Rafael Benitez: The talk of the town

On November 15 2012, World Cup 2022 hosts Qatar organised a “Stars Chat Session” under Aspire4Sport committee.

Current Chelsea coach, Rafael Benitez as well as several other star footballers like Ruud Gullit and John Barnes expressed their thoughtful views on the various football issues. I myself witnessed the star session in great excitement. The stars discussed various topics, from who will the Ballon d’or to whether English football has lost its plot and value.

Gone are the days when the Chelsea fans used to mock Rafa by calling him a ‘Fat Spanish waiter, he’s just a fat Spanish waiter’ and ‘You’re not welcome here, f*** off Benitez, you’re not welcome here’. My advice to Chelsea fans is that they must respect Rafa and give him some time to settle in.

He is an eminent coach and the winner of Champions League 2005 with Liverpool. He made the English club one of the most reputed team during his six year spell at Anfield. During the chat, Benitez also expressed his deep regard for England legend Steven Gerrard.

Following were the hot shot questions thrown to Mr. Rafa:-

Q) Who will win the Ballon d’or this time?

Xavi Hernandez of Barcelona and Spain is my choice.

Q) Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo – Who is the best player in the world?

Just like it’s difficult to say who’s the best club manager right now in the world, it will be difficult to make a choice between Messi and Ronaldo. But I like Messi more.

Q) Has English football lost its plot?

When I joined Liverpool, the system was unattractive. When I extended my contract with the club, I told them that I need to change the methodology. I wanted to have my say in team selection as well as because a lot of young talented players were being ignored. So my preference was to give chances to youngsters. English clubs need to improve their academies. Only then can they expect some results.