The big interview: Rafael Benitez – "I have no regrets because the things I said were what the fans were saying"

Standfirst: 

Mastermind behind one of Liverpool's most glorious nights - not to mention the Super Cup, FA Cup, UEFA Cup, La Liga (twice), Italian Super Cup, Club World Cup and the Championship with Newcastle. Rafa on chat-up lines, his Fergie feud and more in September 2011

Language English

The Big Interview

- Show all tags

Liverpool

Chelsea

Internazionale

Napoli

Valencia

Rafael Benítez

Newcastle United

Feature type: 

Interviews

Fact files: 

Pal's Poser

Dietmar Hamann, Champions League winner with Benitez in 2005: “You’ve now experienced what most would call the three best leagues in the world: Serie A, La Liga and the Premier League. Which do you think is the best, the toughest, the most exciting? How do they differ, or are they quite similar?”

Rafa says: "The Italian league is more tactical. The Spanish league is more technical and also tactical. The English league is more physical, and because the ball is close to the box more than it is in the other countries, maybe it is the most exciting of the three."

More like this

• James Milner: “My dad banned me from wearing red – I was brought up to dislike Manchester United!”
• Tomas Brolin
• Nigel de Jong

Landscape: 

Primary term: 

The Big Interview

Teaser text: 

"My relationship with Fergie was good until we started to compete with them – then everything changed"

Include in the block: 

Main Image: 

Image Style: 

Landscape

Enable for Dagbladet: 

Facebook Instant Article: 

Sponsored Content: 

digiteka position: 

bottom