just posted this elsewhere but it's been discussed here too so...
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here's a passage from Paco Loret's biog of Rafa that rings a few bells with me... it describes things we've seen recently, and more pointedly it covers his use of Aimar... for me this maybe hints at the game time Babel will get in the new year.
if you've not read it by the way, it's well worth a read...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rafa-Benitez-Authorised-Biography-Lloret/dp/0954684370/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229684388&sr=8-1 ---
As time passed Benitez won the support of the Valencia fans. He had gained credibility and, as his period at Mestalla progressed, few dared disagree with his decisions, especially concerning line-ups and substitutions.
But it wasn't always that way. At first he had battled against the incomprehension of the majority of the public and the critics. Amongst journalists bets were taken on match days before the final eleven were confirmed. The guesses were rarely right and some felt that all the week's work, attendance at training sessions at Paterna, personal assumptions and tips from third parties were useless. Predictions would come to nothing. There was always some surprise in the line-up, and the players were the first to be surprised. The manager maintainted his custom of announcing the team in the dressing room an hour and a half before the start of the match, after the players had got off the coach.
Aimar was his greatest problem, as he had been for Cuper. The Argentinian manager had been crucified for not including him in some of the games. Everybody clamoured for Aimar, they all wanted him in the first team. In their songs the fans put him on a pedestal along withthe incomparable Mario Kempes and the very fast Claudio Piojo Lopez, all three players from Argentina. Pablo Aimar had particular characteristics that needed gradual adaptation to the rhythm of the Spanish League. Cuper used him sparingly, so too did Benitez. Both were criticised. The directors also jumped on this bandwagon. The decision to sign the young star from River Plate had involved the biggest financial outlay in the history of the club and Valencia's precarious financial situation couldn't afford for this to be wasted. Aimar was a good investment, his value was rising, and he was considered a match winner, capable of influencing the outcome of a game. Javier Subirats, the man who had pushed through the contract of the up-and-coming star and the person who fought most to bring him to Valencia, also complained about the inflexibility of the coaches. Using a collective team system drowned out the indisputable talent of the player born in Rio Cuarto.
A tricky question and a difficult one to solve. It wouldn't be the only one.
October 2001, the first week of the League, Alaves were visiting Mestalla. The game was dull - no goals, no chances, just yawns. Valencia needed someone capable of putting the solid defence of the Alaves team, managed by Mane, under pressure.
The fans grew impatient as the second half went on. Everything continued as before. The terraces were clamouring for more strikers to be brought on. Time and time again Valencia crashed against the defensive wall of the visitors. Benitez didn't lose his composure and appeared impassive as the barrage rained down on him. Twenty minutes from the end he made the substitution that people were calling for; he took off the holding midfielder and put on a striker.
Far from satisfying the crowd their indignation increased. They felt that this substitution, which everyone had known for some time was needed, was too late. Benitez didn't flinch. Aimar, with the inclusion of a new attacker, turned the game upside down but the scoreboard remained unchanged. An explanation was given later. The substitution was pre-planned as it was believed that tiredness would begin to take its toll on the Basque players, who had been determined from the very first minute to prevent Valencia from scoring. Aimar could find more space in this context and capitalise on his strengths.
Benitez's explanations didn't convince many and they didn't hesitate to express their disapproval. If at home, faced with a strong defence, Aimar couldn't count on more backup in attack, how did Benitez intend to win this type of game - risks had to be taken?
That evening he was on a programme broadcast by Canal Nou called
Minut a Minut and had an interesting conversation with Quique Sanchez Flores. It began in the studio and continued outside in a corridor where, for almost an hour, they put across their points. Benitez was looking for someone to whom he could explain his ideas openly. Quique, at that time a television commentator, was also a budding manager who was finishing his training and was curious to learn of Benitez's ideas in greater detail.
A few weeks later, the story was repeated in similar fashion. Another team with no great aspirations, Tenerife, ruined the afternoon at Mestalla in a carbon copy of the previous match, another 0-0 draw. There was unrest on the terraces and Benitez was the object of a rude gesture from one of his players of which he was unaware until he saw it a little later on television. He made a substitution, Vicente came on for Kily Gonzalez. The Argentinian international purposefully avoided the affectionate slap on the back from the manager as he made his way towards the bench. When asked about it, Benitez reacted as best he could, he didn't attach any great importance to it, but on the inside he was furious. Gonzalez paid for his lack of respect with some unexpected time on the substitutes' bench.
Benitez remained faithful to his beliefs and outside pressure didn't affect him too much. If anything it inspired him to look for convincing answers to the permanent bombardment he had to put up with every time that the natural substitute for Maradona - according to Diego Maradona himself - didn't come out on to the pitch at the start of the game. The fact was that Aimar was at his best in the final weeks of season when Valencia moved full steam ahead to comfortably take the League Championship. That's when the great Pablito came to prominence, the idol of the Valencia supporters, with memorable goals that won both matches against Tenerife and Deportivo, and with performances that will go down in history, like the second half against Espanyol at Mestalla. He was unanimously considered the key factor in their success. His freshness was due in part to his specific training plan - daily workouts at training sessions focused on improving his fitness and adapting it to the European rhythm of play. These produced the desired result. Aimar arrived at games bursting with energy and his performance matched his reputation. But not everybody agreed with Benitez's strategy. There were those who believed that Aimar should have spent more time on the pitch, arguing that if he had Valencia would have won the title sooner. We'll never know, but Aimar's best form since joining Spanish football was shown in those two and a half months.
