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
chances created needed team win
We created a lot of chances and the other team didn't. It was difficult, but we did all the things we needed to win and if they don't concede you can't win.
gave knew missing needed newcastle problem recover rest
We knew they needed rest to recover but the problem that gave us was they were all missing the Newcastle game.
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.
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.
afterwards players
The players said to me afterwards 'yes, it was clear',
brussels good job leg win
We did a very good job in Brussels in the first leg to win 1-0,
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.
controlled goal half tempo
We controlled the tempo in the first half but after we conceded the goal it was difficult.
cannot change talk team worked
We need to change things and to improve, but you cannot talk about the work-rate because the team worked very hard.
good talking
When you are talking about good players, they are always in the spotlight.
area key midfield people six talking
When I was six years old people were talking about the midfield as the key area of the pitch.
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.
game lost
We lost a game that we were controlling.