Rafa Benítez Blog RSS Rafa Benítez Blog

07
Dec 2011
14:04 Comments (10)
What Istanbul Laid to Rest

General Articles

Juanma Morán

As everyone well knows, Liverpool FC is a club scarred by two tragedies, Heysel and Hillsborough. Even though the former was in football terms a bit pointless, we have to discuss it to understand why Liverpool fans are so grateful to Rafa Benitez...
30
Nov 2011
14:14 Comments (8)
By the skin of their teeth

General Articles

Juanma Morán

Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney. With nobody at the controls, how could we stay at the top. Let’s have a look because it’s easier said than done. These players all played together in the Manchester United attack for a while. I wondered then and I am still wondering. Can you compete against such a talented and attacking squad?...
07
Nov 2011
01:27 Comments (11)
The pose of Buddah

General Articles

Juanma Morán

The story of the European encounters between Liverpool and Chelsea can be told in many different ways, although most ardent fans would surely mention the famous Luis Garcia 'goal',,,,
23
Oct 2011
17:49 Comments (1)
12 January 1921

General Articles

Juanma Morán

When Manchester United visited Anfield in February 2006 for the 5th Round of the FA Cup, the home fans were a bit pessimistic about the team’s prospects of going further. Their reasons were pretty obvious and no less conclusive. The 12 January 1921 had been the last time that the neighbours had gone home beaten down the M62 after a cup game on the banks of the Mersey. Over 80 years ago. So no hope. Fate was decided. Out of the competition at the first hurdle against their greatest rivals and just another statistic to add. Or maybe not...
11
Oct 2011
17:04 Comments (2)
Rafa in the pub...

General Articles

Juanma Morán

One of the many routines I have as a fan in the days before a big Liverpool game is to have long debates with a good friend about all the news surrounding the team in the lead up to the match...
07
Oct 2011
10:05 Comments (4)
This is how it all began...

General Articles

Juanma Morán

A lot of people have referred to Rafa Benitez’s first match in charge of Liverpool as the first league game of the 2004-5 season, although his official debut was actually a few days earlier. It was really the qualification round of the Champions League which pitted him against the Austrians Sturm Graz. Apart from being a significant moment in the coach’s career, that game also has another particularly memorable significance. Whilst Steven Gerrard was giving the opposition a hard time with 2 sensational goals, Michael Owen was watching the match from the subs bench...
16
Sep 2011
11:08 Comments (13)
The bloke with 3 surprises

General Articles

Juanma Morán

The first time I saw Rafa Benítez in person was during an informal chat immediately after a game with a few fans of a group I was running at the time. The truth is none of the organisers of that meeting would have bet a penny that the coach would actually turn up. And not because, according to football practice, a person of his standing (he had been for some time one of the best coaches in the world) is usually inaccessible to the general public. No. He would have nothing to do with elitism. It was because he was known for never taking a break from work. And of course, straight after the match, it was understood that the first thing someone like him would do is go over the notes he had made during the 90 minutes, and the last thing he would do was to meet a group of over-enthusiastic interlopers. Therefore it was a surprise to see him appear at the agreed place and time.