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"When I became Fergie�s rival we were no longer friends"
15/05/2011Jonathan NorthcroftRestless Rafa Benitez talks exclusively about the Champions League, Kenny Dalglish and his desire to manage in England again
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Cruising through West Kirby is a cream Mini Cooper, Union Jack roof, Union Jack wing mirrors. Behind the wheel, smiling beatifically, is Rafa Benitez. When he parks on the promenade, two young mums stop, delve into prams and hand him their babies for photographs. Peeping above trees on the cliffside is a mansion. Mail from everywhere arrives, some addressed: “Rafa Benitez, The Big House, Caldy�. Benitez is royalty in west Wirral.
He was king of Europe not long ago. Only Mr. Ferguson, with an English club, has enjoyed the concentrated Champions League success Benitez had when he won with Liverpool, went to another final and lost semi-finals and quarter-finals from 2005-09. In 2007, he beat Barcelona when they were favourites. He is fascinating on how Manchester United could do the same.
He was unimpressed by the negative strategy of Jose Mourinho in defending, then defending some more when he tackled Barça. “It's really important to have confidence in your own game,� Benitez says, “and a plan. But also know Barcelona can score and be ready to change your plan.� In 2007 he alternated approaches. “In the Nou Camp we used pace. We were waiting, then playing counterattack. At Anfield they expected similar but we pressed them really high from the beginning.�
Where Mourinho paid obsessive attention to Barça's threats, Ferguson says he will focus on United's strengths. Benitez nods. “How you play Barcelona depends on your own team,� he says. “If you're in good condition and have players who do good pressing, you can press high and with intensity. If your team is more technical and a lot of players are not best defending, you have to attack.� United have in their corner, “Premier League pace and style�.
Over lunch, Benitez marshals condiment pots to demonstrate dealing with Lionel Messi. “He plays as a false'striker. He starts here [between the centre-backs], moves here [midfield] but you can't be thinking too much about him. If you mark him man to man, he can beat your player. You have to reduce the space for him. It'll be difficult for him if he cannot receive the ball because you've too many bodies in that area.
“But you also have to control [David] Villa, [Andres] Iniesta, Pedro, Xavi, [Dani] Alves. That's the strength of Barcelona. They have many good players and can move the ball until they create the right situation for the right player..� He smiles. “But I stop [praising Barcelona]. I'm from Madrid!�
It had been Benitez's idea to model Liverpool like Barça; perhaps with different playing ideas but the same principle of a common style from youth team to first team. He installed at Liverpool's academy Pep Segura and Rodolfo Borrell, who were formerly key men in Barça's youth programme, to work alongside director Frank McParland. Benitez believes his vision of a home-grown talent stream flowing into Liverpool's first team is being realised by Kenny Dalglish promoting Jay Spearing and John Flanagan.
He approves of Dalglish's permanent appointment at Anfield. “I brought Kenny back to Liverpool because he knows the soul of the club. I thought he could be the key, I wanted him more involved in football things but the people in charge put him as ambassador.� Those people, Tom Hicks and George Gillett (“they talked about not transfers but "the draft",� Benitez snorts) contrasted with Liverpool's current owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG).
“The difference with these Americans is that they listen to people who know about football. They analyse things with statistics but in the end they know that football's a different sport. They're 100% supportive. The whole club sticks together, something we didn't have.�
Does Benitez wish he'd worked under FSG? “Yeah. It's a pity. But I cannot think about that,� he says. “Kenny's doing a fantastic job, I'm happy the club's moving forward. I‟m thinking about the future with another Premier League club.�
He's a world, European and Spanish champion, FA Cup, Uefa Cup-winning coach for hire. Since leaving Inter Milan in December he has been working at home in Caldy, preparing for his next role. He has pored over the tactical notes and training session diaries kept since he began coaching in 1986. He has studied videos of his old games. He watches matches from around the world on television, monitoring players he'd like to sign.
He has a staff researching technical and sports science questions. “Yesterday, one of my assistants gave me information about how Barcelona train different things. It was interesting. I thought, "Maybe we use this and that",� he beams.
The idea is that whatever club appoint him, he'll be ready. He'd go abroad but with his family settled on the Wirral, a Premier League return would be ideal. “It has to be the right job. It is not a question of trophies now. If you analyse the trophies you can win at club level, we've won everything. Except the Carling Cup ... and we were 11 minutes away [in 2005]. It is more a question, "Can I teach? Can I improve players and clubs like before?"
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“Valencia was a good club but needed a winning mentality. Liverpool, too. The fans tell me that they were really proud because we played the most important teams in Europe — Chelsea, Real Madrid, Milan, Barcelona — and said, "We are Liverpool, we can beat you".� Despite his enduring association with Anfield, “I' ve been in different clubs, some big, some small, and adapted to their philosophies. I feel I can work anywhere,� he says. “You have to listen to the people in charge, they know how their clubs work.�
That is at odds with perceptions, after his boardroom wars at Anfield, that he clashes with authority. “I was always trying to do my best for Liverpool, the club and the city, and if I go to another club it will be the same. At most of my clubs I've been improving players, winning trophies and didn't have problems.�
Improving players is his passion (he tells a hilarious story, moving the condiments again, about the challenges of teaching Ryan Babel) and I ask him to name his biggest successes at Liverpool. “Maybe people will disagree but I think [Steven] Gerrard and Carra [Jamie Carragher]. Gerrard was scoring 24, 21, 20 goals every single year. Carra was playing left-back when I arrived and became one of the best centre-backs around.
“I remember taking Gerrard off against Everton away. 1-1, 11 against 10. We had the extra man but were playing with too much passion. I put Lucas [Leiva] on, he won a penalty, and we won 2-1. When you put so much passion on the pitch, sometimes it's difficult to choose the right option. You have to keep your passion but be thinking, too, and Gerrard has the balance now.
“[Pepe] Reina was a good player who improved a lot, [Fernando] Torres the same. People can see, now, Lucas is a good player. [Dirk] Kuyt, people criticised him, but now he plays right-wing, target man, second striker. Kenny is showing the squad I left was [contrary to Roy Hodgson's claims] not so bad..�
Regrets? “People talk about my last year at Liverpool but it was one bad season. We had injuries and had to fight for the club. With transfers — because you were always trying to sign the right players, sometimes you were signing too many and trying to improve your squad too quickly. Maybe next time I try and sign less players and go for more quality.
“But it wasn't always easy. Because of the economic crisis the most important thing for every club is young players now but at Liverpool the most we spent on a young player was £250,000. We signed one for £10,000. Arsenal bought [Theo] Walcott for £12m, [Aaron] Ramsey for £5m, players I‟d been watching. Overall, the signings people criticised were the cheapest: [Andriy] Voronin, [Philipp] Degen. When you look at Torres, Reina, [Xabi] Alonso, Kuyt, [Javier] Mascherano, you can see when we spent money we signed good players.�
When Benitez won in Istanbul, Ferguson sent a congratulatory letter. Should Ferguson win at Wembley, Benitez will applaud but perhaps not leap upright for a standing ovation. What happened to their relationship? “It's exactly what Arsène Wenger was saying one day. When we were rivals, we were no longer friends. When we were 20 points behind Manchester United, he liked me.�
It's a wry line. Benitez is smiling and, as ever, sticking up for himself. The Premier League is less interesting without him.
