RSS for Rafael Benitez blog

Chelsea battled their way to glory

Mon, 21 May 2012 13:08:59 +0100

Finally, Chelsea wiped out years of bad memories by winning the Champions League. They had to wait for the last kick in the final round of penalties - it was converted by Didier Drogba to give Roman Abramovich his dream … Continue reading →

Europa League final analysis

Wed, 09 May 2012 10:34:40 +0100

The UEFA Europa League Final is upon us and it will feature two Spanish teams who will looking to redress the fact that no La Liga team, against all the forecasts, will be taking part in the Champions League Final … Continue reading →

Chelsea’s win: That’s football

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:00:44 +0100

'That's football' said Vujadin Boskov when he was asked about the game at a press conference. With his limited Spanish, the former coach of Real Madrid and the old Yugoslavia national team amongst others, couldn't find a better, more graphic, … Continue reading →

All to play for at Nou Camp

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 04:03:41 +0100

The second Champions League semi-final of the week, like the first, did not disappoint. As with the clash in Munich 24 hours previously, the game in London was hard-fought, with one team dominant but with only one winner. The 90 … Continue reading →

Familiar foes set for fascinating tie

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:49:35 +0100

Chelsea against Barcelona is a very interesting tie between two teams that know each other very well. They have faced each other several times over the last few years. In the four champions League ties they have played against each … Continue reading →

Home final is extra motivation for Bayern

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:53:20 +0100

Watching Bayern lose at Borussia Dortmund last week showed us a different side to them compared with their recent games. Previously, we saw a team scoring many goals and playing with plenty of confidence. Against Dortmund, who won 1-0 and … Continue reading →

Chelsea never had total control

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:00:31 +0100

The second day of second legs in the quarter-finals of the Champions League turned out to be similar to the first. You could say that Wednesday also met expectations in that the two teams that had controlled their respective first … Continue reading →

Superior Chelsea are certain favourites

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:33:46 +0100

The first legs of the quarter-finals of this year's Champions League have now been concluded and no home team came out as winners. There was one draw, which featured AC Milan against Barcelona, and which, since the draw was made, … Continue reading →

Long ball did trick for Chelsea

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:42:08 +0000

We now have the names of the clubs who will contest the quarter-finals of the Champions League. After the final four second-leg matches this week, we now know who will accompany Milan, APOEL Nicosia, Barcelona and Benfica in the draw … Continue reading →

Zambia spring a surprise in dramatic final

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:09:46 +0000

The surprises kept coming in the African Nations Cup final, just as they had done in the previous rounds, including the semi-finals, which were a warning of what was to come for Ivory Coast. Zambia finished up winning the tournament … Continue reading →

Analysing the Cup of Nations quarter-finals

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:59:54 +0000

The African Cup of Nations is progressing well and coming towards a conclusion. We have been looking at the quarter-finals and we have made several observations which we can share. Ivory Coast 3-0 Equatorial Guinea Firstly many people saw the … Continue reading →

Balancing past, present and future

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:56:12 +0000

Just a couple of hours before writing this I finished a talk, a discussion, in front of a mixture of candidates for the UEFA Pro Licence and a refresher course for the same licence organised by the FA. I would … Continue reading →

How a football club is structured

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:55:50 +0000

I have always maintained that those of us who work in football are privileged. And that's because we get paid for a job we love and are passionate about. And in my case, I have been lucky enough to have … Continue reading →

Barcelona worthy world champions

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:49:01 +0000

Another trophy for the well-oiled Barcelona machine. Another irrefutable victory due to their superiority and competitiveness. Pep Guardiola and his lads again imposed themselves against a good team - whatever the scoreline says - in the final of the Club … Continue reading →

The 12 ways of Christmas

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:37:19 +0000

How important is the Christmas period in the league season? It was a question always asked in press conferences around Christmas time and it always got the same response. It is a very important phase in the league because you … Continue reading →

Champions League Matchday 4 analysis

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 08:05:15 +0000

We have just had a new week of Champions League football and as usual it threw up some interesting points to discuss. So, without further ado, we will look at the subjects that caught our attention.In chronological order, we will start with the Tuesday ma Continue reading →

How Spain will torment England

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 13:01:38 +0000

Spain play England today, and come into the match as world and European champions, continuing to break all records and respected and admired throughout the football world. To what do they owe this success? What has changed in Spain to turn a team that Continue reading →