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
against arsenal beaten maybe people teams win
People said we couldn't win against these teams but we have beaten Arsenal and maybe we can beat United.
against character difficult football good half possible second strong
Bolton are very difficult to play against and they had a lot of free-kicks and throw-ins and you can't play the football you want to play. I like to play football as well as possible and in the second half we were very good and had a strong character to come from behind.
against cannot cup european fit hope moscow super
I think he cannot play against CSKA Sofia but I hope he will be fit for CSKA Moscow (in the European Super Cup on Friday).
against arsenal drop ensure finish means normally points three top win
We have 70 points and that would normally ensure you finish in the top three now. One more win should be enough (to finish in the top three) because Spurs have got to play against Arsenal so that means one of them will drop points.
against good mistakes punish team
When you play against a very good team with good players, you know that if you make mistakes they will punish you.
against best difficult game teams win
It was difficult to play against one of the best teams and to win this game was amazing.
against believe bigger compared games last manage season squad win
We know we can win against them, but over a season the differences are more demanding. But compared to last season we now have a bigger and better squad and I believe we can manage the games in a different way.
against best champions easier last league life liverpool people prepared season team teams
Last season people said Liverpool was not the best team in the Champions League and that made life easier for us because of the way teams prepared against us.
against fantastic half nine pitch played remember tempo
I remember they had fantastic players. They played nine against nine on a half pitch and the tempo was amazing.
against hopefully manchester session training united wait
Pellegrino could play against Watford, but he has only had one training session so it is better to wait and hopefully use him against Manchester United on Saturday,
again certainly few loss major maybe running since surprised training using week weeks
He is improving, he has been training this week and running so maybe we will see him again in a few weeks. I was surprised he was running and he was even using a ball. Maybe a few weeks will see him fit. He certainly has been a major loss for us since he was injured.
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,
calls early phone sign tried until yesterday
We tried until the very end to sign Michael. We even made phone calls early yesterday morning. In the end, it was impossible.