Brendan Rodgers will be a hit at Anfield, says former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez
By Stephen Beacom
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Brendan Rodgers can turn things around at Anfield, says the former Reds manager Rafa Benitez
Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez believes the club's fans are “clever” enough to give current boss Brendan Rodgers the support he needs to be a success.
Benitez also feels that despite a poor start to the Premier League season the Reds can still challenge for a place in the top four.
Benitez spoke to me ahead of his appearance in Dublin's Bord Gais Energy Theatre tonight to launch and discuss his latest book “Champions League Dreams”, which details what went on behind the scenes of some of Liverpool's glorious European triumphs under the Spaniard.
Once word got around that I'd interviewed him, texts started filling my inbox asking “What was Rafa like then?”
That's the thing about Benitez — he's one of those sporting figures who fascinates and divides opinion at the same time due to a colourful career that has seen him, as coach of Valencia, break the monopoly of Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, win the Champions League in his first season as Liverpool boss, infamously issue “facts” in a press conference about Sir Alex Ferguson, have a public spat with Liverpool's first batch of American owners (Gillette and Hicks) and manage Inter Milan for a brief, turbulent period after replacing his old adversary Jose Mourinho at the San Siro.
To answer the question I found Benitez an engaging, charming character, who clearly has deep affection for Liverpool, where he and his wife Montse still live, admitting that he retains a good relationship with some of the players.
Currently out of work he wants to return to management but tells me he is waiting for the right job to come along. Many Liverpool fans wanted him back at Anfield when Kenny Dalglish was sacked in the summer.
I sense Benitez, who left the club in 2010 after Liverpool finished seventh in the league, would have relished that opportunity.
Instead Carnlough man Brendan Rodgers was appointed.
Despite disappointing results early on in the Premier League, I'm confident, that given time and support by the fans and the latest batch of American owners (Fenway Sports Group), the Ulsterman will deliver for the Kop.
I was interested to know then what Rafa thought of Rodgers, but before chatting to the Spaniard I was informed by his agent that Benitez would not talk directly about Brendan because of “professional courtesy.”
Not what I wanted to hear.
Halfway through the interview though when I threw in a few Rodgers related questions, Benitez answered them though he was careful not to actually refer to the County Antrim native by name.
On the Kop fans rallying round Rodgers, Benitez said: “They know they have to support the team, support the manager and support the club. They are clever fans and understand the situation.”
On how tough it is for Rodgers managing a massive club like Liverpool?
Benitez, with a clear reference to past and present American owners, replied: “When a new manager goes in to a big club it is not easy especially when you have owners who need to understand more about this country, the club and football, but I have confidence they (the team) will do well.”
How well?
Benitez: “I think they have enough quality to be in the top four — that's my impression.
“Now because they are in a bad position people say ‘no chance’, but I think they have enough experience, quality, young players and the desire so I think they can compete.”
The 52-year-old says he is launching his “Champions League Dreams” book in Dublin because of Liverpool's “massive fan base in Ireland — north and south”.
He expects to talk to Irish fans about the “best game of his life” when the Reds came from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan on penalties in Istanbul in 2005 to win a fifth European Cup, as well as other memorable successes over Mourinho's Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus.
That's the company Brendan Rodgers plans to keep in the future.
Tickets for tonight's “Get into the Mind of Rafa Benitez: Champions League Dreams” which are priced at €20 are available through Ticketmaster or www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie. The event is in support of the Montse Benitez Foundation, set up by Rafa and his wife, which supports charities in Liverpool.
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