If he doubted that, perhaps he should have popped his head into the victorious Chelsea dressing-room afterwards, where above Drogba's peg there was a picture of the Liverpool manager to serve as a motivational tool.
Why was it there? Because BenÍtez had infuriated Drogba beforehand by talking of a DVD that he had compiled to warn his players - and, by volunteering this information public, to warn the referee, Roberto Rosetti - about the Chelsea forward's supposed penchant for diving to win free kicks in dangerous positions. Drogba responded by declaring that BenÍtez had shown "a lack of class", but the best response of all came on the pitch, where he scored twice and produced a belligerent display that could hardly have been more at odds with his preening, ineffectual performance in the first leg at Anfield eight days earlier.
After seeing Drogba put his team to the sword, BenÍtez tried to dismiss the notion that his comments had fired up the Chelsea forward. "I don't think so," the Liverpool manager said, smiling. "He is a player with quality. Are you saying that he needed more motivation than the chance to play in the final? I don't think so. After the match it's easy to talk, but before the match I needed to say these things."
Drogba, though, seemed to suggest that his performance could in part be attributed to BenÍtez. Often this season he has appeared disengaged from the action, but last night he terrorised Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel from the first minute before turning his attentions to Sami Hyypia, who came on for the injured Skrtel. Drogba scored from close range in the first half and then did so again late in the first period of extra time. He seems to have spent this season pining for José Mourinho, the club's former manager, and for a move to Italy or Spain, but if the Champions League final in Moscow is to be his Chelsea swansong, he may thank BenÍtez for giving him the kick up the backside he needed.
"BenÍtez is a fantastic coach, one of the best in the world, but I was disappointed with what he said," Drogba said after last night's match. "I am doing my best for my team, for my club and I don't think what he said was fair. It was hard to take. You can speak to the players, talk to them, and not do it through the papers, as he did. But his team showed that they are not as strong as they were in previous years."
BenÍtez would take issue with that statement. He believes that Liverpool are a far stronger team now than when they won the Champions League in 2005 or when they reached the final last season, overcoming Chelsea at the semi-final stage on both occasions. "The team was strong mentally and physically and we were playing well," the Liverpool manager said. "But the second goal made things really difficult and the third goal almost killed the game."
That explanation seemed to be accepted by Tom Hicks, the club's American co-owner, who appeared in the Liverpool dressing-room afterwards to console the players. "He said, 'Good job, good effort,' " Benitez said. "It was very positive."
From BenÍtez there was no repeat of the comments he made after defeat by AC Milan in the final last season, when he urged Hicks and George Gillett Jr, the co-owners, to act quickly and decisively in the transfer market. This time BenÍtez said that "one player can make a massive difference", although the greater concern is the impact that the civil war in the boardroom could have on his plans to take the team forward.
