Rafael Benitez
Rafael 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...
ProfessionSoccer Player
Date of Birth16 April 1960
CityMadrid, Spain
advantage atmosphere knew team
But I had an advantage in that I knew the team and knew the atmosphere here.
chelsea gaps improve ourselves points start thinking
But if you start thinking about gaps in September, it is wrong. There are a lot of points to play for and we do not need to think about Chelsea or other teams, only how to improve ourselves in each game.
birmingham clubs concerned cope drawn good league maybe might playing position rather squad staying three
At this stage, with all Premiership clubs you've got to play good teams. Maybe Birmingham will be more concerned about their league position and this might not be as important to them as staying in the division. I feel I've got a big enough squad to cope with playing in three competitions and all I can say is that I'd have rather been drawn at home.
clubs good
At this stage, with all Premiership clubs you've got to play good teams.
ball good knows
I know Crouch is very good in the air, he can keep the ball and always knows what to do with it
press sale spanish talking time waste
I know a lot about the Spanish press and I know sometimes they need to say something. But here I am really clear, he is not for sale and I don't want to waste my time talking about it.
celebrate prefer respect talk victory
I prefer to talk about this game, to celebrate our victory and to show respect for my players,
amazing linked names player spoken
I have not spoken to any player yet and I find it amazing to see so many names linked day after day.
proud result staff
I'm very proud of the staff and the players. For us it's important to give this result to our supporters.
advantage against atmosphere behind expecting fans fight good knew team
It was against a team that we would be expecting to fight for qualification. They are a very good team at home, with their fans behind them But I had an advantage in that I knew the team and knew the atmosphere here.
against expecting fight team
It was against a team that we would be expecting to fight for qualification,
either fair games gone
It was a fair result, one of those games which could have gone either way,
afford cannot finish goal needed opposition ourselves second
There was a nervousness there and we've put ourselves under pressure. When you are not scoring, you cannot afford to give the opposition one or two chances. We needed that second goal to finish the game.
attack bad choose clear players quality
If you look at the players they have in their team, it's clear that they are not a bad team. They have a lot of quality to choose from and they attack with pace.