Indeed, Valencia’s fans must gave been as stubbornly expectant (despite not wining the League in 30 years before Benitez’s arrival) as their President, who incredibly told Benitez in his third season that if he lost another match his job would probably be up for grabs. That was on the same night that the manager had just delivered his second League title, and was surely one of the reasons for his eventual summer departure. Benitez was embroiled in a separate, rather public battle with another member of the board during his reign and for a time after – Sporting Director Jesus Garcia Pitarch – over issues involving transfers and wage structure, and, after Benitez left, his apparent betrayal of the Valencia team. “He’s the kind of man who would suck you absolutely dry,” Benitez was quoted as saying just before he joined Liverpool.
In truth, Rafael Benitez was treated awfully during his time at the club, even in the face of his unbelievable success and maturing reputation as a fantastic coach, manager and person. Pitarch, ever the undiplomatic, told Benitez that having finished 5th in his second season in charge, he would have even less control over possible signatures during that particular close-season. The manager requested defenders, and Pitarch introduced another striker, setting off spectacular fireworks and igniting a battle which caused Benitez, in the end, to admit defeat during a press conference in Spain.
"I want to see it as positive that the club has tried to keep me on, but after the events of this season which have undermined my morale I have decided to reconsider my future at the club. I want to thank all the players, the employees at Valencia, the press and especially the fans for their support over the past three years." Benitez famously broke into tears in the middle of this emotional speech and had to leave the conference room in a kind of awed silence. The then-President, Jaime Orti, did have his bust-ups with the manager but had tried fairly hard to keep him at the club in the end. In failing, Orti was left not only angered but humiliated and subsequently refused to give Benitez a settlement package due to the fact that it had been the manager’s decision to depart from the club.
Benitez’s reaction to Orti’s child-like behaviour was calm, but as always, firm: “I get packages and tributes in Almendralejo, Tenerife and Parla (where he coached previously) and yet in Valencia, where I have won more titles and I have left a lasting impression, I have to go back there to deal with a lawsuit,” he said. “The problem was brought about with the club deciding to withhold my settlement fee that was agreed after the completion of my contract and which is sacred to any worker.” Mid-way through the legal battle however, Orti was ousted as President by a board dissatisfied with his failure to satiate Benitez and Juan Soler took over, easing the pressure slightly on the Benitez vs. Valencia situation.
Yet even Soler, in the hot seat and quite happy to sit down and discuss a settlement with Benitez, could not undo the spiteful work of Orti and Rafa conceded, “He (Soler) doesn’t know how to stop it; he has been overcome by this situation. Both lawyers have spoken to each other and it appeared things were speeding up but they don’t know how to find a way out.” And so, even signing a 5-year deal with Liverpool FC in the summer of 2004, Rafael Benitez was still hampered by an ongoing, rampant lawsuit which ate up a lot of his time and thoughts and money. Contrarily, what a relief it must have been for the man when he met Rick Parry in Spain following his resignation and realised that control freakery simply would not be on the cards if he joined the mighty and willing Liverpool, one of the biggest and most successful clubs the world has ever seen.
What Benitez came from, a club full of egotistical old-suits collected over the 30 years of dryness and continuing to collect now in the dry patch which has followed Benitez’s reign, was surely a hell to put up with day after day. Yes, what Benitez loved was that he inherited a well-drilled team which worked hard and knew what he wanted, but off-field politics are not enjoyed by the Spaniard, who would rather be at home with his family than in a board meeting discussing whether or not he will choose which players to sign for his team this year. Players like Albelda, Baraja, Ayala, Marchena, Vicente, Mista, even Aimar; they are all big names but not by any means superstars, and they work hard to earn their money in exactly the way Benitez appreciates. But when he had to leave the training pitch and spend time playing second fiddle to Orti and his cronies, Benitez must surely have been wishing for a more liberal, hospitable regime under which he could work.
And his work was certainly impressive, at times devastatingly so. Benitez’s footballing philosophies exist within his own mind and of course those of his coaching staff and players, but it is surely possible to discern what this man is all about by analyzing what he has done to the Liverpool team since his arrival – and, relatively, what kind of Valencia team he left behind in Spain. ‘The Crushing Machine,’ they were called, grinding out result after result without the arrogance or contemptuousness of Real Madrid. Albelda and Baraja were the ruinous midfielders, breaking down moves with the occasional help of Ayala and Marchena. Valencia’s key idea would be not to concede a goal and then attack upon that basis; Vicente, Rufete, Aimar and Mista were Benitez’s spearhead and could penetrate most teams in most matches. Indeed, the lack of fast, tricky wingers is what has caused the boss to do things slightly differently with Liverpool.
The Anfield tactics appear to be all about controlling matches, something which Xabi Alonso, one of Liverpool’s best signings in the last couple of decades, helps to achieve. Keep the ball, stay solid with Sissoko, Carragher and Hyypia, and then progress using the power of Gerrard and prowess of players such as Garcia and Kewell to supply the strikers from both the wings an the middle.
Benitez dislikes having similar strikers and has accordingly bought players up front who give us very different options to what we already had; Baros was sold for being too similar (‘a runner’) to Cisse and replaced with the now-irreplaceable Peter Crouch, who is good in the air, on the floor, and at holding up the ball. Fernando Morientes, frustrating though he is, can contribute with his head and is an excellent passer, although he is not the natural goalscorer we all perhaps expected. That natural goalscorer, admittedly, is still lacking from the squad and many observers still critisise the Liverpool manager for not moving for Michael Owen – who’s to say there isn’t one on the way in January, though? Along with that winger with pace and back-up for Sami Hyypia, Benitez could now truly begin to feel right at home with his team as it begins to radiate more and more similarities to the old Valencia.
A ‘relationship where (the chairman) understands (Benitez) and (Benitez) understands (the chairman)’ is what Moores recently said in description of his relationship with the Liverpool manager. Parry also gets along well with Rafa, who is allowed to sign the players he wants and will be allocated sufficient funds in January with which to do so. This overwhelming trust between manager and board, despite being the element often stated in explanation of Gerard Houllier’s downfall, is essential at any club and Liverpool fans should be relieved that Parry and Moores have remained just as trusting of their manager, even after Houllier’s insistence on £10 million for Diouf and £11 million for Heskey. It is almost certain that Orti or Pitarch would never have allowed a £7 million check to leave The Mestalla in return for lanky Peter Crouch, yet look at how much the big man has sharpened our team; these are the reasons, along with the aforementioned magnificent fans, for Rafa’s declaration last season that “I want to be here for 20 years.”
The exciting thing is that Benitez’s Valencia team, which won the League twice in 3 years, was as good as it was after only those 3 seasons. If Benitez is given the time he desires, just imagine where this club might go: look at the scale and amount of improvement already shown this season, especially away from home, and consider what could happen if that growth is allowed to run on for years to come. Liverpool are the chance for Benitez to show the footballing world what a team managed by him really looks like, not after 1 year or 3 years, but after 5 or 10 or 20, and with the proper amount of money in his hand each summer and New Year. I can’t see the man being denied this awesome opportunity, do you? Already, he has taken the club to the League Cup and World Club finals and has won the European Cup – yes, the Champions League – and the European Super Cup in his first season. Take into account that Benitez, before that, won the Spanish League twice and the UEFA Cup (the first man to take a team to the UEFA Cup and European Cup in consecutive seasons but with different teams), and you begin to understand the potential that this manager actually contains.
Plus, the integrity of Rafael Benitez as a person cannot be doubted. He is polite, has none of the Mourinho arrogance, always shows the utmost respect to other teams and is always up for a laugh. He also ensured that his children settled in last year and buys his wife an expensive piece of jewelry every time he brings home a winners medal. He missed his father’s funeral in order to help his team and, despite being incredibly emotional after Liverpool’s incredibly unlucky Tokyo defeat, still resounded completely with the term ‘gentleman.’ This leads me on to believe that he is a man of his word, and would not leave Liverpool for the open Real Madrid job – at least not at the current time anyway.
The position at Madrid is currently ridiculously controversial and if you hold on to the job for more than a year, it’s a real effectuation. Benitez is obviously intelligent and will probably wait until the situation at the club has settled, and first team, but flailing, players such as Raul and Zidane - who must be played in order to avoid the President’s wrath - have moved on. The Spaniard, I admit, won’t be at Liverpool forever. He supported Madrid as a boy, spent years and years learning his trade there as ‘B’ team coach and is aware that his late father did one day dream of seeing his son at Real. But Liverpool, for the time being and foreseeable future, is his adopted home and we fans shall love him for as long as he stays; success is never too far away with Benitez and in placing our faith in this man, we are effectively placing our faith in sheer, guaranteed triumph itself.
He is El Salvador of Liverpool: Rafael Benitez.