Once again, a thanks to the lads on The Red and White Kop for providing this for us:
The interview is first with Spanish correspondent Guillem Balagué (a friend of Rafa's and someone who used to live in Liverpool).
Jose Ramon: Guillem Balagué, good evening
Guillem: Good evening Jose Ramon
Jose Ramon: Liverpool needs to win now in Marseille in order to qualify..?
Guillem: Correct. It’s been a difficult match but with a good result, 4-1 and two goals from Torres, but like you’ve said they need to win in Marseilles in order to qualify. Today’s match began, like Fernando Torres said, two hours before the start of the match. A thousand supporters gathered near a pub close to the stadium and marched towards Anfield carrying banners, signs in support of Benitez, which has carried over to and throughout the match. But let’s have Benitez himself tell you about it. He’s at the gates and about to go home.
Jose Ramon: Hello Rafa, good evening.
Rafa: Hello, good evening
Jose Ramon: Less tension now?
Rafa:[sounds very calm] Yes, I said in the press conference, and it’s true, that I haven’t got any personal problems with the new owners. The only thing was that I was trying to act as a manager to improve my team now for January and for next season and they told me it wasn’t the time now. I didn’t understand why but now things have been, more or less, clarified and once they arrive here we will clear things up. And if meanwhile we can keep winning, then it’s even better.
Jose Ramon: The news we were getting here in Spain was that Benitez was going to leave Liverpool and once the season was over he was leaving Liverpool, and such things…Like things were really bad
Rafa: Yeah, Guillem here, he’s very exaggerated …
Jose Ramon: [laughs]
Rafa: Nah, the truth is that what carries over from England to Spain is usually over-magnified and at the end the situation ,off the record, as Guillem might say, might be of tension but at least I was trying to do things like always before, knowing that my responsibility is to try and win matches and that’s it.
Jose Ramon: Your relationship with the Americans that have bought Liverpool, what is it really like? And do they like football, do they understand it?
Rafa: The relationship was very good. Even when we played Arsenal, which I believe was on October 28th, we had a meeting and it was fantastic. The ideas and the plans for the future…and they were really happy about it. All of a sudden, I don’t know why, something changed and we exchanged information and that’s where the misunderstanding happened. Because we couldn’t speak directly and we had to do it over e-mails and such and we had contacted that way and it was perhaps where we had a ‘misunderstanding’ as they say here. But in the personal aspect, no problems because like I said, the relationship was very good. And as a matter of fact, they have always shown concern for my state of happiness. “We want Rafa to be happy”, “ As long as Rafa is happy”, so it’s been a bit of a surprise and let’s hope we can sort this out and fix everything.
Jose Ramon: Yes because that statement that came out saying “stop asking for players and coach the ones he has”
Rafa: Yes, but I think it was more the interpretation it was given or perhaps the off-the-record things that were written but I don’t think the situation was explained very well because I wasn’t asking for more money as it was believed. I was looking at two free players, and another player at a really good price after selling another player, which would’ve given us actually more money back and that’s where I couldn’t understand things. But to drop this issue which I think has been talked about enough already, the most important thing, I insist, is that I have no personal problem with them or against them and I think it’s the same way for them. And once we get to sit down we will clear up this matter and that’s it.
Jose Ramon: But the important thing is the 4-1 scoreline against Porto and Fernando’s two goals…?
Rafa: Yeah. Honestly, it was a very difficult match because Porto are a very good team with quality and we were wary about their counter-attacking play but we’ve given them six or seven chances to counter-attack against us, it was like we were training “counter-attack, here we go, and again another one” until we were able to settle and we scored the second goal and with Harry Kewell and Crouch on the pitch we gained more control of the ball and were able to win the air battles inside their area and it allowed us to keep the ball further up the pitch and score those goals.
Jose Ramon: How’s Fernando then? How’s he adapting?
Rafa: Fine. Gets better every time. He creates a lot of goal situations, missed a few the other day, but he is able to create for himself and today he’s scored those two goals. I think he’s a player that will continue to improve and will keep growing as a player.
Jose Ramon: And then there’s this webpage that Liverpool supporters created, saverafa! As in save[free] Willy. You’ve become a star over there…
Rafa: No, the truth is…that’s why I say that what is perceived from Spain sometimes is not true. The supporters here are amazing, I am very happy, they give me a lot of support and we try always like Bill Shankly said to make people happy because we are winning matches and they are enjoying it.
Jose Ramon: At 5pm on that webpage saverafa.com, there was more than 50, 000 messages
Rafa: Liverpool have a lot of supporters around the world. At the end, people join together and like I said the supporters are very, very good. This is a city that is used to suffering and that likes for people to fight for their own cause and I think that’s what they’ve tried to show, no? that the fight is for improving the team and I think that for the supporters that is very important.
Jose Ramon: You need to win now in Marseilles
Rafa: Yes, we knew we had to beforehand. Now it’s better because it’s the same thing but we are more confident.
Jose Ramon: Well, alright then. I give you my blessings, lets hope you are lucky.
Actually I feel both also got their point la. Rafa wants to improve fast because this is the best start we have had for years. But the american owners have to take care of the stadium funding and after the expensive summer spending, now have to come up with money again, it is a bit too much....
But hopefully, everything ends well.作者: andychuah 時間: 2007-12-1 01:50 PM
