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...
beat last season win
That win last season was important for us. They know we can beat them,
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.
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.
close future last win
We are very close and doing better than last year. We want to think about the future and not other teams. We can still win it.
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.
advantage boy chances concentration defense four front hard last organized restrict team thinks
Pepe has an advantage because the team in front of him in defense are working so hard to restrict the chances we concede. The back four have been outstanding. They are organized and have better concentration than last season. But he is also an intelligent boy and he thinks hard about what he has to do in England.
five last minutes
I'm really disappointed with the last five minutes of the first half.
alex coaches conference ferguson geneva last nice sir travelled
I travelled to Geneva with Sir Alex Ferguson for the UEFA coaches conference last week. He's a nice person.
good last second situation
This is very different from the situation last season. This is very good for us. Now we can concentrate on the second round.
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.
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.
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.
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.