Liverpool FC Forum

by **account deleted by request** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 11:16 am

READ OUR EXCLUSIVE CHAT WITH RAFA
Jimmy Rice 11 December 2007
Rafa Benitez takes five minutes out of his pre-match preparations to chat to Liverpoolfc.tv about our must-win Champions League clash in Marseille.

Rafa, if someone had said to you at the start of the campaign that you needed to win your last game to qualify, would you have taken that?

After the first game, for sure. We are now in a better position than we were.

It's a massive test on Tuesday. Does Rafa Benitez really relish these one-off battles, is this the reason you went into management?

Yes, because I like to win trophies. To win them you must play in semi-finals, finals and knock-out games like this. If you are a manager that wants to win then it must be like this.

Can you enjoy these games, because there is a lot of pressure, isn't there?

I more than enjoy it and I don't have a problem with games like this one. Playing in a game like this means you can win something in the future.

Have you got a special way to cope with the pressure?

Not really. For me it's more or less the same in every game.

Do you worry about the financial consequences of losing this game?

It's not a problem thinking about money. For us it's a case of what it means for the club in terms of progress in a competition we want to win.

How many times have you seen Marseille play, how many videos have you watched?

I have watched some videos. We have some more time in Marseille to watch some more in the hotel. We will analyse the small details that can be the difference.

What difference has Eric Gerets made since coming in as manager of Marseille?

I think he has shown he is a good manager with a strong personality and he has given the team character. They are more or less the same tactically. They will try to play with the same idea they had when they played at Anfield.

You must have watched the defeat at Anfield back a few times. What went wrong on the night?

Everything. We made a lot of mistakes. We were not controlling the game in the middle of the park, we were not defending well and we weren't creating chances. Almost everything was bad.

Did Marseille take you by surprise?

Not really in terms of what we were expecting from them but it was a surprise on the pitch because they played really well.

Before the Reading game your form could hardly have been better. Was that the best football Liverpool have played since you took over as manager?

I don't think so. I think we have played some really good games in the past but recently we have been on a good run of winning games - so people think because we are scoring more goals we are playing better. I like my team to play the way we did in the first 30 minutes of the game we played against Barcelona at Anfield last season, which was amazing. We have a lot of important games coming up and I think we are playing well but again we can play better.

I suspect you would be reluctant to change anything but will you and the players do anything different than usual to prepare for this game?

No, not really. I think it's important to do more or less the same things because you have some habits and you must do it.

A win in the Nou Camp, victory by two goals against Olympiacos – would a win on Tuesday night rank alongside those achievements?

Yes. It's clear the position was really bad and everybody was expecting us to go into this game without any options but we have them. People will be expecting a great game and we can do it.

Will you mention those two games in your team talk?

Yes, we will talk about some of these games. We know that we are capable of doing these things - I think it's important to remember some of these games.

If you got a last minute penalty and you needed to score it to go through, who would you want to take it?

Not me! We have some players with experience and I think Gerrard could be one, and Voronin also. Lucas also is a player who could do it. Kuyt could take one and there's Crouch. We don't have a problem if it came to that.

The atmosphere will be great over there. How will it affect your players?

I think it can be positive because, as I said before, if you want to win trophies you must play in semi-finals and finals, so the atmosphere would be similar to this one. It is important that the players show character in this atmosphere.

There will be a few thousand Scousers over in France as well. How big a part can they play?

They are magnificent for us, always. Our players will hear them and for sure they will try to do their best.

Can you afford to be too attacking considering what happened at Anfield?

We will try to attack. It's clear we need to score to win the game so we must attack. I don't know if they will attack or sit back but that doesn't matter because we will try to score our goals.

A brilliant moment from Steven Gerrard took us through against Olympiacos in 2005. Having him on your teamsheet for a game like this must give you tremendous confidence?

We were talking about the team playing well but also Gerrard is improving a lot. The captain is playing well and he is a key player for us who can be an example for the rest of the players.

You really need his spirit on a night like this, don't you?

We need spirit, we need passion and also good football.

Who do you see as Marseille's dangermen?

I think Cisse, and Niang is another very skilful player. Valbuena as well. They have some good players.

You mentioned Cisse, and there is also Bolo Zenden. Do you think they could be looking to get one over their old side?

I think both players will try to do their best because it's the Champions League and they are playing against Liverpool. We hope they will not score in this game but get a lot of goals in the league.

You have great memories of Marseille from when you beat them in the UEFA Cup final with Valencia. You're not going to be a popular man over there if you win again, are you?

[Smiles] Normally you know when you beat a team in the final of a competition like the UEFA Cup then the other supporters won't be happy, but that is football!

If you were a betting man, Rafa, would you put your money on Liverpool?

[Laughs] Clearly but I don't want any problems because I've talked about betting! I have a lot of confidence in my team.

LFC.TV

by **kunilson** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 11:26 am

i think we will win 3-1, torres will score again. thats my bet!

the game will start off a bit slow, we will score the first goal....then they will come out and attack and we will score again. they'll drag one back but we'll finish them off in the later part of the game.

make it happen rafa!

good luck redmen.......

by **Valbuena** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 11:48 am

The game will start in a bit slow and finish also. We know how to play bad rythm and go fastly after.
I hope your fans don't make matter after the defeat... :suspect:

Olympique Marseille 3 Liverpool 0
Niang 12'
Cheyrou 69'
Niang 71 '

Cheyrou the real,not his brother who sell us ( Benoit... :sniffle

by **Massilia_Popular** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 11:56 am

Tonight It will be more than a simple game , even if you have best players it will not be football but war and we have 55 011 soldiers :cool:

Allez l'OOOOOOOOOOOmmmmmm !!!!!

by **bigmick** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 12:15 pm

Yeah i must confess I fancy us strong to win. When all said and done, people can go on about team selection, tactics and all that all night (believe me I know

) but when push comes to shove, we're simply a better team than them by a distance. I don't think they'll score a goal and I think we will, twice.

Hopefully, after the game we can all agree that their fans were amazing in defeat.

Hand on heart I don't overly fancy us against the Mancs in the League, but I think we'll get home here without a bother.

by **Sabre** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 12:19 pm

A le Olympique Marseillaise, oh la la.

I remember when they had a name in european football with that little clever Jean Pierre Papin and that Chris Waddle.

Then they lost all the name among corruption.

Liverpool will win, because they're a better team, end of.

by **lakes10** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 12:29 pm

Leonmc0708 wrote:
lakes10 wrote:I dont get a good feeling about this game.

You are one miserable glass is half empty pessemistic fuc.ker.

I love the way you use words.

by **burjennio** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 1:07 pm

MANHATTAN DO YOU HAVE ANY NEWS OR INFORMATION ON MRSEILLE?

by **burjennio** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 1:08 pm

1. Its spelt M A R S E I L L E

by **el secator** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 1:50 pm

Reds, last time we had a Belgium coach at l'OM, in 1993, we won the champions league. This night, it will be a rough game, LFC team is probably a better team "on the paper", but don't forget that MORE THAN 55.000 fans will fire the Velodrome stadium :angry:

OM 2 - LFC 1

ALLEZ L'OM!!!!

by **el secator** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 2:01 pm

Valbuena wrote:Dear Josip, i'm 34 years old my friend.I say to you i respet Liverpool but you'll go loose it's all.
I don't write english well because i'm french.
Tomorrow i'll be at the game in yankees kop and we have prepare most "fumigenes" ( fire ) for the tifo
I wish you a good match

t'es vraiment qu'un gland. casse toi de ce forum tu nous ridiculise

by **burjennio** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 2:02 pm

were you not stripped of the champions league for bribery and poisoning the opposition?

by **el secator** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 2:05 pm

burjennio wrote:were you not stripped of the champions league for bribery and poisoning the opposition?

No, we didn't. It was a domestic story ... :devil:

by **Owzat** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 2:34 pm

el secator wrote:Reds, last time we had a Belgium coach at l'OM, in 1993, we won the champions league. This night, it will be a rough game, LFC team is probably a better team "on the paper", but don't forget that MORE THAN 55.000 fans will fire the Velodrome stadium
OM 2 - LFC 1

ALLEZ L'OM!!!!

I was just about to ask where the predictable opponent posters were.............................

Anyway why aren't we playing the full Mars side instead of Mars A?

by **Valbuena** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 2:44 pm

el secator wrote:
Valbuena wrote:Dear Josip, i'm 34 years old my friend.I say to you i respet Liverpool but you'll go loose it's all.
I don't write english well because i'm french.
Tomorrow i'll be at the game in yankees kop and we have prepare most "fumigenes" ( fire ) for the tifo
I wish you a good match

t'es vraiment qu'un gland. casse toi de ce forum tu nous ridiculise

Va te faire enculer secator de tes vieilles couilles

Tu dois sucer des bites toute la journée vieux pédé ! :laugh:

Va niquer tes morts suceuse de parisienne, retourne lecher le boule à rothen et compagnie salope :eyebrow

Liverpool FC Forum

MARSEILLE Away - CL 11/12/07 - Time to move on.... and fast

Who is online