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 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.
centre four january knows last left months people reinforce thinking three until
We have three or four months to get through. In January we need to reinforce the squad. We were thinking about a right-winger and centre half, everyone knows that, but when people say we left it until the last minute, that's not true,
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.
game good last matched played team thinking three
The last game was not good for us but we matched them before and played at a very good level. All I am thinking about is my team and three more points.
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 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.
result wait
We will wait to see the result of the scan.