Rafas press conference

[Montse]

Just caught Rafas press conference on eseason ticket just now (sure bits will be repeated on SSN)- top stuff from our man, he was talking about managers (ie Wenger & Pardew) having spats, players having spats with the ref etc. He basically said that he tells his team to be nice to the ref those players or teams that are not are soon found out.

 

He was very much of the opinion that basically managers and players should put up and shut up cos its not going to do them any good moaning.

 

Dignity personifed there are others out there that should take a leaf out of his book

[Andy @ Allerton]

[Benitez]

thats one thing I am glad about is we dont see our players do that surrounding the referee thing ALL THE FECIN TIME! It does my head in that does

[Coyler]

Did he shed any further light on why he let the handshaking bollix with Mourinho go on so long?

[Lee W]

Aye, he said he never offered to shake Mourinho's bollucks and the feeling was mutual.

[Chili Palmer]

Did he shed any further light on why he let the handshaking bollix with Mourinho go on so long?

 

Rafa always said he would shake Mourinhos hand,it was 'the stupid one' who always refused.

[Coyler]

He implied that Mourinho never sought him out to shake hands, not that Mourinho ever refused.

 

Wasn't very edifying. I love my Rafa, so I do, but that episode was a bit disappointing.

[Benitez]

He implied that Mourinho never sought him out to shake hands, not that Mourinho ever refused.

 

Wasn't very edifying. I love my Rafa, so I do, but that episode was a bit disappointing.

 

 

not really.

 

When a team wins, it's considered the 'done thing' for the losing manager to shake hands, and the two times that didnt happen was when Liverpool won, so what can you do. Rafa has always shook Maruenho's hand when chelsea have won.

[Cobs]

not really.

 

When a team wins, it's considered the 'done thing' for the losing manager to shake hands,

what if it's a draw?

 

[Jonesy]

what if it's a draw?

 

 

 

they shake their own hands

[Cobs]

they shake their own hands

 

but what if one refuses?

[AE]

what if it's a draw?

 

 

They have a quick kiss down the tunnel.

Now look at the league table....

[Benitez]

they shake their own hands

 

 

 

if it's a draw, Pako shakes hands with Steve Clarke, and then punches Maurenho out cold.

[BG]

 

if it's a draw, Pako shakes hands with Steve Clarke, and then punches Maurenho out cold.

 

Wathcing him in press conferences is absolutley embarassing. Like he's trying to be Mourinho but without the record, ability, cleverness to do it.

[magneto]

not really.

 

When a team wins, it's considered the 'done thing' for the losing manager to shake hands, and the two times that didnt happen was when Liverpool won, so what can you do. Rafa has always shook Maruenho's hand when chelsea have won.

 

Charity Shield and FA Cup Semi?

[Benitez]

Charity Shield and FA Cup Semi?

 

 

yep

[The Mighty Kemlyn]

what if it's a draw?

 

 

You'll hear us moan

Let's use the coin that beat Cologne

and we'll all get stone blind

when Liverpool win the cup.

 

[Otocon]

Wathcing him in press conferences is absolutley embarassing. Like he's trying to be Mourinho but without the record, ability, cleverness to do it.

 

Well said.

[Montse]

Benitez sets the benchmark

By Tim Rich

Last Updated: 2:49am GMT 11/11/2006

 

Outwardly there are many similarities linking Rafael Benitez and Arsene Wenger ? both are great managers who never quite made it as professional footballers but who are wrapped up in the game to the exclusion of all else.

 

And yet at both Valencia and Liverpool, Benitez has shown himself to be a calmer, more balanced personality. As he demonstrated after Arsenal's defeat by Barcelona in the European Cup final, Wenger is frequently a graceless loser.

 

Although Benitez spends virtually every minute prowling the touchline, it would be impossible to imagine the Liverpool manager jostling Alan Pardew as Wenger did at Upton Park or copying Jose Mourinho's suit-ruining slide on to the Nou Camp pitch when celebrating a late equaliser.

 

Benitez is adamant that managers have as much responsibility to moderate their conduct as the players they control.

 

"There is a lot of passion in the game, we have a lot of responsibility and we must try to be a little quieter because we have a lot of children watching," he said.

 

"If a player scores a goal and runs to the stand and takes off his shirt, he will get a yellow card. It is the same thing for us. You cannot turn to your supporters and start cheering 'goal, goal' and say you are doing your job. Your job is to prepare the team.

 

"I am not saying you should stand there like a monk watching the game, we know we are under pressure but we need to control our emotions. This is our job and we need to show people we are professionals.

 

"Sometimes you may think passion is important and you have to get the supporters behind you but this is something the players can do on the pitch by playing well."

 

Playing well is something Liverpool have rarely done in the Premiership against the big three under Benitez. While Liverpool have tasted some spectacular cup successes against Chelsea and Manchester United, they have lost every Premiership away game against both of them and Arsenal.

 

Both Wenger and Benitez would have prepared for tomorrow's encounter in London engrossed in videos of their opponents, from which the Liverpool manager concluded that Arsenal's poor form at the Emirates Stadium was down to ill-luck more than anything else.

 

"I have a lot of respect for Arsene Wenger," said Benitez. "As a foreign manager I know how difficult it is to work in another country. It is really difficult when you don't know the language or the mentality of people or their culture. And if you win trophies, that is something you respect."

 

Unlike Wenger, Benitez is rarely openly critical of referees. Even in Spain where the supposed bias of officials towards Real Madrid is an open sore, he kept his mouth shut. This may be because the one time he did openly berate a referee, after a narrow and bitterly controversial defeat at the Bernabeu, the ensuing fallout threatened to derail Valencia's surge to the title.

 

A lesson may have been learnt but Benitez is uncomfortable with the idea of a referee as a celebrity, thinking it better if managers did not get to know them.

 

"Then, they can do their job much better," he said. "Sometimes, when you talk about referees or ask them to explain everything, you create more problems. They should just focus on the game.

 

"In Spain, referees are not allowed to talk to the media and that is much better for them because they do not need to be under pressure every day."

 

You just gotta love him!

 

torygraph