Rafa Benitez
Rafa Benitez
Rafael "Rafa" Benítez Maudesis a Spanish football coach currently managing Newcastle United. He is the only manager in history to have won the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup...
fit injury last member problems season squad stay
He was unfortunate last season because he had so many injury problems, but if he can stay fit then he will be an important member of our squad this year.
decide depends fit full hope physical session training whether
He did a full training session and the day after he was injured. Now I hope that he will be fit again. It depends on his physical condition. We will decide whether he can play or not.
dangerous days doctors england fit manager speak three
I need to speak to the doctors but if he is not fit in two to three days it could still be dangerous in one week. I will speak to the England manager (Sven-Goran Eriksson) about it.
dangerous england fit friday
If he is not fit for Friday it would be dangerous for him to play for England,
clean match points scoring sheets shows start three time
This time we are going into the match with a lot of confidence. We have three clean sheets and two points away from home. That's not bad, but we know we need to start scoring goals. We've done that in midweek, so that shows that's not going to be a problem.
close future last win
We are very close and doing better than last year. We want to think about the future and not other teams. We can still win it.
arsenal close means second sure third win
With Spurs and Arsenal having to play each other, it means we probably only need one more win to make sure of a top-four finish. We are very close now to securing third place, with second still something we have as a possibility.
cup determined fans finish job order preparing wonderful
We wanted to finish the job off today, ... in order to concentrate on preparing for the UEFA Cup final. Also, we were determined to do it for all the wonderful fans who have cheered us on today.
difficult game games last lose lost
We lost a game we were controlling, we have to think about that. It was the last minute, so it was a disappointing day. It's always difficult to lose in the last minute. We know we have two games in hand, we know it's a long way and we have to keep going.
five minutes needed played result win
We did all the things we needed to do to win the game. If we played five more minutes the result could have been different.
behind bit good run supporters
We had a good game, the same as the first leg. We have done a good job. When you have your supporters behind you, you run a bit more.
believe chelsea gap table
I don't believe the gap between Chelsea and us is as big as the Premiership table shows,
arrive best clubs england liverpool man managers proud today
I am a very proud man today because all managers like to arrive at the best clubs and we know Liverpool is one of the most important clubs in the world,
clearly controlled goals respect situation tried
One of those goals clearly was not offside. I tried to show respect for the other team, but I was very disappointed with how the situation was controlled by the referee.