Rafael Benitez led Liverpool to a fifth European Cup in 2005 and an FA Cup the following year. Photo: PA/Martin Rickett
Honesty, hard work and success lead to respect and admiration – this is the key to being accepted in Liverpool.
Of course, this is not only true in Liverpool. By coaching around the world, you can make the same connections in other clubs and other cities. During my career I was privileged to have the same good relationships with the fans of Newcastle United, Napoli, Valencia and Extremadura.
But there were some differences when he became manager of Liverpool from -due to the enormous size of the club, its history and responsibility for constantly competing for the biggest honors. I knew from the very beginning that this was one of the biggest vacancies and opportunities in Europe.
Whatever you think you know, you need to quickly learn what it means to be a Liverpool manager. In every game you are expected to win. Then if you win and play well, there is an expectation that you will win by three goals.
If you ask my opinion on what's in store for Arne Slot, it's important to remember the context because you have compare the current Liverpool with the one when I joined in 2004.
Following Jurgen Klopp is not easy, but the most important question for any manager moving to a new club is always: “How good are the players?” and “Can they fit the way we want to play?”
If you already have a good team, you can win outright. There may not be much to do in the transfer market. But if you lead a team that is approaching the end of a cycle or from which big players want to leave, the task is different. Players approaching 30 years of age will not perform as well as they did when they were 28 years old. They are already in decline. The first two or three acquisitions of a new coach are always huge. You must do this right now.
When I joined Liverpool there was a lot of work to be done. Chelsea were very strong and spent a lot of money. Manchester United were already there, always fighting for the title.
Benitez knew he had to challenge Chelsea and Manchester United in 2004. Photo: Reuters/Ian Hodgson
Playing against these clubs was a special situation. In Valencia we played against Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid. At Valencia we won our first two league titles in 31 years and the UEFA Cup. It was the pinnacle of what we could do there. I was still a young manager with ambitions and when we saw the offers, we saw the potential of Liverpool.
I signed a five-year contract with Liverpool. In Spain this was not normal.
Nobody told me: “Rafa, we must win the Premier League or the Champions League in the first year.” The idea was to be able to compete for these trophies in three years, after which we would consistently compete for bigger trophies.
The biggest and most immediate difference in terms of Premier League football was the pace, intensity and physicality of the games. In Spain, if you pushed a player, it was immediately considered a violation. It said “carry on.”
We quickly realized that we needed a different player profile. Chelsea at that time was a very strong team – not only in terms of quality, but also physical form. You would play them and their players would look bigger and stronger.
It is important not only to adapt, but also to adhere to the principles and ideas in which you believe. In our first year there was a big discussion about zonal markings from corners. We knew the idea was right because we analyzed 500 corners and knew which option could bring the most success, but we also needed a different player profile to do it well. Next season we changed a few things. We brought in Peter Crouch, which surprised people, but he was good as a defender and also defended corners, and we also brought in a new goalkeeper, Pepe Reina, who was really good at corners and set-pieces. The following year we conceded the fewest number of goals in the Premier League from corners.
Pepe Reina's strength and consistency in defense on set-pieces provisions transformed Liverpool in 2006. Photo: AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth
It's funny as a coach because obviously people will always remember Istanbul and winning the Champions League in our first season. . It made people legends.
But the second season showed the greatest progress in the team. Until 2006, the most points Liverpool had won in a season since the Premier League began was 80. We won 82 and won the FA Cup and then a few years later we reached 86 points. In other seasons this might have been enough to win the title, but we were up against strong teams. We have enjoyed many years of growing the team. The difficulty in England is that other teams are also growing!
One of our advantages – especially in European competitions – is the atmosphere in the stadium. We knew that when you play away against Liverpool, you also play against Anfield. We've changed the running time of You'll Never Walk Alone so players can be on the field to feel and hear it.
Once in Liverpool, people got a sense of how people felt about their clubs. “Both Liverpool and Everton are truly a positive sensation. There is respect with passion. If people meet you, they are friendly and want you to do well. They just want to talk to you about football, not criticize you. When I was at Liverpool, even the Everton people wanted to talk and joke. There was nothing unpleasant or a situation where people would see you and want to criticize you.
Benitez has harnessed the power of Anfield, particularly in Europe. Photo: Getty Images/Matthew Lewis
Instant success brings confidence. We struggled in the Premier League in our first season but did well in the League Cup and in Europe. It was important that the fans could see where we were taking the team. I always remember when we were away to Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16 of the Champions League when one of our coaches, Alex Miller, advised me to go to a bar and watch Chelsea vs Barcelona. The fans noticed me and I had to leave because they started chanting my name. Then we felt that the connection was growing stronger.
I could come to Liverpool city center at any time and it was not a problem, the only difficulty was that people asked for autographs or photographs, so otherwise it was necessary be careful. there was no time to do what I was going to do!
Another important aspect of the job is working with the media. You can't ignore what is said or written about Liverpool, or what they call “noise”. This is impossible. Sometimes you need to know what the experts are saying because you will be asked about it at press conferences. It's better to get educated to prepare.
The difficulty now is the power of social media, where so many people who have no idea about football are spreading misinformation. This is a more difficult task, and you must separate the views of the majority of supporters from the few who shout loudly on social media.
This means that communication is mass, as is communication with true supporters. There are many people in a football club with different titles and many may think that they are the “boss”. But there is only one person whose face is always in front of the fans once, twice or three times a week at press conferences, before and after the game.
Dealing with this pressure is very difficult, as is sending the right message. Before moving to the countryside, I worked hard to improve my English by listening to Beatles songs! Everyone always talks about my famous “facts” press conference. The fact is that I was right, and everyone knew it then and still know it!
Liverpool saw qualities in Arne that they like. My biggest advice to him or any coach is to be himself, understanding the culture of the club and the city he is coming to work in.
Once he understands this, he will take the first positive step and he will be set on the right path path.
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