Rafael Benitez
Rafael 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...
ProfessionSoccer Player
Date of Birth16 April 1960
CityMadrid, Spain
champions manager players playing sign
It is important for the manager to be able to say to players they want to sign that they will be playing in the Champions League.
central defender saying sign
As I keep saying I want to sign a central defender and not a forward.
managers maybe sides sign top vicious
It's not easy. The top sides like to sign managers with experience, maybe in another country, so it's always a vicious circle.
amount buy close club heart high level money passion people players signed talk
People can talk about having a lot of money to buy players but we've just signed a player with a passion and a heart for this club that no amount of money can buy. We are close to a very high level right now but with Robbie we can go even higher.
carefully chief discussed executive issues money people saying signings spend wisely
People are saying that we are not making signings -- but I say we will sign the best. I have discussed the issues with our chief executive (Rick Parry) and we will spend our money wisely and carefully on the best. It is important not to spend a lot but to spend it well.
announce expect hopefully season signing
I expect we will be able to announce his signing very soon, hopefully before the season starts. But I see no problem.
details difference maybe penalty small
The small details are the difference and maybe we should have had a penalty or even two penalties.
losing
If you play in the final, it's for winning, not for losing
champions everybody fans league
It's very important for the club, the manager, the fans and everybody to be in the Champions League at this stage.
ability deep good key normal player spaces
He's a good player and when you play deep with spaces and you have pace and ability it's normal that you can play well. But for me the key was the first 20 minutes.
press sale spanish talking time waste
I know a lot about the Spanish press and I know sometimes they need to say something. But here I am really clear, he is not for sale and I don't want to waste my time talking about it.
goal known meant rest saw top
If you saw the first half, you wouldn't have known who was top of the table. Conceding the first goal meant they could play as they like -- on the counter-attack -- for the rest of the game.
english football good team
It's good for English football to have a team in the final.
arsenal champions last league looking target winning
Arsenal are now looking at winning the Champions League as a real target and they can do what we did last season.