Rafa Benitez
Rafa 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...
cup determined fans finish job order preparing wonderful
We wanted to finish the job off today, ... in order to concentrate on preparing for the UEFA Cup final. Also, we were determined to do it for all the wonderful fans who have cheered us on today.
difficult game games last lose lost
We lost a game we were controlling, we have to think about that. It was the last minute, so it was a disappointing day. It's always difficult to lose in the last minute. We know we have two games in hand, we know it's a long way and we have to keep going.
five minutes needed played result win
We did all the things we needed to do to win the game. If we played five more minutes the result could have been different.
clean match points scoring sheets shows start three time
This time we are going into the match with a lot of confidence. We have three clean sheets and two points away from home. That's not bad, but we know we need to start scoring goals. We've done that in midweek, so that shows that's not going to be a problem.
asking compact defense good looked needed people score
We looked organized, compact in defense and scored two good goals. People said we needed to score and we managed that ... I think we did all the things people are asking of us.
controlled game half organised pressure second
We started off by controlling the game and were well organised and in the second half they did put some pressure on us but then we controlled the game at the end of the game,
goals good start
We started really well with two goals and good counter-attacks. But, after we conceded, it was difficult. But the most important thing is to start with a win.
defeat hard last performance worked
We worked really hard for the win...after the last performance (a 2-0 defeat at Charlton Athletic) we showed we had character.
character defeat hard worked
We worked very hard and showed a lot of character after the midweek defeat by Charlton. It was an important win.
cup difficult shall tie
We know each other so well and when you play a cup tie you know it will always be a difficult tie. We shall see what happens.