[Archived] Rafa Benitez

[DE.]

Whether Benitez is overrated or not I don't know... seems to be far more people deriding him nowadays than praising him due to the way his Liverpool tenure ended.

WIth the right team he could do a decent job... but we're not the right team for him. Based on that I wouldn't want him here.

[BangkokRover]

No, I don't want him to manage Rovers, it would be a pretty spectacular mismatch. Still, I've been through this before, and won't waste time arguing other than listing his merits.

Spanish La Liga: 2 wins (not managing Barcelona or Real Madrid, I might add)

Champions League: 1 win, 3 finals.

UEFA cup: 1 win.

Rafa Benitez is not a bad manager. Deal with it.

The reason I created this thread is to show how much he spent at Liverpool and to to show how much he won as well. I did not have time to update the amount of trophies won etc as I had to leave for the airport.

When I am back in Bangkok on Monday I will do that.

[RevidgeBlue]

The reason I created this thread is to show how much he spent at Liverpool and to to show how much he won as well. I did not have time to update the amount of trophies won etc as I had to leave for the airport.

When I am back in Bangkok on Monday I will do that.

Why bother? has there been any speculation linking him to Rovers?

Apologies if there has been, I'm not aware of it.

[BangkokRover]

In the Steve Kean thread there wa 2 people saying Rafa was taking over and Rafa has mentioned on the BBC she has spoken to our new owners.

[chaddyrovers]

In the Steve Kean thread there wa 2 people saying Rafa was taking over and Rafa has mentioned on the BBC she has spoken to our new owners.

when did Rafa say this on the BBC?

[gumboots]

when did Rafa say this on the BBC?

More importantly, when did Rafa have the op?

[Iceman]

Agree mrs G, I know Rafa looks a bit like a girl, but I don't think he is one lol

[imy9]

Bangkok- I don't know how much to trust the info you have pasted, as for example Cisse was signed for 14 million by Houllier not Rafa, there is a far better breakdown on goal.com.

[Hughesy]

Martin Jol

Hughes only on a 12 month contract at Fulham too according to BBC gossip today

[Mattyblue]

Sparky, come back pleeeeeease!

[tony gale's mic]

First, I'm in the anyone but Kean, Ince and Kidd camp.

Second, as I realize that maybe 4-6 are "unrealisitic" I expanded the list slightly. More or less (much less) in order:

Guardiola- allegedly getting burnt out at Barcelona. Maybe nice, quiet Blackburn might be appealing?

Vicente del Bosque- Has stated that he wants to work with Spanish youngsters. Venkys does too. A potential deal?

Gus Hiddink- He's good and we'd get him back in the PL.

David Moyes- May be looking for a job, come summmer.

Slaven Bilic- I think he's ready to step up. And could maximize Kalinic's performance.

Marcello Lippi- A legend who might want back in the game?

Ottmar Hitzfeld- Ditto, plus he is fluent in English.

Ruud Gullit- If he'd manage in Russia and the US, he'd manage here.

Juande Ramos- Ditto, but Russia and the Ukraine.

John Toshack- He should probably be lower on this list, but hugely experienced.

Claudio Ranieri- I probably have him too high on this list.

Luis Scolari- We'd be lucky to get him, he'd bring in the South Americans, and I should move him up the list.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer- Actually should be higher on the list, but might be ready for PL first team management.

Owen Coyle- Other than Burnley, there is no downside.

Simon Grayson- A former Rover who has worked his way up the management ladder and may be ready for the big time.

Chris Hughton- Steady and reliable, treated poorly by Newcastle.

Gus Poyet- I think he's ready and he has the South American connection Venkys is looking for.

Ian Holloway- A clever motivator, we'd be safe with him. Look what he'd done for Blackpool with a fraction of the talent.

Martin Jol- He should be much higher up my list.

Bob Bradley- What can I say? I'm a patriot.

Stuart Pearce- Experienced with youth, which is critical to our future success.

Steve McClaren- Steady and reliable.

MON- if he can still work on a budget, I'd move him up much higher.

Glenn Hoddle- I think he's a class act.

Sam Allardyce- Safe but not exciting, could we pay him enough?

Tony Parkes- Loyal and would do better than Kean.

Giovanni Trapattoni- Only thing against him is his age.

Sven Eriksson- Will do anything for a paycheck.

Rafa Benitez- Loyal only to himself but better than Kean.

Ones in bold are all totally unrealistic - Jol wasn't interested when Sam left and doubt he'd be interested now.

As for some of the others...

We, on one hand, have a manager who with Valencia won La Liga twice in a country dominated by Real Madrid and Barcelona and who won the UEFA Cup. He then moved to Liverpool, who usually finished in the UEFA Cup slots under Houllier. He turned them into a regular top 4 fixture, won the UEFA Champions' League, got to the final another time and the semi finals multiple times, won the FA Cup, improved their league performance year on year finishing 4 points off Man United in season 2008-09; before the decline set in the season after.

But somehow, you'd prefer, amongst others, Stuart Pearce?! Tony Parkes?? John Toshack??! Even Ian Holloway - the guy's doing a great job at Blackpool but before this failed at Leicester City.

Quite how so many people on here have the idea of Rafa as a bad manager after everything he's achieved in the game is absolutely astounding.

[Majiball]

Ones in bold are all totally unrealistic - Jol wasn't interested when Sam left and doubt he'd be interested now.

As for some of the others...

We, on one hand, have a manager who with Valencia won La Liga twice in a country dominated by Real Madrid and Barcelona and who won the UEFA Cup. He then moved to Liverpool, who usually finished in the UEFA Cup slots under Houllier. He turned them into a regular top 4 fixture, won the UEFA Champions' League, got to the final another time and the semi finals multiple times, won the FA Cup, improved their league performance year on year finishing 4 points off Man United in season 2008-09; before the decline set in the season after.

But somehow, you'd prefer, amongst others, Stuart Pearce?! Tony Parkes?? John Toshack??! Even Ian Holloway - the guy's doing a great job at Blackpool but before this failed at Leicester City.

Quite how so many people on here have the idea of Rafa as a bad manager after everything he's achieved in the game is absolutely astounding.

How did Rafa do when he took over the best team in Europe at the time??????

13 points behind the leaders when he was sacked at Inter Milan with several players commenting that he had no relationship with them and they where glad he was gone.

Raf yes has won lots, in the past but never has he run a club like Rovers IE small. Abliet taken from Wiki but since we are using his history to justify him:

Early coaching

The first attempts by Benítez at senior management away from the Real Madrid fold were less than successful. He was appointed manager of Real Valladolid for the 1995–96 season but was sacked after only two wins in 23 games with the club bottom of the Primera División. During the 1996–97 season, Benítez took charge at Osasuna in the Segunda División but after only 9 games and one win he was sacked. He did, however, meet the fitness instructor Pako Ayestarán at the club, and went on to form a partnership with him at several clubs for the next decade. In 1997, he joined another Segunda División side, Extremadura and this time led them to promotion, finishing second in the table behind Deportivo Alavés, after winning 23 out of 42 games. Extremadura only survived one season in Primera División, however, and were relegated in 1999 after finishing seventeenth and losing a play-off to Villarreal.

Benítez subsequently quit CF Extremadura and took a year out studying in England and Italy. He also worked as a commentator/analyst for Eurosport, Marca, El Mundo and local Madrid TV. In 2000 he was appointed manager of CD Tenerife of the Segunda División and with a team that included Mista, Curro Torres and Luis García, he gained promotion to La Liga by finishing third in the league behind Sevilla and Real Betis

And don't forget the players he inherited at Valencia and also how much money they spent.

Benitez most certainly has something about him, but is that something what Rovers need? We need a man in charge who can motivate players to a high degree so that we can get the best out of some of our players, rafa is not the man for this:

Management style

Benítez has developed a reputation in English football as a hard man to please, with Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard admitting he longed for a "well done" from Benítez after good performances.[55] Benítez's ruthlessness can also be seen in the way he disposed of all but Gerrard and Jamie Carragher from his Champions League winning squad within four seasons, with penalty shoot-out hero Jerzy Dudek made back-up goalkeeper the very season after the European triumph.[56]

I can think of several times when Stevie G would have gotten a lot more than a well done.

Rafa without 100M or so to spend would be crazy and even then I'd have reservations as for me the skills required are in the job title, MANager.

[imy9]

Can't believe I'm saying this but agree 100%, Rafa is a top class manager, his achievement at Valencia, winning la liga twice is incredible considering the monopoly that Barca and Real have and their financial power too.

Give me Rafa over Kean, Jol, etc any day of the week.

[Hannah]

Didn't O'Neill leave Villa due to being fed up with the interference from the owners? Find it hard to believe he would come to Rovers whilst Venkey's in charge.

[Amo]

Didn't O'Neill leave Villa due to being fed up with the interference from the owners? Find it hard to believe he would come to Rovers whilst Venkey's in charge.

Yeah, I don't think he would come here. Depends how desperate he is to get back in the game.

But I can't believe people question his credentials. I agree that he was overrated by his boys on MOTD (because he did spend a lot of money at Villa), but he's a fantastic motivator.

[tony gale's mic]

How did Rafa do when he took over the best team in Europe at the time??????

13 points behind the leaders when he was sacked at Inter Milan with several players commenting that he had no relationship with them and they where glad he was gone.

Raf yes has won lots, in the past but never has he run a club like Rovers IE small. Abliet taken from Wiki but since we are using his history to justify him:

Early coaching

The first attempts by Benítez at senior management away from the Real Madrid fold were less than successful. He was appointed manager of Real Valladolid for the 1995–96 season but was sacked after only two wins in 23 games with the club bottom of the Primera División. During the 1996–97 season, Benítez took charge at Osasuna in the Segunda División but after only 9 games and one win he was sacked. He did, however, meet the fitness instructor Pako Ayestarán at the club, and went on to form a partnership with him at several clubs for the next decade. In 1997, he joined another Segunda División side, Extremadura and this time led them to promotion, finishing second in the table behind Deportivo Alavés, after winning 23 out of 42 games. Extremadura only survived one season in Primera División, however, and were relegated in 1999 after finishing seventeenth and losing a play-off to Villarreal.

Benítez subsequently quit CF Extremadura and took a year out studying in England and Italy. He also worked as a commentator/analyst for Eurosport, Marca, El Mundo and local Madrid TV. In 2000 he was appointed manager of CD Tenerife of the Segunda División and with a team that included Mista, Curro Torres and Luis García, he gained promotion to La Liga by finishing third in the league behind Sevilla and Real Betis

And don't forget the players he inherited at Valencia and also how much money they spent.

Benitez most certainly has something about him, but is that something what Rovers need? We need a man in charge who can motivate players to a high degree so that we can get the best out of some of our players, rafa is not the man for this:

Management style

Benítez has developed a reputation in English football as a hard man to please, with Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard admitting he longed for a "well done" from Benítez after good performances.[55] Benítez's ruthlessness can also be seen in the way he disposed of all but Gerrard and Jamie Carragher from his Champions League winning squad within four seasons, with penalty shoot-out hero Jerzy Dudek made back-up goalkeeper the very season after the European triumph.[56]

I can think of several times when Stevie G would have gotten a lot more than a well done.

Rafa without 100M or so to spend would be crazy and even then I'd have reservations as for me the skills required are in the job title, MANager.

Inter weren't the best team in Europe much like Italy weren't the best team in the world in 2006, but either way he failed over half a season, it's fair to say. But that half season failure is still nothing compared to the many years of success he enjoyed before that.

Bit pointless comparing what happened at the start of his career in the mid 90s as something against him - it's fair to say the Rafa Benitez that got sacked from Osasuna is nothing like the Rafa Benitez who reached two Champions' League finals.

And while we can't judge Benitez as a motivator without firsthand experience, didn't Liverpool have a reputation for mounting extraordinary comebacks under his reign? Not just the CL final, but the FA Cup final vs West Ham, an FA Cup semi vs Man U and various other games too. Their excellent overall record in the Champions League would also seem to indicate he was an excellent motivator considering the nature of the games and the fact they were never that good on paper. Gerrard produced the best form of his career under Benitez and was nothing like that kind of player for England, so whatever Benitez did sure must have motivated him. Reina is twice the keeper Dudek ever was so again, it was the right move by Benitez.

No manager has ever achieved what Rafa has in the game without spending large amounts of money. Not Fergie, not Mourinho. The only reason Rafa never won the title was because in Fergie, Wenger and Mourinho he came up against three managers who were a class above him. But that's no disgrace to Rafa - his records still show he's a great manager who Rovers would be mad not to roll out the red carpet for.

[gumboots]

Inter weren't the best team in Europe much like Italy weren't the best team in the world in 2006, but either way he failed over half a season, it's fair to say. But that half season failure is still nothing compared to the many years of success he enjoyed before that.

Bit pointless comparing what happened at the start of his career in the mid 90s as something against him - it's fair to say the Rafa Benitez that got sacked from Osasuna is nothing like the Rafa Benitez who reached two Champions' League finals.

And while we can't judge Benitez as a motivator without firsthand experience, didn't Liverpool have a reputation for mounting extraordinary comebacks under his reign? Not just the CL final, but the FA Cup final vs West Ham, an FA Cup semi vs Man U and various other games too. Their excellent overall record in the Champions League would also seem to indicate he was an excellent motivator considering the nature of the games and the fact they were never that good on paper. Gerrard produced the best form of his career under Benitez and was nothing like that kind of player for England, so whatever Benitez did sure must have motivated him. Reina is twice the keeper Dudek ever was so again, it was the right move by Benitez.

No manager has ever achieved what Rafa has in the game without spending large amounts of money. Not Fergie, not Mourinho. The only reason Rafa never won the title was because in Fergie, Wenger and Mourinho he came up against three managers who were a class above him. But that's no disgrace to Rafa - his records still show he's a great manager who Rovers would be mad not to roll out the red carpet for.

wasn't a large part of that down to Stevie G playing a blinder and refusing to give up?

[Majiball]

Inter weren't the best team in Europe much like Italy weren't the best team in the world in 2006, but either way he failed over half a season, it's fair to say. But that half season failure is still nothing compared to the many years of success he enjoyed before that.

Bit pointless comparing what happened at the start of his career in the mid 90s as something against him - it's fair to say the Rafa Benitez that got sacked from Osasuna is nothing like the Rafa Benitez who reached two Champions' League finals.

And while we can't judge Benitez as a motivator without firsthand experience, didn't Liverpool have a reputation for mounting extraordinary comebacks under his reign? Not just the CL final, but the FA Cup final vs West Ham, an FA Cup semi vs Man U and various other games too. Their excellent overall record in the Champions League would also seem to indicate he was an excellent motivator considering the nature of the games and the fact they were never that good on paper. Gerrard produced the best form of his career under Benitez and was nothing like that kind of player for England, so whatever Benitez did sure must have motivated him. Reina is twice the keeper Dudek ever was so again, it was the right move by Benitez.

No manager has ever achieved what Rafa has in the game without spending large amounts of money. Not Fergie, not Mourinho. The only reason Rafa never won the title was because in Fergie, Wenger and Mourinho he came up against three managers who were a class above him. But that's no disgrace to Rafa - his records still show he's a great manager who Rovers would be mad not to roll out the red carpet for.

Regardless of how Inter won the champions league they still beat Barca despite having a handicap due to cheating from Barca. 10 men beat the best team and if you beat the best?

You should read Gerrards biography. Things apparently got so bad between them they didn't talk at all, Mascherano was touting his own manager to become the manager of another club, why? Benayoun demanded to be sold as he refused to play under him again. Alonso as well, he may have done well but in the last two seasons he has been awful as his record shows. When you consider what his players have said about him in those last two years it doesn't point to him being the motivator people here are claiming. Istanbul was amazing but just as you say we cannot compare his early history to the man how won La liga twice I say we cannot compare today's beniteiz to that one, as he's obviously deteriorated in recent years.

I highlighted his early career because all his success have come when he has spent large sums, Valencia at the time spent millions and despite what people on here are saying about the barca and Madrid monopoly people may want to check the league tables as depor, sociedad finished above them both during that time as well, which hardly points to a monopoly. The second the funds dried up Rafa quit.

I love the fact you highlight Mourinho and claim that what Rafa did can only be achieved by buying and yet Mourinho won 2 back to back trebles with porto, winning the UEFA and then champions league back to back. How much did he spend? Money isn't the be all and end all in football.

There are sayings in football such as you only as good as your last game/season, Rafa's last two show him to be on the decline. He's not the man to take Rovers forward.

If we are to change in the summer I'd be taking a long hard look at 2 people

Villa Boas & Petrescu, both look to be good prospects as managers and both have spent time in the premierleague.

[K-Hod]

I don't want him anywhere near this club, and anyway as if we could afford him! He's probablyn been on more in his past 2 jobs than most of our squad!

[Miker]

I seriously despise Benitez, I hope we have a better manager lined up than him. Personally, I feel absolutely helpless as a fan if I'm given the choice between Kean and Benitez. Venky's might as well come and kick me in the balls while they're at it.

[Mattyblue]

Kean's not fit to even say Benitez's name!

[booth]

Between Kean and Benitez I would pick Benitez every time.

That said, I'd take Ronnie Mac-fecking-Donald over Kean right now.

[Billy Castell]

One thing I've noticed is the sheer number of players coming in or going out during Rafa's time at Liverpool. I don't want Blackburn to virtually have a new squad every 2 seasons, and waste millions. Benitez is definately not the right man.

[Steve Moss]

Ones in bold are all totally unrealistic - Jol wasn't interested when Sam left and doubt he'd be interested now.

. . .

Quite how so many people on here have the idea of Rafa as a bad manager after everything he's achieved in the game is absolutely astounding.

I won't disagree that those in bold might be unrealistic. Still plenty of good managers to pick from.

And Rafa may be a very good manager. But there is something about him that I do not trust, so he is very low on my list. Though he is very acceptable, if the choice is between Rafa and Kean. With few exceptions, I'm in the anyone but Kean camp.

Villa Boas & Petrescu, both look to be good prospects as managers and both have spent time in the premierleague.

Yes to either, though I'd prefer Andre Villa Boas.

[philipl]

At least Rafa would be a manager.