Inmaculada Lidón

Editor for EL MUNDO.
"Rafa Benítez dazzles you with his knowledge"
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"Football is a world of personalities, self-interest and duplicity which scar the relationships of the people who inhabit it. Passion for the job of coach has been watered down and it is more and more difficult to find someone who can captivate you by his arguments, his analysis, his views on the sport which changes as quickly as it becomes more commercialized and loses its essence. Rafa Benítez is one of these people who dazzle you with his knowledge.

"He is a methodical coach, demanding and above all well prepared".
I have seen him explain tactics with toothpicks on a tablecloth, draw on a napkin the ideal movements of a team and explain, in simple terms, which is the best way to attack an opponent. And he is convincing. Because Rafa Benítez has this capacity to captivate whoever is listening to him, not only talking about what happens on the pitch in 90 minutes but also about how he wants his team to prepare for the game.

"Rafa reaches out to the terraces, at Mestalla, at Anfield, because they love his devotion".
He is a methodical coach, demanding and above all well prepared, conscious of the responsibility he has to those who trust him to take the reins. And I don’t mean the Directors, who come and go, but I am talking about the fans who have the Club badge tattooed on their soul. Rafa reaches out to the terraces, at the Mestalla, at Anfield, because they love his devotion.

Because of this, if there is one word that defines Rafa Benítez it is loyalty. To his work, to his staff who are always at his side. On and off the pitch. I believe no-one can say that one day Benítez let them down".