Rafael Benítez

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Rafael Benítez

Personal information
Full name	Rafael Benítez Maudes
Date of birth	16 April 1960 (1960-04-16) (age 49)
Place of birth	Madrid, Spain
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Liverpool (manager)
Youth career
197?–	Real Madrid Aficionados
Senior career1
Years	Club	Apps (Gls)2
1974–1981	Castilla CF	247 0(73)
1981–1985	AD Parla	124 0(28)
1985–1986	Linares CF	034 0(17)
Total		405 (118)
National team
1979–1981	Spain Universities XI	005 00(?)
Teams managed
1986–1989	Castilla Youth B
1989–1991	Real Madrid Youth B
1991–1993	Real Madrid U-19s
1993–1995	Real Madrid B
1995–1996	Real Valladolid
1996–1997	Osasuna
1997–1999	Extremadura
2000–2001	Tenerife
2001–2004	Valencia
2004–	Liverpool
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. 2 Appearances (Goals).

Rafael "Rafa" Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish football manager and the current manager of Liverpool Football Club.

Born in Madrid, Benítez played football throughout his youth and joined the Real Madrid academy. He mixed his university studies with his football career at lower division Spanish teams but injury caused him to prematurely retire. He joined Real Madrid's coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under 19 and reserve teams coach, and assistant manager for the senior team. Benítez moved away from Real Madrid but management spells at Real Valladolid and Osasuna were short-lived and unsuccessful.

Benítez guided Segunda División side Extremadura back to the Primera División in his first season in 1997, but the team was relegated the following season. He left the club, taking a brief break from football before returning to coach Tenerife in 2000. Benítez was appointed coach of Valencia and he proved himself to be amongst the top Spanish managers by winning La Liga in the 2001–02 season—Don Balón and El País named him Manager of the Year. In 2004, another league title and Valencia's first UEFA Cup made him the club's most successful manager. However, a disagreement between Benítez and the club director over team investment caused the Spaniard to switch to English Premier League outfit Liverpool.

Benítez was a high-achiever in his first season as he guided Liverpool to victory in the UEFA Champions League, the highest honour in European club football. In the following three seasons he won the FA Cup amongst other honours and reached the 2007 Champions League Final, but he remained unable to finish in the top two of the Premier League. In 2009 he broke the trend and finished as runner-up with 86 points – a record total for a non-title-winning side.

Contents 1 Early career 1.1 Playing career 1.2 Real Madrid youth coach 1.3 Promotion specialist 2 Valencia 2.1 2001–02 – Champions of Spain 2.2 2003–04 - La Liga and UEFA Cup double 3 Liverpool 3.1 2004–05 – Champions of Europe 3.2 2005–06 – FA Cup winners 3.3 2006–07 – Another Champions League Final 3.4 2007–08 – Cash flow and crisis 3.5 2008–09 - Title challengers and Runners-Up 4 Relations with other managers 5 Statistics 5.1 Manager 6 Honours 6.1 Player 6.2 Manager 6.3 Individual Awards 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Early career

[edit] Playing career

The young Benítez attended several schools throughout Madrid and played for various school teams. Among his school friends and team mates was Ricardo Gallego. He also showed his early potential as a coach when at the age of thirteen he began training a children’s football team. At the age of twelve Benítez joined the Real Madrid cantera. He progressed through the ranks, playing as a midfielder for both Real Madrid Aficionados in the Tercera División and Castilla CF, in the Segunda División. He also enrolled as a student at INEF, the sports faculty at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and in 1982 he obtained a degree in Physical Education.

In 1979, Benítez was selected to play for the Spain Universities XI at the World Student Games in Mexico City and he scored a penalty in the opening game, a 4–0 win against Cuba. In the next game, a 0–0 draw against Canada, he was injured following a hard tackle. The injury saw him sidelined for a year which realistically ended his chances of becoming a major player. In 1981, Benítez joined Tercera División side Parla. Initially he joined Parla on loan, but eventually signed for them permanently and helped them gain promotion to Segunda División B. He also played a further three games for the Spain Universities XI. In 1985 he signed for Segunda División B club Linares and under Enrique Mateos he served as a player/coach. Further injury problems saw him miss almost the entire 1985–86 season and he subsequently retired as a player.^[1]

[edit] Real Madrid youth coach

In 1986, at the age of twenty six, Benítez returned to Real Madrid and joined the club’s coaching staff. At the start of the 1986–87 season, he was appointed coach of Castilla B. With this team he won two league titles in 1987 and 1989. He won a third league title with Real Madrid Youth B in 1990. Halfway through the 1990–91 season he succeeded José Antonio Camacho as the coach of the Real Madrid Under 19s. With this team he won the Spain Under 19s Cup in 1991 and 1993, beating Barcelona in both finals. In 1993 the team completed a double when they also won the national Under 19 league. While at Real, Benítez also gained his coaching certificate in 1989 and in the summer of 1990 he taught at a football camp at the University of California, Davis in California.

During the 1992–93 season Benítez also worked as an assistant coach to Mariano García Remón at Real Madrid B. After his success with the Under 19s, Benítez then succeeded García Remón at the start of the 1993–94 season. Real Madrid B were then playing in the Segunda División and on 4 September 1993 he made his debut as a Segunda División manager with a 3–1 over Hércules CF. In March 1994 he became assistant manager to Vicente del Bosque with the senior Real Madrid team before returning to coach Real Madrid B for the 1994–95 season.^[1]

[edit] Promotion specialist

The first attempts by Benítez at senior management away from the Real Madrid fold were less than successful. He was appointed manager of Real Valladolid for the 1995–96 season but was sacked after only two wins in 23 games with the club bottom of the Primera División. During the 1996–97 season, Benítez took charge at Osasuna in the Segunda División but after only 9 games and one win he was sacked. He did, however, meet the fitness instructor Pako Ayestaran at the club, and went on to form a partnership with him at several clubs for the next decade. In 1997, he joined another Segunda División side, Extremadura and this time led them to promotion, finishing second in the table behind Deportivo Alavés, after winning 23 out of 42 games. Extremadura only survived one season in Primera División, however, and were relegated in 1999 after finishing seventeenth and losing a play-off to Villarreal.

Benítez subsequently quit CF Extremadura and took a year out studying in England and Italy. He also worked as a commentator/analyst for Eurosport, Marca, El Mundo and local Madrid TV. In 2000 he was appointed manager of CD Tenerife of the Segunda División and with a team that included Mista, Curro Torres and Luis García, he gained promotion to La Liga by finishing third in the league behind Sevilla and Real Betis.

[edit] Valencia

[edit] 2001–02 – Champions of Spain

In 2001 Benítez was appointed coach of Valencia, replacing Hector Cuper. The club had previously approached Javier Irureta, Mané and Luis Aragonés and had been turned down by all three. However the club director Javier Subirats recognised the potential of Benítez and campaigned for his appointment. Despite the loss of Gaizka Mendieta, he inherited from Cuper a team brimming with potential. Santiago Cañizares, Roberto Ayala, Rubén Baraja, David Albelda, Vicente and Pablo Aimar provided the backbone of an already formidable side.

Valencia CF fans were soon won over by Benítez as he introduced a more attacking style of play. He also made good use of both Mista and Curro Torres and Mista went on to become top goalscorer for Valencia with 19 goals in the 2003–04 season and Curro Torres became an established international. In 2002, these tactics saw Benítez lead Valencia to their first La Liga title in thirty one years, winning it by a seven point margin over second placed Deportivo La Coruña.

However the following season 2002–03 was a disappointing one as the club failed to follow up on their title success, they finished only fifth in La Liga, eighteen points behind Champions Real Madrid. The season saw Benítez make his debut in the UEFA Champions League. Valencia CF reached the quarter-finals before losing to Internazionale.

[edit] 2003–04 - La Liga and UEFA Cup double

The 2003–04 season was a different story. Valencia won La Liga with three games to go and beat Marseille 2–0 in the UEFA Cup final. Despite this success, Benítez fell out with Jesus Garcia Pitarch, the club's director of sport, over control of new signings and the club's failure to reinforce the squad with the players he wanted. These differences of opinion saw Benítez resign as Valencia coach in June 2004. He famously said "I asked for a table and they bought me a lampshade" in reference to the players he wanted the club to sign.

[edit] Liverpool

[edit] 2004–05 – Champions of Europe

Liverpool were quick to take advantage of the disharmony at Valencia and Benítez was appointed manager of the English Premier League club on 16 June 2004, replacing Gérard Houllier. Arriving at Liverpool, he found himself in a very similar position to the one he had found at Valencia. The club had a talented but underperforming squad that included, among others, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Dietmar Hamann, Harry Kewell, Steve Finnan and Sami Hyypiä.

Benítez had barely arrived at Liverpool when Michael Owen was sold to Real Madrid. He subsequently signed several players from La Liga, most notably Luis García, Fernando Morientes and Xabi Alonso. During his first season Benítez failed to improve the club's form in the Premiership. Key players such as Steven Gerrard, Milan Baroš, Djibril Cissé, Xabi Alonso and Dietmar Hamann missed much of the season through injury and Liverpool failed to challenge Chelsea and Arsenal for the league title. They eventually finished fifth. However, they did reach the Carling Cup final against Chelsea at the Millennium Stadium but Liverpool lost 3–2 after extra time.

In the UEFA Champions League it was very different, despite a poor start. Liverpool began their campaign with an unimpressive 2–1 aggregate win over Grazer in the qualifying rounds and were minutes away from going out of the competition in the group stages before an 87th minute goal by Gerrard defeated Olympiacos 3–1 and saw the club progress to the last sixteen. Bayer Leverkusen were beaten 3–1 home and away followed by Juventus who were beaten 2–1 on aggregate.

In the semi-final Liverpool faced Chelsea, runaway leaders in the Premiership and favourites to win after overcoming the highly rated Barcelona in a previous round. Chelsea had already beaten Liverpool in the League Cup final and twice in the Premiership. After a goalless leg at Stamford Bridge, an early goal from Luis García saw Liverpool win 1–0 on aggregate and reach the final against Milan. In a classic final, Liverpool came from 3–0 down at half-time to level the score at 3–3, in the space of just under 6 minutes, and eventually won on penalties with the assistance of Jerzy Dudek, giving Liverpool an historic fifth European Cup. Benítez's calm methodical approach at half time was said to give the players the belief they could pull off an improbable comeback.

The Champions League win made him only the third manager, after Bob Paisley and José Mourinho, to win the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League in successive seasons and the second Liverpool manager (after Joe Fagan) to win the European Cup/UEFA Champions League in his first season in charge.

[edit] 2005–06 – FA Cup winners

For the 2005–06 season Benítez further reinforced the Liverpool squad by signing Peter Crouch, Mohamed Sissoko, Pepe Reina, Boudewijn Zenden and Daniel Agger, as well as former Liverpool player (and fan favourite) Robbie Fowler in the January transfer window.

It is notable that Dudek's heroics in the Champions league final were not enough for him to stay as first choice keeper, as Reina replaced him in goal right away. Benítez also quickly discarded unlikely heroes Vladimír Šmicer and Igor Biscan, who played key roles in the European success but seemingly did not figure in Benítez' long-term plans. Benítez also quickly sold two of his first signings in English football, Josemi and Antonio Núñez after they failed to establish themselves.

The improvements saw the club's Premiership form improve considerably. Liverpool finished third in the league, qualifying for the UEFA Champions League and only narrowly missed out on second place by one point. Liverpool also won the FA Cup beating both Manchester United and Chelsea on the way to the final against West Ham Utd. History repeated itself in the final as they then went on to lift the trophy after a penalty shoot-out, following a dramatic 3-3 draw. Liverpool came from 2–0 down and were losing 3–2 in stoppage time when Steven Gerrard scored a dramatic late equalizer. This time Pepe Reina saved three penalties during the shoot-out to secure the silverware.

In winning the FA Cup, Rafa became the only manager in the history of Liverpool Football Club to win major trophies in both of his first two seasons at the club.

[edit] 2006–07 – Another Champions League Final

The English Press were predicting Liverpool would challenge Chelsea for the Premiership crown after Benítez addressed Liverpool's perceived weaknesses in the transfer window by signing strikers Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt as well as wingers Jermaine Pennant and Mark González, a belief reaffirmed after his side won the Community Shield with 2–1 victory over Chelsea.

Although Liverpool had qualified for the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League with two games to spare (a new record for the club), and then going on to win the group with one game still left, Benítez's future at the Liverpool was called into question after poor away results in the league: his agent was quoted as saying he would consider offers to manage in Italy.^[2] Benítez swiftly issued a statement through the club's website re-affirming his desire to remain with Liverpool for the long term.^[3]

Although the team's league results improved, their defence of the FA Cup lasted just one game as they were knocked out by Arsenal at Anfield; and four days later they were knocked out of the League Cup, also by Arsenal losing 6–3 at Anfield, Liverpool's heaviest home defeat since 1913. However this was soon forgotten when Liverpool beat Chelsea 2–0 at Anfield, Benítez's first league victory over José Mourinho's side. At the end of the league campaign, Liverpool were on 68 points, beating Arsenal to third place on goal difference but their poor away form had prevented the title challenge many were expecting - they did not win away in the League until December.

Liverpool's 2006–07 Champions League campaign proved successful. After winning their Group, they were then drawn against defending champions Barcelona in the first round of the knockout stages. Benítez's side did not have ideal preparations with a reported altercation between Liverpool players Craig Bellamy and John Arne Riise days before the winning the first leg 2–1 at Camp Nou.^[4] This was seen as a major test of Benítez's man-management at the time and he subsequently fined both players.^[5] Remarkably, Riise and Bellamy combined to score the second goal of a 2–1 victory in the first leg and Liverpool held Barca to just one goal in a 0–1 loss in the return at Anfield, thus progressing on the away goals rule. In preparation for the second game, Barça's Dutch coach, Frank Rijkaard, described Liverpool's style of play: "The style Liverpool have - quite physical and tactically disciplined - once you have seen a couple of their games you know how they play."^[6]

After beating PSV 4–0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, Liverpool draw Chelsea in the semi finals. In the first leg, Liverpool lost 1–0 at Chelsea, but won the return leg 1–0, and then ultimately winning 4–1 in a penalty shoot-out after extra time. After the game, Liverpool's new co-owner George Gillett said: "Rafa has been tremendous ... We knew of him but I don't think we realized how good he was, and not just as a coach. Not only was he a brilliant coach but he is a very sharp, savvy businessman. He knows what he wants and how to get it. The more we have seen of him the more impressed we have become."^[7] During the penalty shoot out, Rafa was noted for sitting down cross-legged in his technical area. He later explained that it was because fans behind the dug-out were complaining that they could not see.

Liverpool contended with Milan for their sixth European Cup in Athens, Greece on 23 May 2007, in a repeat of the 2005 final but lost 2–1, after two goals by Filippo Inzaghi. Following the defeat Benítez insisted his club's new owners had to back him in the transfer market in order for Liverpool to progress.^[8] It was reported Benítez did not feel he had the complete support of the new owners, a thought that was compounded by Liverpool's initial lack of activity in the transfer window, although the club played these rumours down.^[9]

[edit] 2007–08 – Cash flow and crisis

Benítez released several players in the summer, including fan-favourites Robbie Fowler, Luis García and Jerzy Dudek as well as Djibril Cissé and Craig Bellamy. Benítez also tried to sign left-back Gabriel Heinze from Manchester United, however on 21 August 2007 an FA panel ruled that Manchester United were under no obligation to sell Heinze to a rival club.^[10]

Liverpool's new owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett provided Benítez with transfer funds for the new season to attempt to bridge the gap to Premiership rivals Manchester United and Chelsea. Benítez broke Liverpool's transfer record when signing Spanish striker Fernando Torres from Atlético Madrid as well as signing Ajax's young Dutch forward Ryan Babel, West Ham attacking midfielder Yossi Benayoun, Brazilian player of the year Lucas Leiva and Andriy Voronin on Bosman. During the pre-season he also invested in a number of young foreign players such as Bulgarian under-21 goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov, Australian Dean Bouzanis Hungarian starlets Krisztian Nemeth, Andras Simon, Peter Gulacsi and signed young players Dani Pacheco and Gerardo Bruna from Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.

Liverpool made a good start to the new league season and remained unbeaten at the end of November, having topped the Premier League table for the first time under Benítez after a comprehensive 6–0 win over Derby County. Despite this, poor results in the Champions League and a disagreement over future transfers lead to a public falling-out with the club's owners, played out in the media at the end of November. It was suggested that Benítez's position was now under serious threat. The resulting coverage resulted in an overwhelming show of support by fans in support of Benítez which culminated in a fans' march in support of Benítez ahead of the critical Champions League home tie with Porto, which they won 4–1.^[11] It has since emerged that at the time Jürgen Klinsmann was offered the Liverpool job before accepting the post of Bayern Munich manager while Benítez was constantly linked to Real Madrid.^[12]

Benítez was unable to win any trophies, Liverpool's domestic campaign faltering in the winter months - including a shock FA Cup exit at home to Barnsley - and his side this time lost to Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals. Despite the lack of silverware, the main talking points were off the pitch, with Benítez in the middle of a power struggle between the Liverpool board.^[13]

[edit] 2008–09 - Title challengers and Runners-Up

Benítez was reportedly close to quitting Liverpool in the summer of 2008 over the Liverpool board's failure to back him in his bid to purchase Gareth Barry from Aston Villa.^[14] Benítez had reportedly intended to sell Xabi Alonso to fund the purchase of Barry, a decision that did not meet with unanimous approval from The Kop.^[15] Benítez did however address what were seen as the weak areas of Liverpool's squad through the purchase Robbie Keane, Andrea Dossena and Albert Riera, amongst others. It is believed that Benítez prioritised the signing of Barry over Keane, but Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry instead chose to first pay £20 million for Keane and then pulled the plug on the Barry deal, causing tension between the two that would resurface later in the season.^[16]

Despite the off-field difficulties, Liverpool made an impressive start to the 2008–09 season recording the best-ever start made by Liverpool in the Barclays Premier League.^{[citation needed]} Benítez recorded his first ever league win against Manchester United at Anfield on the 13 September and went on to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 26 October to end Chelsea's unbeaten run of 86 home league games.^[17] It was announced on the 7 November 2008 that Benítez had begun negotiations for a new contract with club owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.^[18] Both owners have announced, that they have full confidence in Benítez and are delighted with the club's progress with him as manager.^{[citation needed]} On 14 November, Benítez was awarded the Barclays Premier League Manager of the Month award, for Liverpool's four consecutive league victories.

On 26 November 2008, with the Champions League group stage game against Marseille, Benítez broke Bill Shankly's record of 65 European matches as Liverpool manager and matched Bob Paisley's European record of 39 wins.^[19]

An operation to remove kidney stones in December meant Benítez was not present at the Emirates Stadium for Liverpool's 1–1 draw with Arsenal, although he did pass instructions over the phone to assistant Sammy Lee, who also took charge for the next two matches, with Benítez watching from the stands. Liverpool finished the calendar year top of the Premier League for the first time since 1996.

However, Benítez still appeared to be at odds with Liverpool's owners, publicly turning down a contract extension and demanding more control over transfers. In the January transfer window, Robbie Keane was resold to Tottenham Hotspur with some analysts claiming he was a "pawn in a power struggle" between Benítez and the club's owners.^[20] Combined with poor results on the pitch, including losing in the FA Cup to local rivals Everton, and a pre-meditated attack on Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson, some opposition supporters and journalists began to ponder if Benítez was "cracking up" under the pressure of launching a title bid - a claim Benítez denied.^[21] Benítez's supporters argued that his actions were deflecting attention away from his under performing players and club captain Steven Gerrard, who was charged with assault and affray following an incident in a nightclub.^[22]

Shortly following a 1–1 home draw with Manchester City, which dropped Liverpool further behind leaders Manchester United, rumours of Benítez quitting or possibly being sacked became so great that bookmakers had to suspend betting on the subject.^[23] The club subsequently issued a statement calling the rumours "ridiculous".^[23] Although Rick Parry announced days later that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season, this was reportedly not to do with his disputes with Benítez.^[24] He however then led Liverpool to the UEFA Champions League quarter finals with a 5-0 aggregate win over Real Madrid. Four days later on 14 March, Liverpool won at Old Trafford for the first time in the league under Benítez as they beat Manchester United 4-1. On 18 March 2009, Benítez finally ended speculation regarding his Liverpool future by agreeing a new contract with the club until 2014.

On 18 March 2009, Benítez signed a new five-year deal with the club, taking him through until 2014. Said Benitez, "My heart is with Liverpool, so I'm delighted to sign this new deal, I love the club, the fans and the city and with a club and supporters like this, I could never say no to staying."^[25] A fine end of season run with 10 wins in their last 11 games saw Liverpool finish 2nd for the 1st time under Benitez and for the first time since 2002. Their 86 points gained was the most ever obtained by a team which did not win the title. However they scored 77 goals the most by any team in the Premier League this season and was Liverpool's best goal return in the Premier League era. They were praised for their attacking football towards the end of season even though it did not stop Manchester United winning the title by 4 points and equalling Liverpool's record of 18 league titles.

[edit] Relations with other managers

Benítez has had confrontations with both José Mourinho (Chelsea manager, 2004–2007) and Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United manager, 1986–) during his time in English football. Benítez made a number of suggestions during Mourinho's tenure as manager that Roman Abramovich's money had brought Chelsea success, and the pair refused to shake hands after some matches (although Mourinho declared the feud to be over after a league game in 2006). When Mourinho exited Chelsea in 2007, Benítez said "You know my relationship with him, it is better that I do not say anything"; declining to comment as Ferguson and Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger had.^[26][27] On 9 January 2009, he delivered a controversial appraisal of certain aspects of Sir Alex Ferguson's tenure, accusing Ferguson and Manchester United of being nervous because Liverpool were at the top of the league,^[28] then accused the Manchester United manager of not being punished for breaking F.A. rules, suggesting he was "the only manager in the league that cannot be punished for these things",^[28] referring to Ferguson not being punished following an F.A. charge for comments he made about officials Martin Atkinson and Keith Hackett, following an F.A. Cup tie with Portsmouth.^[29]

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Manager

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Valladolid
Osasuna
Extremadura
Tenerife		19 July 2000	30 June 2001	&0000000000000042.00000042	&0000000000000021.00000021	&0000000000000011.00000011	&0000000000000010.00000010	&0000000000000050.00000050.00
Valencia		1 July 2001	16 June 2004	&0000000000000163.000000163	&0000000000000087.00000087	&0000000000000043.00000043	&0000000000000033.00000033	&0000000000000053.37000053.37
Liverpool		16 June 2004	Present	&0000000000000291.000000291	&0000000000000165.000000165	&0000000000000066.00000066	&0000000000000060.00000060	&0000000000000056.70000056.70
Total				496	273	123	103	55.04

As of 5 May 2009.

[edit] Honours

[edit] Player

Parla

• Tercera División
  • Winner (1): 1981–82

[edit] Manager

Real Madrid U-19s

• Spain U-19 League
  • Winner (1): 1993
• Spain U-19 Cup
  • Winner (2): 1991, 1993

Extremadura

• Segunda División
  • Promotion: Runner-up (1): 1997–98

Tenerife

• Segunda División
  • Promotion (1): 2000–01

Valencia

• La Liga
  • Winner (2): 2001–02, 2003–04
• UEFA Cup
  • Winner (1): 2003–04

Liverpool

• FA Cup
  • Winner (1): 2006
• FA Community Shield
  • Winner (1): 2006
• UEFA Champions League
  • Winner (1): 2004–05
• European Super Cup
  • Winner (1): 2005

[edit] Individual Awards

• FA Premier League Manager of the Month
  • Winner (5): November 2005, December 2005, January 2007, October 2008, March 2009
• UEFA Manager of the Year
  • Winner (2): 2003–04, 2004–05

[edit] See also

• List of European Cup and UEFA Champions League winning managers
• List of UEFA Cup winning managers
• List of Liverpool F.C. managers

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rafael Benítez

Biographies

• Liverpool FC Official Website profile
• Rafalution - Rafa Benítez fansite
• Manager profile at LFChistory.net
• Manager profile at This Is Anfield

Statistics

• Rafael Benítez management career stats at Soccerbase
• La Liga manager stats at www.lfp.es
• Segunda División manager stats at www.lfp.es

Valencia CF

• 2001-02
• 2002-03
• 2003-04

Awards

• Spanish football awards

Awards and achievements
Preceded by José Mourinho	UEFA Cup Winning Coach 2003–04	Succeeded by Valery Gazzaev
	UEFA Champions League Winning Coach 2004–05	Succeeded by Frank Rijkaard
Preceded by Arsène Wenger	FA Cup Winning Coach 2005–06	Succeeded by José Mourinho

v • d • e Liverpool F.C. – current squad 1 Cavalieri · 2 Johnson · 5 Agger · 8 Gerrard (c) · 9 Torres · 10 Voronin · 11 Riera · 12 F. Aurélio · 14 Alonso · 15 Benayoun · 17 Arbeloa · 18 Kuyt · 19 Babel · 20 Mascherano · 21 Lucas · 22 Insúa · 23 Carragher · 24 N'Gog · 25 Reina · 26 Spearing · 27 Degen · 28 Plessis · 29 Németh · 30 Itandje · 31 El Zhar · 32 Darby · 34 Kelly · 35 Flynn · 36 Irwin · 37 Škrtel · 38 Lindfield · 39 Eccleston · 41 Hansen · 42 Gulácsi · - Dossena · Manager: Benítez

v • d • e Premier League managers Allardyce · Ancelotti · Benítez · Brown · Bruce · Coyle · Ferguson · Hart · Hodgson · Hughes · Martínez · McCarthy · McLeish · Megson · Moyes · O'Neill · Pulis · Redknapp · Wenger · Zola

Rafael Benítez managerial positions v • d • e Real Valladolid – Managers E. Platko (1928–30) · Achalandabaso (1930–33) · E. Platko (1933–36) · E. Platko (1939–40) · Ordax (1940) · Juanín (1940–41) · C. Platko (1941–43) · Martínez (1943) · Planas (1943–44) · Arteaga (1944–45) · Barrios (1945–48) · Helenio Herrera (1948–49) · Barrios (1949–XX) · Vasquero (19XX–XX) · Barrios (19XX–50) · Ipiña (1950–52) · Iraragorri (1952–53) · Miró (1953–56) · Rafa (1956–58) · Saso (1958–60) · Eguiluz (1960–61) · Lesmes (1961–62) · Soler (1962) · Heriberto Herrera (1962) · Ramallets (1962–63) · Zubieta (1963) · Lesmes (1963–64) · Vaquero (1964) · Kalmár (1964–65) · Ramallets (1965–66) · Torres (1966) · Martín (1966) · Aldecoa (1966–67) · Molinuevo (1967) · Orizaola (1967–68) · Barrios (1968) · Orizaola (1968–69) · Olmedo (1969) · Saso (1969–70) · Coque (1970) · Martín (1970–72) · Cheché (1972–73) · Biosca (1973) · Redondo (1973–74) · Vázquez (1974–75) · Gutendorf (1975) · Núñez (1975–76) · Aloy (1976) · Saso (1976–77) · Paquito (1977–78) · Pachín (1978–79) · Ríos (1979–80) · Paquito (1980–82) · Mesones (1982) · Llorente (1982) · García Traid (1982–84) · Redondo (1984–85) · Cantatore (1985–86) · Azkargorta (1986–87) · Santos & Pérez García (1987) · Cantatore (1987–89) · Skoblar (1989) · Moré (1989–90) · Redondo (1990) · Maturana (1990–91) · Yepes (1991–92) · Boronat (1992) · Saso (1992–93) · Mesones (1993–94) · Moré (1994) · Espárrago (1994) · Moré (1994–95) · Redondo (1995) · Santos (1995) · Benítez (1995–96) · Santos (1996) · Cantatore (1996–97) · Santos (1997) · Krešić (1997–99) · Manzano (1999–2000) · Ferraro (2000–01) · Moré (2001–03) · F. Vázquez (2003–04) · Santos (2004) · Krešić (2004–05) · Alonso (2005–06) · Merino (1994–95) · Mendilibar (2006–) v • d • e CA Osasuna – Managers Rasero y Navaz (1920–24) · Gerbart (1924–25) · Harris (1925–28) · Sagaseta (1928–30) · Pagaza (1930–31) · Muguiro (1931–33) · Urdíroz (1933–36) · Bienzobas (1936–37) · Peña (1939–40) · Urrizalqui (1940–41) · Juanín (1941–4X) · Urrizalqui (194X–43) · Urdíroz (1943–44) · Goiburu (1944–45) · Urrizalqui (1945) · Florenza (1945–46) · Labarta (1946–48) · Peña (1948) · González Rizo (1948–50) · Vienzobas (1950–52) · Arnanz (1952–54) · Albéniz (1955–57) · Barinaga (1957–59) · Eizaguirre (1959–60) · Gual (1960–62) · Orizaola (1962–63) · Albéniz (1963) · Gual (1963–65) · Aranaz (1965) · Blanco (1965–66) · de Andoain (1966) · Blanco (1966) · Martialay (1966–67) · Blanco (1967–68) · Benavente (1968) · Ochoa (1968–70) · Andonegui (1970) · Blanco (1970) · Goñi Romero (1970) · Albéniz (1970–71) · Eguiluz (1971–72) · Blanco (1972) · Mora (1972–73) · Blanco (1973) · Barrios (1973–74) · Ciaurriz (1974–76) · Alzate (1976) · Pachín (1976–77) · Verdugo (1977–79) · Petrović (1979–XX) · Alzate (19XX–83) · Brzić (1983–8X) · Zabalza (198X–93) · Monreal (1993–94) · Rojo (1994) · Los Arcos (1994–95) · Paquito (1995–96) · Benítez (1996–97) · Zabalza (1997) · Sola (1997) · Monreal (1997–99) · Lotina (1999–2002) · Aguirre (2002–06) · Ziganda (2006–08) · Camacho (2008–) v • d • e Valencia CF – Managers Fivebr (1923–28) · Herriot (1928–29) · Fivebr (1929–31) · Galloway (1931–33) · Greenwell (1933–34) · Fivebr (1934–35) · Balsa (1935–36) · Encinas (1939–42) · Rino (1942–43) · Cubells (1943–46) · Pasarín (1946–48) · Quincoces (1948–54) · Iturraspe (1954–56) · Miró (1956–58) · Quincoces (1958–59) · Bumbel (1959–60) · Balmanya (1960–62) · Scopelli (1962–63) · Pasieguito (1963–64) · Mundo (1964–65) · Barinaga (1965–66) · Mundo (1966–68) · Joseíto (1968–69) · Buque & Artigas (1969–70) · Di Stéfano (1970–74) · Ćirić (1974–75) · Milošević (1975) · Mestre (1975–76) · Herrera (1976–77) · Mestre (1987) · Domingo (1977–79) · Pasieguito (1979) · Di Stéfano (1979–80) · Pasieguito (1980–82) · Mestre (1982) · Miljanić (1982–83) · Koldo (1983) · Paquito (1983–84) · Gil (1984–85) · Valdez (1985–86) · Di Stéfano (1986–88) · Gil (1988) · Espárrago (1988–91) · Hiddink (1991–93) · Real (1993) · Núñez (1993–94) · Hiddink (1994) · Rielo (1994) · Parreira (1994–95) · Aragonés (1995–96) · Valdano (1996–97) · Rielo (1997) · Ranieri (1997–99) · Cúper (1999–2001) · Benítez (2001–04) · Ranieri (2004–05) · López Habas (2005) · Quique (2005–07) · Koeman (2007–08) · Voro (2008) · Emery (2008–) v • d • e Liverpool F.C. – Managers Barclay and McKenna (1892–96) · Watson (1896–1915) · Ashworth (1919–23) · McQueen (1923–28) · Patterson (1928–36) · Kay (1936–51) · Welsh (1951–56) · Taylor (1956–59) · Shankly (1959–74) · Paisley (1974–83) · Fagan (1983–85) · Dalglish (1985–91) · Souness (1991–94) · Evans (1994–98) · Evans and Houllier (1998) · Houllier (1998–2004) · Benítez (2004–)

Persondata
NAME	Maudes, Rafael Benítez
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Benítez, Rafael
SHORT DESCRIPTION	footballer
DATE OF BIRTH	1960-4-16
PLACE OF BIRTH	Madrid, Spain
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH