Originally posted by Tee
View Post
Don't forget your blue scarf 
-
I'm not an Evertonian. -
Don't forget your plastic flag?Originally posted by TheElephantMan View Post
"Justice has been done."Comment
-
Rafael Benítez says he will always have a special bond with the city of Liverpool.
Rafael Benítez has admitted his connection with the city of Liverpool remains “very strong” as he prepares to face his first match on Merseyside as Chelsea manager on Sunday.
Since his appointment by Roman Abramovich five weeks ago, the *Spaniard has continued commuting to Chelsea's Cobham training base from his house in Caldy, on the Wirral, which he and his family kept throughout his six years managing Liverpool. The visit to Everton on Sunday afternoon marks his first game in his adopted hometown since leaving Anfield in 2010.
Benítez will be braced for a hostile reception at Goodison Park, the locals having never forgiven him for *branding Everton “a small club” in 2007. David Moyes had his tongue planted firmly in his cheek when he suggested that the remark “did not have any effect whatsoever” on his team’s levels of motivation whenever they were confronted by the *Spaniard, although he did insist that he did not bear a grudge. “I’ve met him many times and we get on fine,” he said. “I’ve got no problems at all. No, I wouldn’t say there’s more incentive with it being him. I have no idea what kind of reception he will get.”
“It is always something special when you go to Liverpool, and my connection with the city is very strong,” said Benítez, who explained that he did not want to move his two young daughters, Claudia and Agata, from the place where they had grown up. “I was in Tenerife, then Valencia, Liverpool, Milan, and now Chelsea. Liverpool was fantastic. My family understand that as a professional, I have to move around, but they still live up there. The children are still at school, so they have to stay.
“When you have children, it depends on the ages. Mine are 10 and 13, and they have been there for eight years, so it is difficult to move them. You do have to do something for them, so I move around on my own. I managed to go home for Christmas dinner. My wife and I, we had a Spanish omelette.”
It might sound a solitary travelling existence – Benítez even acknowledges that he eats his meals at the training ground – but at 52 he has seldom seemed happier in his management career. Leading Chelsea to Goodison Park after three successive league wins, he is relishing the task of branding the club with his own imprint of disciplined defence and clinical attacking.
“Chelsea are a top side, so I am really pleased for this reason,” he said. “It makes me even happier watching the players training, working so hard and winning. After the Club World Cup in Japan, we have won games and showed real character.” After his first month in the job, Benítez also spoke enthusiastically of his re-immersion in the English football culture. “Everyone has passion and you can see it all around the country.
"In England, football is something special. Everyone has passion and you can see it all around the country. Every game is important and you enjoy football. I was in Italy and I remember an interview with [former Italy striker] Marco Di Vaio who said that you could go with your family to matches in England and Spain. It is entertainment, something safe. As a father I am pleased you can go to games together.”
Benítez can expect an effusive reception from his disciples in Liverpool. In 2007, amid rumours that he was about to be sacked by the then American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, a online petition calling for him to stay attracted more than 50,000 signatures. Even his children became Liverpool supporters. Benítez’s wife, Motse, once said of Agata: “She is always coming home from school with stories about the Evertonians in her class.”
Benítez, with his new-found Chelsea allegiance, was coy about the subject ahead of the Everton game. Pressed on whether his two girls were still Liverpool fans, he smiled and said: “They are Rafa fans.”
Deftly avoiding the question of whether he might still be tempted to take a second stint in charge of Liverpool, he said: “You never know what can happen. I have a good relationship with the fans, the city, but I am a good professional and that means I will give 100 per cent for this club.”
Comment
-
A Spanish omelette for Xmas dinner
Reading that though he so desperately wants to return. I really hope he gets the chance one day.Last edited by Fivex; 30-12-12, 01:40 AM.Hello mert.Comment
-
I'll never understand why we didn't consider him last summer. He's a winner, there is nobody better out there.Comment
-
His teams were as frustrating as hell and great in equal measure.Originally posted by TheElephantMan View PostWas muß, das muß.Comment
-
Yep very frustrating winning them trophies n all ..Originally posted by foresterbloke View PostComment
-
Agreed, I found it amazing as well and now we are seeing the downside of employing what is becoming clear an average manager.Originally posted by TheElephantMan View Post
I am sure Rafa would of had something to say about FSG's lazy transfer policy and downgrading the playing squad again...Comment
-
So Rafa has been lucky because he's had Lampard returning from injury and as such, is now in a position to 'rotate the midfield'? Di Matteo was unfortunate because Lampard was sidelined?
Oh, Jamie Redknapp - does your bias know no bounds? And whilst I'm thinking on, wasn't Jamie Redknapp one of the more vocal of Rafa 'bashers' for rotating?
At least Ray Wilkins took the time to discuss Rafa's tactical switch to deal with Everton's left hand side. I know! Wilkins does *sometimes* talk sense. My word.Comment
-
-
He's winding you up, Dane.Originally posted by danperkins View Post
.
Suppose you have a physicist and a sociologist standing at the side of a field, observing a set of events unfolding on the field. The physicist does [describes] it using the terminology of mass and velocity and frequency of radiation and the rest. And the sociologist does it by describing it as a rugby match.
May the Lord bless this post.Comment
-
-
Yes, he is. Mainly.
.
Suppose you have a physicist and a sociologist standing at the side of a field, observing a set of events unfolding on the field. The physicist does [describes] it using the terminology of mass and velocity and frequency of radiation and the rest. And the sociologist does it by describing it as a rugby match.
May the Lord bless this post.Comment
-
-
Think Chelsea are back in the title race. Rafa has made them resilient and efficient again. Moyes looked well pissed off after the match.
Are we winning?Comment
Comment