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.
best europe faces fans greatest seeing smiling
Seeing these smiling faces is the greatest pleasure. They have been magnificent all season. They have been our 12th man. I have always said our fans are the best in England. Now I know they are the best in Europe too.
employees fans past press support thank three
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.
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.
fit injury last member problems season squad stay
He was unfortunate last season because he had so many injury problems, but if he can stay fit then he will be an important member of our squad this year.