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The Rafatollah Speaks

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localny

localny

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Rafa Benitez explains why 'you cannot compare' his Liverpool with Jurgen Klopp's side

Former Reds manager Rafa Benitez says you 'cannot compare' his Liverpool side with Jurgen Klopp's.

The Spaniard managed the club between 2004 and 2010 and won the Champions League, FA Cup and Super Cup. He eventually departed in June 2010 after his team finished seventh and missed out on Champions League football.

Under Klopp, the club has seen similar success with a sixth European Cup, as well as the Premier League title in 2020. This term, the Reds have already achieved a domestic cup double and are still in contention for another league title. They've also reached their third Champions League final under the German, which will take place against Real Madrid later this month.

Benitez says the two teams cannot be compared, largely due to the financial disparities and the limited funds he had available at the time.

He said in an interview with Spanish outlet AS : "If you analyse my Liverpool, when we arrived in 2004, who were the best? (Steven) Gerrard, who was a young kid who played different positions... and there wasn't much else in terms of world-class players.

"Now they tell you about Xabi Alonso, but then he was on loan at Eibar; Luis García was a player that Barcelona was giving up... Among the best later ones is Fernando Torres, who scored 15 or 20 goals in Spain and with us he reached 33.


"We made (Javier) Mascherano grow, who was a substitute at West Ham; Lucas Leiva, who later spent 10 years at the club; (Daniel) Agger, which cost 6 million... People remember that team, (Pepe) Reina for example, but they compare it to a Liverpool that has spent millions, very well spent, it's true, but with players worth 40 million in the dock.

"That's why you can't compare my Liverpool and Klopp's, because you have to analyse the contexts. I had a budget of 20 million, 20! Tell me now with 20 million what Liverpool can sign, nothing. If they are signing players of 40 (million) for the bench.

"This is a great team, a great team, which has intensity, rhythm and a coach who pushes and demands of them and if you don't have players of that level, you push them and they get frustrated."
 
yeah, i love Rafa, but stop that kind of stuff
just say both were great teams, and this one is better
 
One word that I would use to describe this... Jealousy
Rafa excuse for all his managerial short comes as always been Money. He moaned about it at Valencia, Liverpool, Real, Inter and Chelsea, (The last three had no problems spending) some would argue neither did Liverpool He was given enough money at Liverpool, but spent it poorly; choosing to spend in ever window instead of choosing to by quality, he chose quantity

Klopp makes no excuses and can do it on a shoe string and is more careful on who he chooses to buy

Rafa has chosen to take the Chelsea job, and the Everton job, and I truly believe if he was offered the Man Utd job would jump at that too
 
I imagine this is a selective quote article. Benitez was a great manager for us taking us to finals and building out some pretty decent teams in a time when Chelsea, Arsenal and Man U were always going to out spend us. The players he points to are good examples of what he did right for us.

Comparing the situations is silly, as is trying to establish who’s the bestest. Without Rafa we would not have been on the path that led to FSG buying and Klopp being hired.

That Klopp is brilliant and we are back at the top of the game shouldn’t mean we have to denigrate a great leader from our past
 
You can't compare them because one manager was great and the other one a tool who signed 48 goalkeepers and put Peter Crouch on the wing.
 
"Now they tell you about Xabi Alonso, but then he was on loan at Eibar"

What? I'm pretty sure Xabi Alonso pushed Socieded close to the La Liga title and was widely considered one of the best Spanish talents at the time.
 
Alot of Klopp's bench is made up of similarly (allowing for inflation) low priced punts and kids - Jones, Elliott, Minamino, Origi, Milner. We have four centre backs, one was brought in as a kid and one was brought in on a free. We've got a kid reserve goalie. So the whole "they have £40m players on the bench" thing doesn't wash.

I used to respect Rafa and will always love him for number 5, but this and going to Everton, he's done for me. Gobshite.
 
keniget said:
"Now they tell you about Xabi Alonso, but then he was on loan at Eibar"

What? I'm pretty sure Xabi Alonso pushed Socieded close to the La Liga title and was widely considered one of the best Spanish talents at the time.
Click to expand...

yep. He had been out on loan years before we signed him. When we got him he was already part of the Spanish national side. He was a great signing of course, but we did pay what was a reasonable amount of money for him back then.

His assessment of the squad he inherited is a bit mean as well. Gerrard wasn’t exactly a kid. He was 24, had played a few hundred games for the club and was wanted by pretty much every other club. Owen was evidently a top player. We had just signed Cisse, who was very highly regarded at the time. Baros had just finished top scorer in the Euros. Then there were the likes of Hamann, Kewell, Hyypia, Carragher. He had plenty to work with.

To be fair, it may have been taken a little out of context, but Benitez sounds quite bitter here. Maybe he caught that at his most recent place of work.
 
He was asked what would happen if his best side played Klopp's.

The subtext is, I'd rather not say "we'd get smashed," so here's why.

The larger subtext is, I still want to keep doing this, and I'm trying to put the best spin on everything. I'm not retired, I want another job.
 
I posted this article but I would be leery of it. I’ve seen other outlets take it and make it seem like He’s slamming Klopp and indicating he’s jealous.

I think he was just asked about differences and it’s been framed against him a bit. But there is a little spinning for sure
 
mark1975 said:
Alot of Klopp's bench is made up of similarly (allowing for inflation) low priced punts and kids - Jones, Elliott, Minamino, Origi, Milner. We have four centre backs, one was brought in as a kid and one was brought in on a free. We've got a kid reserve goalie. So the whole "they have £40m players on the bench" thing doesn't wash.

I used to respect Rafa and will always love him for number 5, but this and going to Everton, he's done for me. Gobshite.
Click to expand...

And lets face it, this is the guy who left £20m Robbie Keane on the bench for half a season out of spite and didn't know how to use other relatively expensive (for the time) players like Aquilani & Babel. He wasn't crying the pauper when he had the luxury of not needing to use their services having bought them.
 
Here’s the translation

In an imaginary match between Benítez's Liverpool
and Klopp's, what would happen?
If you analyze my Liverpool, when we arrived in
2004, who were the best? Gerard, who was a young
kid who played different positions… and there
wasn't much else in terms of world-class players.
Now they tell you about Xabi Alonso, but then he
was on loan at Eibar; Luis García was a player that
Barcelona was giving up… Among the best later
ones is Fernando Torres, who scored 15 or 20 goals
in Spain and with us he reached 33. We made
Mascherano grow, who was a substitute at West
Ham; Lucas Leiva, who later spent 10 years at the
club; Agger, which cost 6 million….. People remember
that team, Reina for example, but they compare it to
a Liverpool that has spent 1,000 million, very well
spent, it's true, but with players worth 40 million in
the dock. That's why you can't compare my
Liverpool and Klopp's, because you have to analyze
the contexts. I had a budget of 20 million, 20! Tell me
now with 20 million what Liverpool can sign,
nothing. If they are signing players of 40 for the
bench. This is a great team, a great team, which has
intensity, rhythm and a coach who pushes and
demands of them and can do it because he has
wicks, because if you don't have players of that
level, you push them and they get frustrated.
 
In summation…

1. Klopp has better owners
2. Rafa didn’t buy as well
3. Klopp uses Data better
4. Klopp is more inspirational
5. Klopp world (his team) is more impressive than Rafaworld
6. Klopp always improves players. Rafa - occasionally.
 
I read the interview. He definitely wasn't trying to slam Klopp or suggest he'd do better.

He was being Benitez though. Analyzing players in terms of price tags like pawns on a chess board. Highlighting the limitations of his own players instead of acknowledging the herculean efforts they poured in for him. Downplaying everything exciting with little caveats. Being an unexcited wet blanket generally. No sense of emotional connection to any players.

You can see why, despite his tactical know how, none of his players took to him.
 
Speaking of... what happened to Brendan J in the end? I remember I just to think he was Brenda from NJ (new Jersey) at the start.
 
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