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.
ball became chances chelsea control created defense deserved difficult enjoy finish good half hard kept playing points second sheet team top worked
We deserved to finish top because we have more points than the other teams. We done a good job, kept another clean- sheet and created some chances on the counter-attack. It was important for us to control the midfield. However, this became more difficult in the second half when Chelsea started playing long ball but the team worked hard in defense and we must enjoy this moment.
fight four good possible squad top
Totten-ham have a good team, a good squad and a good manager. They will fight to be in the top four and we will try to do the same. I don't know if it's possible but we will try.
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.
managers maybe sides sign top vicious
It's not easy. The top sides like to sign managers with experience, maybe in another country, so it's always a vicious circle.
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.