quo on the training ground, another constant at Liverpool is the media's obsession with rotation.
As one of the club's fitness gurus, few are in a better position to assess the policy's pros and cons.
"It's necessary because there are a lot of games in one season," he points out. "Players can't play all the games and keep a good physical level – it's impossible. Rotation is very important and Rafa knows that.
"All the players here, whether they are playing a lot of minutes or not, are at a good level. If we had players who never played, when we needed them they would not be ready. For me and Rafa, this is one of the keys to success.
"It's part of my job to explain to the players that rotation is good for the team, and in the end the most important thing is the team. They know that. The players understand and it's not a problem."
While the 35-year-old will argue the case for rotation until his face is as red as the shirts worn in the Kop, he does accept that some in the Liverpool squad feel its benefits more than others.
Take Jamie Carragher, for instance, a player who's rarely rested yet seemingly remains at the peek of physical condition.
For De Miguel, the Bootle-born defender is an example to all pros.
"His fitness levels are very good," he says. "He is always working hard. He plays a lot of minutes but he can play one, two, three or four games in a row without a problem.
"I think that even if he went with the national team he'd keep the same level. The most important thing to keep your level is to train well and he does that every single day.
"He can train hard and play hard, it's not a problem for him. In Spain, people say that players should train like they play, because it's hard to find something in games if you don't train.
"All the players here are very professional and they work hard in every training session, but Jamie is one of the best. He is a reference for the other players. He is a leader."
While some would suggest Carra could one day manage the Reds, what does the future hold for De Miguel? Does he have any plans to follow his boss into management?
"No, I am happy being a fitness coach," he claims. "I don't want to be a manager. Managers need profile and I don't have that at the moment. I like being a fitness coach in the background."
Paco de Miguel – Fitness Coach
In the second of a series of interviews with Rafa’s backroom staff, Liverpoolfc.tv talks to fitness coach Paco De Miguel about rotation, working alongside Benitez and his time at Atletico Madrid with a 10-year-old Fernando Torres.
If you blinked last summer, you probably missed a new addition to the Anfield bench. Amid the fanfare which surrounded record signing Fernando Torres, Paco De Miguel's arrival on Merseyside went largely unnoticed.
The manner of their respective moves to the Premier League could hardly have been different, yet in other ways the fitness coach's transfer from Spain drew remarkable parallels with that of Liverpool's new number nine.
Rewind 12 years and all becomes clear, for it was at the Vicente Calderon during the mid-1990s that both De Miguel and Torres began their respective football careers.
For a pair born and raised in Madrid, one a fledgling coach fresh from university and the other still in pantalones cortos (short trousers), it was a dream come true.
Both would go on to spend a decade or more at Atletico, learning their trade through the highs of a league and cup double to the lows of relegation. Little did they know that their careers would soon take an 800-mile detour to the north of England.
You could put their joint journey down to destiny, though De Miguel's English wouldn't yet stretch to such an assertion. However, there is one thing he was always sure of: The Kid, or El Nino as Los RojiBlancos would eventually christen him, was destined for great things.
"Even at 10 or 11, he was a very good player and everyone knew he could be the player he is now," says the diminutive Spaniard, whose mission from Madrid to Merseyside came via a two-year spell at Valencia.
"He had more speed than the other forwards and more intelligence on the pitch, both of which are very important for strikers. He was always searching for chances and always ready to strike. He had a lot of talent."
The baby-face may suggest otherwise, but the world of Fernando Torres has changed immensely since his days kicking a ball around the streets of Madrid's Fuenlabrada district. So, what of the man who terrorises Premier League defences week in, week out? Has superstar status gone to his head?
"No, he is just the same," reveals De Miguel. "I enjoy working with him very much."
While details of Torres' move to England filled tabloids and broadsheets alike for the best part of a week last July, little is known of how Paco the Third came to join the Rafalution.
Asked to fill in the gaps, he recalls: "I hadn't met Rafa before but he called me and said he wanted me to work here. I said 'yes' straight away because it's a great chance.
"I am happy here. I'm at one of the best teams in Europe and everyone's okay: the players and the staff. The dynamics of work in Spain are different. I prefer it here because I think it is a little bit more professional."
Anyone who's been to Anfield since the 6-0 defeat of Derby in September will have seen De Miguel leading the players in their pre-match warm up, a job he inherited from Pako Ayestaran. This is just a fraction of the work he's employed to carry out, however.
A typical day starts with a hearty Melwood breakfast before checking on the condition of the players as they arrive for training. From there he'll liaise with Doc Waller and the physios.
Once all that's out of the way, De Miguel plays a key role in devising the day's session, a task which takes him to Rafa's first-floor office. Then it's out onto the pitch, where one of his main duties is to collate information.
The Spaniard was initially brought to Anfield to work on preventative work and injured players, but his job description was re-written following the departure of Ayestaran.
"When Pako left, I started working directly in the fitness department," explains De Miguel. "It was a big chance for me. Now I have more responsibility and I am enjoying it. In Spain I had this responsibility when I was at Valencia.
"Not a lot has changed for the players. The dynamics of the work are the same and the training sessions are very similar. My first goal here was to not change anything, because we were working well and hard before. I changed things but only little details, nothing important."
While De Miguel is content to stick with the status quo on the training ground, another constant at Liverpool is the media's obsession with rotation.
As one of the club's fitness gurus, few are in a better position to assess the policy's pros and cons.
"It's necessary because there are a lot of games in one season," he points out. "Players can't play all the games and keep a good physical level – it's impossible. Rotation is very important and Rafa knows that.
"All the players here, whether they are playing a lot of minutes or not, are at a good level. If we had players who never played, when we needed them they would not be ready. For me and Rafa, this is one of the keys to success.
"It's part of my job to explain to the players that rotation is good for the team, and in the end the most important thing is the team. They know that. The players understand and it's not a problem."
While the 35-year-old will argue the case for rotation until his face is as red as the shirts worn in the Kop, he does accept that some in the Liverpool squad feel its benefits more than others.
Take Jamie Carragher, for instance, a player who's rarely rested yet seemingly remains at the peek of physical condition.
For De Miguel, the Bootle-born defender is an example to all pros.
"His fitness levels are very good," he says. "He is always working hard. He plays a lot of minutes but he can play one, two, three or four games in a row without a problem.
"I think that even if he went with the national team he'd keep the same level. The most important thing to keep your level is to train well and he does that every single day.
"He can train hard and play hard, it's not a problem for him. In Spain, people say that players should train like they play, because it's hard to find something in games if you don't train.
"All the players here are very professional and they work hard in every training session, but Jamie is one of the best. He is a reference for the other players. He is a leader."
While some would suggest Carra could one day manage the Reds, what does the future hold for De Miguel? Does he have any plans to follow his boss into management?
"No, I am happy being a fitness coach," he claims. "I don't want to be a manager. Managers need profile and I don't have that at the moment. I like being a fitness coach in the background."
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