Liverpool finished the calendar year top of the Premier League for the first time since 1996. His reign at the club was a short one and he was dismissed midway through the 201011 season. Liverpool FC today confirmed that Rafael Benitez is to leave the club by mutual consent. While at Real, Bentez also gained his coaching certificate in 1989 and in the summer of 1990 taught at a football camp at the University of California in Davis, California. Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has issued an apology of behalf of Djibril Cisse following his controversial behaviour at Newcastle on Sunday. He told me he needed pace up front. Liverpool fans knew that 'Agent Rafa' would not be there more than a season, and so it has proven. It was suggested that Bentez's position was now under serious threat. "When you have so many instructions, it makes it so difficult. Bentez still appeared to be at odds with Liverpool's owners, publicly turning down a contract extension and demanding more control over transfers. And whatever the reason, it is clear there was a breakdown in their relationship which ultimately ended with the midfielder signing for Real Madrid. I have some offers. "You see that the team are not doing well and there are no changes. Punching a Liverpool manager who had won the European Cup only a few months earlier wouldnt have looked too good on the CV I guess, but I was still angry. And he still lives in Liverpool. The Frenchman spent the 2006/07 on loan at Marseille, with Cisse joining the club permanently in a 6m deal in July 2007. Steven Gerrard has lifted the lid on his "frosty" relationship with former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez. [23], Bentez's signings helped the club's Premiership form improve considerably. But it was Liverpool Football Club. I played all of last year, and sometimes if I did not play so well in one game, I would still play the next week. In 1993, the team completed a double when they also won the national under-19 league. Bentez stands by his tactic, pointing out that teams who man-mark concede just as many, if not more, goals from set pieces. Yet, the Spaniard is not a monster. I told Benitez I would go if he wanted, but he told me I was important and he would give me a new contract, which I signed. The club had previously approached Javier Irureta, Man and Luis Aragons and had been turned down by all three. I was sure he wanted me to attack him in the press during the season so he could turn the fans against me, so I kept quiet. To be completely honest, I genuinely considered punching Rafa in the face. He was highly regarded for his tactical acumen[136][137] particularly in European ties, setting his team up to exploit opposition weaknesses. [42] Alonso was immediately replaced in the squad by Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani, signed from Roma for 17million, who was recovering from a long-term injury. He was unable to avoid relegation, but earned promotion back to the Premier League the following year, winning the Championship. "I have not said I am going to leave Liverpool. I am not interested in making Rafa my enemy in the slightest, quite the opposite, but ultimately it is about playing, and if I am not, we have to talk about why not. Goals from Casemiro and a deflection from Marcus Rashford put the Red Devils 2-0 up at half-time . I am delighted to play for Liverpool and if I was playing, I would love to stay, because it is a brilliant place to play football. "I was disappointed - this much is true," Baros said in an interview with a newspaper in Prague. "When the coach says nothing to you and you are well, with no physical problems and training well, you cannot help but think it must be something personal. He did start the home leg defeat against Graz, reinstated next to Hyypia as he made his first appearance of the season in the process, but after that his final three appearances for the club all came with the kids and reserves in the League Cup. He also confirmed that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season. [95], In his first season in charge, Bentez guided the club to victory in the Coppa Italia, defeating Fiorentina 31 in the final,[96] and into the last 16 of the Europa League, exiting after a 32 aggregate defeat to Porto. We played attacking football. Even Ali looks a shadow of himself. In truth, he didnt have time to as Benitez made it clear early on that he had no future at the club. He said he understood and liked my desire to be playing so negotiations with Kln continued. [57] His first league win as manager came on 11 September 2010, a 21 win against Udinese at the San Siro. Keep up to date with the latest breaking news, transfer gossip and everything LFC with thousands of Reds! In the years since leaving Liverpool, Keane has never criticised Benitez for selling the striker but believes the Spaniard was simply the wrong manager for him at the wrong time in his career. If its the way I play or the way I am, fine. When that starts happening, you have to assume it is something personal, rather than professional. 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YOU would have got good odds on someone called Fofana saving Graham Potter from more death threats. 8m ESPN. The previous season when we finished second in the Premier League, I was happy with my performance in the final months but I was not sure if the manager thought I was a good player,. "I think I was right as well because I saw Pellegrino play for Liverpool and I thought, 'yes, I could have done the job he did for them, at the very least'. Trump was so enraged at mockery by late night host Jimmy Kimmel he tried to get him censored, report says Benitez picked up 13 points from his nine Premier League matches in charge on Everton's own turf - the same amount of points as Lampard has picked up. I certainly had no complaints about that. He smiled at me from behind his desk. Halfway through the 199091 season he succeeded Jos Antonio Camacho as the coach of Real Madrid's under-19 team. However, like in Murphys case with Alonso and Garcia, Benitez could again claim to have made the right call as his decision to sideline Henchoz ultimately came hand-in-hand with the inspired switch to move Jamie Carragher back to centre-back, with the Liverpool legends own partnership with Hyypia usurping Houlliers previous duo. ", "Rafael Benitez's Istanbul memories | Tactics, Gerrard switch and trophy lift", "Motion expert says Garcia's shot did cross the line", "Top 20 sporting moments of the decade: Liverpool's 'Miracle of Istanbul', "Benitez Uncovered: Inside The Dressing Room On That Amazing Night In Istanbul", "Rafa's Boys: How Successful Was Benitez in the Transfer Market? However, the current Blues boss has taken . At first, I thought maybe he was going actually coming to justify his decision to leave me out. Benitez, 50, replaced Gerard Houllier as Liverpool manager in June 2004 and. Bentez made a number of suggestions during Mourinho's tenure as manager that Roman Abramovich's money had bought Chelsea's success, and the pair refused to shake hands after some matches (although Mourinho declared the feud to be over after a league game in 2006). The 61-year-old also won La Liga with Valencia and has collected trophies at Inter Milan, Napoli, and Newcastle United. After his success with the U19s, Bentez then succeeded Garca Remn at the start of the 199394 season. I would be against myself if I made such a decision. He was different class, the amount of goals and assists that he got. Maybe I will never swallow it. He never treated me with the respect I deserved. But with Rafa, it was constant directions. Rafael "Rafa" Bentez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish football manager who was the manager of Liverpool from 2004-2010. "Pollard � 419aTEJ continues to recover from a knee injury sustained late last year and Roach is still trying to get over a shoulder injury that forced him to return home from the tour of India without playing and required surgery."West Indies won the last edition of the tournament in 2012 after beating hosts Sri Lanka in the final in Colombo. For the second consecutive season, he was named UEFA Manager of the Year. Despite heavy criticism from the English press[141] Bentez persisted with the reward of a Champions League and FA Cup triumph in his first two seasons. But an exchange with Benitez did leave the Frenchman rather bemused on his way out. I said: 'You need me now and I will always do my best. I scored against Atletico Madrid in the Europa League semi-final. And after falling down the pecking order at Anfield, the Poland international was involved in a couple of controversial incidents before departing on a free transfer to Real Madrid in 2007. [64], On 21 November 2012, following the dismissal of Roberto Di Matteo, Chelsea appointed Bentez as interim first-team manager until the end of the 201213 season. Sometimes there were rows, others were just ostracised from the team, but all of them knew their Reds days were numbered after crossing paths with the Spaniard. [133], Bentez has developed a reputation in English football as a hard man to please, with former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard admitting he longed for a "well done" from Bentez after good performances. In this episode we look back on the extraordinary 4-2 win over Aston Villa on Saturday. Would he let me go? The Reds moved to six points adrift of fourth place after a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United. What is going on with my transfer?, I will be honest with you, I am not interested in loaning you. The long-serving Danny Murphy was one such player. I've certainly never said a bad word about him as a manager, I thought he was top, Keane told The Football Show on Sky Sports last year. [8], Bentez subsequently quit Extremadura and took a year off from football to study in England and Italy. "Rafa is a top manager and he's proven that. - Heart stops when I see the draw for the semi finals of the league and we drew Cardiff. Bentez, however, did reach his first English domestic cup final, losing the League Cup final against Chelsea at the Millennium Stadium 32 after extra time.[17]. "I had to be with my partner. He did everything so coldly, almost inhumanely, because he saw things as business. "Once you reached that euphoria that satisfaction and happiness, you enjoy the moment and see everything around you, all the red with so many people with so much passion. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. . [19], In a classic final, dubbed the Miracle of Istanbul, Liverpool came from 30 down at half time to level the score at 33 in the space of just six minutes, eventually triumphing 32 on penalties with the assistance of goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek. If pushed, you would have guessed the man responsible for scoring the Blues' first goal at home for nearly two months was David Datro Fofana, the Ivorian forward signed during January's trolley dash. Or when Bentez takes me off during a game even if I haven't used up all my energy on the pitch. Subscribe to the CV Academy. https://bit.ly/3Im9yA30:09 - Intro 0:16 - 4-2-3-1, how it transitions and roles out of possession 5:03 - In possession: Number. Brooklyn, USA models-art.ru Joined June Brooklyn-based designer Kimberly Goldson competed in reality show 'Project Runway,' just landed in the Saks window, and is preparing to make. They wanted to take me on loan for six months, for which Liverpool would get 800,000, then complete a permanent 3m transfer in the summer if they avoided relegation. Gary Neville vs Jamie Carragher is often the best part of Monday Night Football.. Jurgen Klopp's respect for Rafa Benitez spotted during Liverpool's thrashing of Everton LIVERPOOL beat city rivals Everton 4-1 at Goodison Park on Wednesday night. "I scored 19 goals and I never played! However, an 87th-minute goal by Steven Gerrard defeated Olympiacos 31 and saw the club progress to the last 16 on head-to-head difference. This is nonsense and it is a fabrication that I wanted to leave the stadium. Now in charge at Everton, Lucas Digne could be the latest player to not get a second chance with Benitez after the France international defender found himself dropped in recent weeks following a reported falling out between the pair. I really need to play games to be prepared for the World Cup.. I didnt know what to do, I didnt want to leave! Not quite fitting into the Reds favoured system, failing to forge a successful partnership with Fernando Torres and not being suited to lead the line when the Spaniard was injured all contributed to his premature departure. Or would it just lead to a massive media scandal? In March 1994, he became assistant manager to Vicente del Bosque with the senior Real Madrid team before returning to coach Real Madrid B for the 199495 season. At the start of the 198687 season, he was appointed coach of Castilla B. Bentez played as a midfielder for both Real Madrid Aficionados in the Tercera Divisin and Castilla CF in the Segunda Divisin. But, with Rafa, the training was so boring that youd come in and all youd want to do was slit your wrists! In the penultimate league game of the season, Chelsea won 21 away to Aston Villa, a game in which Frank Lampard set the all-time scoring record at Chelsea. On 21 August 2010, Bentez won his first trophy as manager, the Italian Super Cup, after they defeated Roma 31. It was another short-lived appointment and on 4 January 2016, he was dismissed following a 22 draw against his former club, Valencia. "When I went there (Liverpool) I was told myself and Torres (would start) and Stevie would drop into the midfield but obviously as it went on I think Rafa liked Stevie playing that no.10. He guided Segunda Divisin club Extremadura back to La Liga in his first season in the 199798 season, but the team was relegated the following season. Rafa didnt mince his words. An unused substitute for the 2007 Champions League final, he was informed by Benitez on the flight home that he had no future with the club. And after moving to Stamford Bridge, Benayoun would lay into his former Reds boss, insisting he was the only reason he had any interest in leaving Anfield. Upon his arrival he had two very big personnel issues to tend to. "In my head it's as if I've already left. Former Everton, Liverpool, Newcastle United and Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez is reportedly in the reckoing to take charge of Olympiacos. Join our group for FREE by clicking here! All I ever wanted to do is just to play football.". Connect with Liverpool fans from around the world in our official supporters group. He won his first league game in charge, beating Southampton 31. A stalwart under Gerard Houllier, Murphy never really had a falling out with the Spaniard as such. "[118], On 2 July 2019, Bentez was appointed manager of Chinese Super League side Dalian Professional (formerly Dalian Yifang), signing a two-and-a-half-year deal. [32] Bentez, however, said that his future was at Liverpool and signalled his long-term intentions by appointing Sammy Lee as his new assistant[33] to replace his long-time right-hand man, Pako Ayestarn, who quit after a reported disagreement, which Bentez admitted "hurt" him and arguably Liverpool's titles hopes. READ MORE: Naby Keita shows 'humbled' James Maddison how Liverpool situation has changed, READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp will already fear worst for crunch Chelsea clash as Liverpool myth exposed. Commenting on Benitez's touchline instructions, he said: "On the pitch, often I can see whats best. Katie Smith, who is studying at Leeds University, was crowned as the 2017 winner of the David Welch Student Sportswriter of the Year at the Sports Journalists Association awards in London on Monday night. He's never sorted out a situation with a player by talking with him. [20] Bentez's calm, methodical approach at half time was said to give the players the belief they could pull off an improbable comeback and win Liverpool an historic fifth European Cup. "Youve got two sets of instructions in your mind and youre left wondering what to do. Writing in his autobiography, he described the Spaniard as the "most difficult" manager he played for, criticising him over his lack of man-management skills, claiming he only ever had one proper conversation with him.