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.
celebrate prefer respect talk victory
I prefer to talk about this game, to celebrate our victory and to show respect for my players,
biggest confidence difference football handle mentality physical season squad terms
In terms of the football and the mentality of the squad I think we have much more confidence in ourselves. The biggest difference for us this season is we know how to handle the physical games.
goal known meant rest saw top
If you saw the first half, you wouldn't have known who was top of the table. Conceding the first goal meant they could play as they like -- on the counter-attack -- for the rest of the game.
football goals good scoring
In my opinion, we had a good first-half and they had a good second-half. But football is all about scoring goals and we scored two and they only scored one,
beaten chelsea last team year
Chelsea are not unbeatable. We have beaten them before and we can beat them again. They are a better team than they were last year but we're a better team as well.
chelsea difficult good
Chelsea are a very good team, they are very difficult to beat,
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.
losing
If you play in the final, it's for winning, not for losing
city knew looked manchester supporter
If you looked any Manchester City supporter in the eye, they knew I wanted to come back and I don't think they would begrudge me that.
express words
I don't think I have the words to express how I feel at this moment.
game maybe needed played qualify wants win
He told me he wants to play but I said no, you must rest. If it was a game that we needed to win to qualify then maybe he would have played but we have already qualified.
chelsea good lots seen
he said. ''Have you seen Santos or Sao Paolo or Boca Juniors? Chelsea are very good but there are lots of very good teams.