A biography for Rafael Benitezhasn’t been written yet.
“To win the UEFA Cup with Valencia changed my life. It changed everything.”
“When someone gets angry during a training session but then does their job, there's no problem; it's fine.”
“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.”
“I like 'Only Fools and Horses' and 'Father Ted.'”
“You cannot win every year.”
“To manage is to decide the team, the substitutions, and everything until the end.”
“I don't talk about referees. I never do, usually, and I want to carry on like that.”
“When you are the manager, you want to win.”
“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.”
“The most important thing is that my players work well. What people say on the outside is not important.”
“For me, there is only one club in England, and that's Liverpool.”
“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.”
“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.”
“When I arrived at Liverpool, the budget was £20m gross. When I left, it was £17m, but still people said I must win the title. Manchester United had around £50m more every year, but they said I must compete against them.”
“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!'”
“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.”
“I will do my job: I will try to win every game until the last minute. That's it.”
“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.”
“You have to adapt to different teams and different players, but you have try to maintain your discipline and score goals.”
“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.”