Rafael Benitez Quotes (93 Quotes)

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.

Our league season was not too good and theirs is the same this season. But we won the trophy when not doing well in England and I believe they can do the same.

We began really well and started controlling the game with good counter attacks and scored two quick goals. After that, we tried to keep the ball but it was difficult,

When I was six years old people were talking about the midfield as the key area of the pitch.

We are all very disappointed about going out of the Champions League, but we have to put it behind us and think about going to Arsenal. We still have the league and the FA Cup. The world moves on.

But if you start thinking about gaps in September, it is wrong. There are a lot of points to play for and we do not need to think about Chelsea or other teams, only how to improve ourselves in each game.

We need to wait for another opinion but I am positive and I hope he will be in training soon.

It is a pity. It was only a few people and most of them did applaud but it is a pity, you can't say anything else.

And he had a lot of control in terms of pressure, like talking to newspapers and the media,

Maybe they are afraid. I hope they will be after the weekend.

The players said to me afterwards 'yes, it was clear',

If we win, we will be closer and we can fight for more things, but I don't want to worry the players by saying too much about this. I want them to be focused on what they need to do to win the game. Afterwards we can think about the table.

I am really happy because we played well, scored goals and could have won by a lot more than 3-1 in the end.

The team has a lot of confidence in games. We know we can concede goals and still win matches. But it would be good to go in front and keep a clean sheet in these games instead.

I'm delighted with the result and also the performance. Sometimes you can't score a goal with 30 attempts but today it seemed every shot was a goal.

I know Crouch is very good in the air, he can keep the ball and always knows what to do with it

We know how important the game is for us as individuals and for the club, but we don't have any anxiety,

We tried our best right up to the end, but you cannot control the market.

We must learn, Steven and all the players, that you can play with the brain as well as the heart. Steven is truly disappointed but happy for the team. He knows it created a difficult situation for the team and we must learn for the future.

If you look at the players they have in their team, it's clear that they are not a bad team. They have a lot of quality to choose from and they attack with pace.

It was fantastic for me as a manager, for the staff, for the players, the supporters, the club, it was really a very, very good day for us.

It's true we need to score more goals, because we are creating chances.

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.

There was a nervousness there and we've put ourselves under pressure. When you are not scoring, you cannot afford to give the opposition one or two chances. We needed that second goal to finish the game.

Chelsea are a very good team, they are very difficult to beat,

Pellegrino could play against Watford, but he has only had one training session so it is better to wait and hopefully use him against Manchester United on Saturday,

I am sure Chelsea do not like playing Liverpool. When they are talking and talking and talking before the game it means they are worried, maybe they are afraid. But I hope that is the case after this weekend.

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.

We will wait to see the result of the scan.

He has done a good job for us. For a striker it is really important to score goals and now I will have more options.

We need to analyze a few more things. I am not in a hurry but if he continues to score goals then it will be an easy decision. The more he scores, the more he's likely to stay.

We have qualified for the final which means we have done a good job. When you have your supporters behind you, you run a little bit more.

I went to Manchester United for one week to watch them train,

Sure, why not He is a good player and good players are always interesting to other clubs.

Now we intend to finish the job with another victory. If we do that we will be virtually through into the knockout stages. We have been very positive in our Champions League matches and I hope that we can continue this now.

We know we can win against them, but over a season the differences are more demanding. But compared to last season we now have a bigger and better squad and I believe we can manage the games in a different way.

I'm very proud of the staff and the players. For us it's important to give this result to our supporters.

It was a difficult game, but my team had control and played a very good game. We made one mistake and it almost cost us, but now we are going to lift the cup.

Always it is a pity to hear such things, but the UEFA official has heard and it has gone in his report.

It's not easy. The top sides like to sign managers with experience, maybe in another country, so it's always a vicious circle.

The strikers will score goals, because they have quality and they are working hard,

It was important he has said that he wants to play for us. We have talked to lots of players and agents but the first time we spoke to Danny he said it was a dream to play for us.

When you play against a very good team with good players, you know that if you make mistakes they will punish you.

The two forwards scored in this game which is good for the team. The second goal relaxed the team and it's important that we kept a clean sheet.

In terms of the football and the mentality of the squad I think we have much more confidence in ourselves. The biggest difference for us this season is we know how to handle the physical games.

I think he was man of the match - he kept the ball and gave us time,

I told him during the game to calm down, and at the end we also talked. The message on his shirt was for his young son and his family, and he has told me that he wishes to say sorry to the Newcastle fans. He hopes it is not a problem. I do not think there will be any further action, it was not a serious incident.

Today, every time we shot it was a goal.

I am proud when big clubs talk about me, I must be doing something right. But I want be here and win trophies here with my club.

It's very important for the club, the manager, the fans and everybody to be in the Champions League at this stage.