“If you are a referee, it’s not easy because everyone wants to win, and so there will be cheating.”
― Rafael Benitez
“For me, there is only one club in England, and that’s Liverpool.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Having the family around is always very important because they are supportive. If you have a good day, you can enjoy it together. And if you have a bad day, you always find something as a distraction with your children, because they are normally happy.”
― Rafael Benitez
“You are under pressure when you play to avoid relegation.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I’ve worked with so many teams, so many dressing rooms.”
― Rafael Benitez
“If the owner wants to support the team, that’s okay. If the owner can be on the pitch and score a couple of goals, it would be better!”
― Rafael Benitez
“I have always had sympathy for Atletico Madrid because, among other things, I have friends there, and my father always liked Atletico.”
― Rafael Benitez
“When you make a mistake, and the team is not doing well in defence, then the centre-backs and the ‘keeper suffer more than the others.”
― Rafael Benitez
“You cannot win every year.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I knew off by heart the names of the Real Madrid team that played Liverpool in the European Cup final of 1981.”
― Rafael Benitez
“There is no Benitez ‘method.’ We try to be more solid in defense without losing the quality in attack.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Does the manager have absolute power in England? No, it depends on a budget and on the executive director that negotiates the signings of players.”
― Rafael Benitez
“You cannot bring in two or three top-class players if you don’t have the money. You have to sell.”
― Rafael Benitez
“In football, it is a question sometimes of the mentality, understanding the players, the atmosphere, the confidence.”
― Rafael Benitez
“What features in a midfielder am I after? Players who have the mindset to win every game – then we can start to talk about the technical quality.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Sometimes you have to manage, and you have to sell two or three players who aren’t playing many games.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I have to concentrate on my job and try to do my best in the things that I know. Coaching the team and trying to have a winning mentality.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I have said many times that I am convinced that Benzema is a great striker, and I think he has demonstrated that.”
― Rafael Benitez
“For me, it is a great challenge to be at the most important club in the world, and I will try to win everything that I can win.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Real Madrid approach each match and each competition with the idea of winning it.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Whenever you lose, it’s always bad, and especially against Barcelona.”
― Rafael Benitez
“When someone gets angry during a training session but then does their job, there’s no problem; it’s fine.”
― Rafael Benitez
“To win the UEFA Cup with Valencia changed my life. It changed everything.”
― Rafael Benitez
“The difference between the Premier League and the other leagues is the intensity of the games.”
― Rafael Benitez
“To win the league with Valencia in Spain after 31 years changed my life.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Chelsea is a big club with fantastic players; every manager wants to coach a such a big team. But I would never take that job, in respect for my former team at Liverpool, no matter what.”
― Rafael Benitez
“In England, there is a tradition of playing on Saturday. But in Spain, I won the UEFA Cup with Valencia playing on Thursday and Sunday, which was just the same.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I don’t talk about referees. I never do, usually, and I want to carry on like that.”
― Rafael Benitez
“There are many coaches who talk about referees every day.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Napoli belongs to the city and to the fans. If this city sees the team reach the final, it will be a source of pride.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I would like to thank all Neapolitan fans for the affection and warmth that I have felt.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I am not hugely concerned about the amount of goals we score – it is the final results that are the difference.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Inter did not treat me well. They did not recognise my value despite me winning the Italian Super Cup and the Club World Cup.”
― Rafael Benitez
“You have to adapt to different teams and different players, but you have try to maintain your discipline and score goals.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I like to exchange ideas because we all want to win. If a footballer doesn’t agree, then you try and have a chat to work things out.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Carlo Ancelotti is very competitive, but he does it with respect.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Luiz Felipe Scolari was a good professional, a nice person, someone you could talk with before and after games. He has a lot of experience and is a good manager.”
― Rafael Benitez
“As I see it, Seedorf and I are coaches who handle the concept of a more proactive game.”
― Rafael Benitez
“It is always difficult, but when you have been a manager for a while with different teams, sometimes you were only playing once a week, trying to avoid relegation. When you have experience, you know all about the different feelings. Clearly, I would prefer to be fighting for the title or for the Champions League, but you must accept the situation.”
― Rafael Benitez
“You have to be positive and turn things in your favour.”
― Rafael Benitez
“There are good players in Europe and all the way around the world, but better than Torres – no. I would not want to swap Fernando with anyone else in the world, because he is my player, and I’m very pleased with him.”
― Rafael Benitez
“In all my time in England, I have never come up against a fragile Man United team.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I have to do what I have to do so that we can win games.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I am consistent rather than courageous.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I have experience and have been in Europe many times, so I know squad rotation is necessary to make everyone in the side stronger.”
― Rafael Benitez
“If you spend ã200million, ã300m every year, obviously, even if you make mistakes, you have a good team, but without spending so much money, you can still improve and do well.”
― Rafael Benitez
“To improve teams like Newcastle, if you do the right things, it is enough to be stronger and bigger and compete.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I was lucky to see Di Stefano, on the pitch, in person. He was a winner, as is Raul.”
― Rafael Benitez
“The Champions League is the most important, but I love the Liga and the Copa.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Whether a player rotates more or less depends on his form and his position. It’s not the same for a center back as it is for a winger. Every player is different.”
― Rafael Benitez
“In Spain, the game is more technical; in England, it’s more physical, while in Italy, it’s more tactical. Each country is a challenge, and I like to put myself to the test.”
― Rafael Benitez
“The most important thing is that my players work well. What people say on the outside is not important.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I like working on the pitch, staying focused.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Players want to join a club that’s ambitious.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I don’t think where they live is important to footballers.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Competition in football means someone will improve.”
― Rafael Benitez
“It is very important that you can express yourself, especially at half-time in a changing room, which is the crucial time for a manager.”
― Rafael Benitez
“We want to win trophies and be in the record books.”
― Rafael Benitez
“How can you change things when you are under pressure? You don’t tell a player who keeps giving the ball away not to touch the ball; you keep training and working hard.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I was under pressure in my first season at Valencia, and we won the title. Two years later, I was under more pressure there, and we won the title and the UEFA Cup.”
― Rafael Benitez
“As a manager, I have to keep calm.”
― Rafael Benitez
“The fans say you can do this and that, but you have to analyse the potential of the team with your staff. Will it be enough to be at the top until the end of the season? You never know.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I want to talk more about the future than the past.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Whenever people say things about me, it always comes back to Liverpool – but I cannot just become ‘the former manager.’ I am a professional football manager.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I am a professional that likes to concentrate on my job during the games.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I would say the Geordie accent and the scouse accent are similar in terms of I don’t understand anything!”
― Rafael Benitez
“People think I don’t have experience in the second division, but we were promoted with Tenerife and Extremadura,and I was the coach of the reserve team with Real Madrid in the second division. I know what it means to go from this level to another level. I realise how difficult it is.”
― Rafael Benitez
“With Tenerife, we had to fight in the most difficult second division in Spain with Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, and Real Betis, and we were promoted. I know you have to fight until the last day. We were promoted in the last game.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I have won the Champions League, won the FIFA Club World Cup, the FA Cup, the Italian Super Cup, the Spanish league twice, nine trophies, all the trophies you can win at club level.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I will do my job: I will try to win every game until the last minute. That’s it.”
― Rafael Benitez
“To manage is to decide the team, the substitutions, and everything until the end.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I am a Madrid fan.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Wenger is a great manager, a great person, someone who knows the league here in England.”
― Rafael Benitez
“When you are winning and go to finals, you want to win the finals.”
― Rafael Benitez
“When you are the manager, you want to win.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Everyone has to have the same targets, and the fans are very important for every team, for the motivation of the players. It’s the same in every club.”
― Rafael Benitez
“If the fans are behind your players, it’s much better.”
― Rafael Benitez
“The family is something you are always missing, but it has to be like this. It is not easy for any manager to be with your family, in your house, and working at your nearest club. So you have to travel.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I don’t always sleep for too long, but I sleep well. Sometimes when you have a doubt about team selection, you talk to your pillow, but in the morning, you have an idea.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Always you will miss something if you have to go, because you are trying to improve players who are people. You talk with them and work with them every day. You will miss them.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I come from a Napoli team who scored 104 goals. Do you think I’m going to be hyper-defensive with Real Madrid? A team that creates chances and is great in possession is not defensive.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I don’t read the press that much.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I go to the training ground early in the morning, between 7:30 A.M. and 8:30 A.M. Not just me, my staff. Then, sometimes I leave at 8 P.M. or 6 P.M.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I don’t only watch football. I like films.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I have been doing this for a long ,and it is the players who learn who you need to work with. You have to coach them to think and understand the game. If they cannot, then you have to tell them, ‘You have to do this anyway,’ but the best thing to do is say, ‘Listen, if he is doing this, then maybe you have to do that.’”
― Rafael Benitez
“I was a PE teacher, and when you teach, you can say, ‘You have to do this.’ It’s an order. That’s one way. Or you can say, ‘Listen, we have these problems, so give me the solution,’ and they have to think about it. Or you can say, ‘Here are three options – which one is best?’”
― Rafael Benitez
“When you play against a top side, you know they will have more possession, and they will be in more control, and you have to find one or two counterattacks.”
― Rafael Benitez
“When you have more money than anyone, and you can buy the players that you want, OK, you can buy the quality, and maybe you no longer mind about the other things.”
― Rafael Benitez
“There are only two or three places in Britain with Catholic and Protestant cathedrals,and Liverpool is one. My wife Montse and I like to go to both of them.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I like ‘Only Fools and Horses’ and ‘Father Ted.’”
― Rafael Benitez
“I understand 100 per cent why someone would want to buy Newcastle United. It’s very clear: it has the potential to be one of the top sides.”
― Rafael Benitez
“You go to Madrid, you have four or five teams at the maximum level. You go to Milan, and it’s the same. Napoli is similar to Newcastle in terms of everyone supporting one club in the city. It’s positive and unique when you have that.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I love the Beatles.”
― Rafael Benitez
“As a manager, you are important sometimes, and you make mistakes, but the most important people are your staff and your players. Never call me ‘the special one!’”
― Rafael Benitez
“When you are playing well, the players play with more confidence, sometimes without changing anything.”
― Rafael Benitez
“When I arrived at Liverpool, the budget was ã20m gross. When I left, it was ã17m, but still people said I must win the title. Manchester United had around ã50m more every year, but they said I must compete against them.”
― Rafael Benitez
“There are massive clubs with massive amounts of money, and Liverpool were always a little bit behind. But if you create a good team, a good atmosphere, and work hard, you can get there. You can win trophies.”
― Rafael Benitez
“When you’re a young manager and trying to build something, you work very, very hard.”
― Rafael Benitez
“Sometimes you have to praise players.”
― Rafael Benitez
“I don’t spend all day thinking about football. But a large part of it, yeah.”
― Rafael Benitez
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