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.
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.
behind champions chance cup european league losing move players retaining upset
We still have the FA Cup and we still have the league and a Champions League qualification place to secure. We must put this behind us quickly. My players are very upset by losing the chance of retaining their European title, but the world must move on and we have other things to achieve.
beat cup good reach teams win
If you are going to win the FA Cup then you must first beat good teams to reach the final.
beat last season win
That win last season was important for us. They know we can beat them,
arsenal close means second sure third win
With Spurs and Arsenal having to play each other, it means we probably only need one more win to make sure of a top-four finish. We are very close now to securing third place, with second still something we have as a possibility.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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,
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.
respect
I have a lot of respect for Sofia, and they play well in attack,
bad balance high
He's got high energy, always working and he's not bad with the ball. I think he can give us balance in midfield.