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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Rafa Benitez has described the moments inside the dressing room in Istanbul during the 2005 Champions League final and explained what he said to his players to make them turn the match around.
What did he say?
Everyone knows the story of Liverpool in Istanbul and the astonishing turnaround that was overseen by Benitez, but not too many are familiar with the finer details behind what was perhaps the most stunning comeback in the history of the European Cup.
The 59-year-old has had a long and successful career in both England and Spain, but his crowning achievement is surely the Champions League win in 2005.
Liverpool defied the odds to make the final and at 3-0 down at the interval not many outside that dressing room believed the trophy could return to Anfield.
Even Benitez himself must have had doubts but he kept a cool head, and in a Q&A for The Atheltic he has explained his mindset and what he tried to achieve through his team-talk and half-time changes:
“I try to explain to anyone who listens to me that my English accent and my knowledge of English at that time was even worse than now! So imagine thinking about what to say when you were 2-0, thinking about what I was going to say, and then we conceded the third goal.
“The message was clear: Give them some hope, some confidence, tell them that if we score one goal we will be back in the game, and change the tactics to three at the back and two holding midfielders, to control Kaka between the lines with Hamann and Alonso.
“After [half-time] we were lucky enough to score goals in a short period and that was a plus for everyone because we grew in confidence, little by little.”
Benitez was right in his assessment of the situation. Steven Gerrard’s towering header gave both the Liverpool crowd and the players the lift they needed to subsequently deal Milan a devastating blow, and the Reds didn’t look back after that.
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The man to handle a difficult situation
Over the course of his career Benitez has experienced the ups and downs of management – as most have – but he has always remained a composed and level-headed figure on the touchline, and that was exactly what Liverpool needed in that situation.
Kaka and Hernan Crespo were the main architects of Liverpool’s downfall in the first half, but by crowding the middle of the pitch Benitez enabled his team to dominate the midfield and reduce the space available to Milan’s key men.
Hamman’s introduction allowed Liverpool to retain possession but more importantly gave Gerrard free reign to make runs into the box, which he did to great effect for Liverpool’s first and third goals.
The back three also provided extra cover for a defence which had twice failed to deal with Kaka’s through balls, with Djimi Traore’s physical attributes making a difference late on when Sami Hyppia and Jamie Carragher began to tire.
Benitez was brave and showed flexibility in a testing situation, and gave his team a fighting chance at a time they desperately needed it.
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