Rafa Watch

[anfieldanfield]

Rafa needs a job.

[Shaggy]

Rafa talks to Guillem Balague (video)

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,15117_6841301,00.html

Rafael Benitez may have left English football, but his legacy will forever be remembered at Liverpool.

And in a brand new, revealing interview with Sky Sports' Guillem Balague the former Reds boss speaks openly about the highs and lows of his time at Anfield.

The never-seen-before chat, which is exclusive to skysports.com, sees the former Liverpool manager open up about some of the key moments of his six years in one of the biggest jobs in English football.

The first part of the interview includes:

RANT REFLECTIONS - He discusses his infamous press conference and explains why many of the points raised in 'Rafa's rant' are still valid.

GLORY IN ISTANBUL - He reveals what really happened in the Liverpool dressing room when they were 3-0 down to AC Milan in the Champions League Final.

LOOK HOU'S TALKING - He refutes the suggestion that Liverpool's Champions League success was largely down to previous manager Gerard Houllier.

THE NEARLY MEN - He discusses the men he narrowly missed out on signing for Liverpool, including Florent Malouda and Dani Alves.

TRANSFER TALK - He defends his transfer policy at Liverpool and talks in depth about the sale of Xabi Alonso.

Hit the video at the top of your screen to see Guillem's candid chat with Benitez.

Check back later in the week for the second part of the interview when he discusses why things went wrong for the Reds last season, plus why he is dreaming of returning to the Premier League again.

[little dave hedgehog]

torres, malouda, alves and jovetic. wow.

[Tee]

Rafa says it was not Houllier's team that won in Istanbul. You tell him Rafa.

Rafa hits back at Houllier
Benitez says 'a different team' claimed glory in Istanbul

Last updated: 29th March 2011




Benitez: says his tactics took Liverpool to glory

You can see the tactics were different, the commitment was different and the passion of the players was different.

Rafael Benitez says Gerard Houllier should stop trying to claim credit for Liverpool's 2005 Champions League win.

The Spaniard took over at Anfield in the summer of 2004, ending Houllier's six-year spell in charge, and his appointment paid instant dividends as he led the Reds to European glory in his very first season

Earlier this year, the Frenchman argued that he had played a decisive role in the club's triumph success because "apart from two players, they had been signed or developed under me".

But speaking exclusively to Sky Sports' Guillem Balague, Benitez dismissed his predecessor's claims, arguing that Liverpool adopted a totally different tactical and mental approach under his leadership.

He said that his signings, Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia, made a significant difference to the squad and that the team had moved on from the one that finished fourth in the Premier League in Houllier's final season.

"The last two years of Houllier were not the best," Benitez said.

"I was in charge because they decided to change, so that is one crucial point for me too.

"But the way we arrived at the final, we had a lot of good games and there were a lot of top sides that we beat.

"Key players for us, Alonso and Luis Garcia, were not in the squad (under Houllier) and also the approach of the game changed.

"At Valencia, I tried to play higher and press higher, so you can see the tactics were different, the commitment was different and the passion of the players was different.

"It was a different team."

[Fredo]

Has anyone seen Jovetic play recently, is he any good? Rafa does rate him highly.

[RichC]

Hasn't he been out for quite some time - not sure if he's played this season or not

[Shaggy]

He played against us last season in the CL, scored I think. Played very well but was one hell of a diving cunt. Think he's had a bad injury since?

[Arn]

Excellent interview

Would be great to have him back in four five years after King Kenny built up the club again.

So much politics going on behind the scenes. Cost us one of the best managers out there but thanks to the same manager we now have King Kenny back

[Arn]

He played against us last season in the CL, scored I think. Played very well but was one hell of a diving cunt. Think he's had a bad injury since?

Very bad knee injury.

Remember that Torres was one of the worst divers in Spain when he played for Atletico. No doubt Rafa would have told Jovetic to stop doing it.

[Mostar]

Very bad knee injury.

Remember that Torres was one of the worst divers in Spain when he played for Atletico. No doubt Rafa would have told Jovetic to stop doing it.

Horrendous injury. He didn't play since August.

[Mike]

Can't get the interview up in work - what's this about Torres, Malouda, Alves and Jovetic?

[Arn]

Can't get the interview up in work - what's this about Torres, Malouda, Alves and Jovetic?

Rafa said that if he would have had more money to spend then he would have signed them all. Not the exact words but that is what he meant. He also said that it wouldn't cost great money compared to what other teams spend.

You could see on his reaction that he really wanted a chance to make us much more attacking and that would have proved the doubters wrong.

[Cormack74]

IIRC Malouda said the reason he went to Chelsea was that he felt more wanted by them. ie Rafa didn't try hard enough to sign him.

Obviously Arn will refute this suggestion shortly.

[dww]

IIRC Malouda said the reason he went to Chelsea was that he felt more wanted by them. ie Rafa didn't try hard enough to sign him.

Obviously Arn will refute this suggestion shortly.

The claim around the time was that it wasn't Rafa whose job that was - i.e. it was Parry who failed to make him feel wanted. Also I suspect 9 times out of 10 'trying harder' to sign someone means a willingness to pay them more. For ages Rafa seemed to complain that we/Parry took too long to do things.

[Fredo]

IIRC Malouda said the reason he went to Chelsea was that he felt more wanted by them. ie Rafa didn't try hard enough to sign him.

Obviously Arn will refute this suggestion shortly.

Some French dudes can talk a load of ****, don't take what Malouda has said to be gospel. I reckon he was offered more money there and ultimately, we couldn't go the last mile in competing with Chelsea on transfer terms.