Rafa Benitez: 'Can Newcastle win the title?... Why not?' In a rare interview, Toon boss talks 'fixing' a club, Premier League preparation... and his dogs!
- Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez spoke candidly as he gave a rare interview
- The Magpies boss is looking to take the club forward following promotion
- Spaniard hopes to 'create a stronger bond' between the fans, city and team
Gently he teases out the handwritten note that, on the left, has a list of all those teams relegated from the Premier League in the last six seasons.
On the other side are the teams who were promoted in the following campaign. He puts the paper down on his desk. There is a tick next to Burnley, the only side to have done so automatically, and there are marks next to those who have gone through the play-offs.
Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez at his desk with his trusty brown folder placed next to him
The Spaniard went on a city tour with assistant Francisco De Miguel Moreno back in November
Exploring the North East, Benitez poses in front of the iconic Angel of the North in Gateshead
‘It’s not as easy as people think,’ he says. ‘Yes, not at all, and we had to rebuild the team.’
We are sitting in Benitez’s office. Behind his black desk is a giant mural of the monolithic stands at the Leazes End and the Milburn Stand of St James’ Park that dominate the city’s skyline.
It is match day in the picture (taken from ground level at the Gallowgate End), which covers the entire wall, and Newcastle are at home to Crystal Palace. The ground is full, Benitez is stood pitch-side and it feels like you are in the stadium.
Gently he teases out the handwritten note that, on the left, has a list of all those teams relegated from the Premier League in the last six seasons.
On the other side are the teams who were promoted in the following campaign. He puts the paper down on his desk. There is a tick next to Burnley, the only side to have done so automatically, and there are marks next to those who have gone through the play-offs.
Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez at his desk with his trusty brown folder placed next to him
The Spaniard went on a city tour with assistant Francisco De Miguel Moreno back in November
Exploring the North East, Benitez poses in front of the iconic Angel of the North in Gateshead
‘It’s not as easy as people think,’ he says. ‘Yes, not at all, and we had to rebuild the team.’
We are sitting in Benitez’s office. Behind his black desk is a giant mural of the monolithic stands at the Leazes End and the Milburn Stand of St James’ Park that dominate the city’s skyline.
It is match day in the picture (taken from ground level at the Gallowgate End), which covers the entire wall, and Newcastle are at home to Crystal Palace. The ground is full, Benitez is stood pitch-side and it feels like you are in the stadium.
There are three magnetic boards, meticulously laid out with players’ names to the side, and on the opposite wall, next to the glass doors that open to the training fields, is a picture of four dogs: Clem, Red, Goofy and Honey.
How did you get four dogs to sit still for a picture?
‘Probably food!’ replies Benitez. ‘Clem is an American labrador and eats and eats and eats. Honey was homeless and we took her from a shelter.’
Then the Spaniard says, ‘Come, sit. Let’s talk. Would you like some water?’
A giant mural of St James' Park and it's vast stands dominates the wall in Benitez's office
Benitez is now a cult hero among the north-east club's passionate and loyal supporters
‘How do I get my four dogs to sit still for a picture? Food!’
The office has been modernised since Steve McClaren left. It is half flooring and half carpeted. It is a minimalist approach, a set of drawers next to his desk with a photocopier and, to the side of the sofa, underneath the giant TV screen at the far end of the room, is a glimpse into the more emotional side of the 57-year-old.
The Sky Bet Manager of the Month award sits proudly on top of a filing cabinet, two Performance of the Week awards are either side and then there is a gold trophy, given to the Newcastle Sports Personality of the Year (previously won by the likes of Kevin Keegan and Paul Gascoigne). He called it a ‘great honour’ when he received it.
It has been hectic and relentless since confirmation came that a manager with a c.v. that included the Champions League, two Spanish titles, an FA Cup, the UEFA Cup, the Europa League and the Italian Cup was set to lead the potential recovery of Newcastle United from the second tier of English football.
Benitez redesigned the training ground, ripped up pitches and led his players back into the local community.
‘Was the club lost? I think it was a little bit disorientated, rather than lost,’ he says. ‘Lost is a bigger word. It means everything was wrong, and everything was not like this.
‘The staff and the way things were going and how they were doing things was right. A lot of departments were right. You have to fix some things. They were capable to do it, it’s not that they couldn’t, they could do it, but I had to tell them, “Do it this way”.
‘I knew from the beginning that we had to create a stronger bond between fans, city and team. You could see there was a lack of unity. We were trying to find a way. “Together we are stronger”. That is the message I gave through the whole season.’
Benitez gets his hands on more silverware after guiding Newcastle to the Championship title
‘We needed a stronger bond between fans, city and team’
He is reluctant to talk about the Christmas presents he bought the entire staff, but I press him.
‘Yes, I got individual Christmas presents for everyone at the club,’ he adds. ‘At this time I wouldn’t say just I was doing that and nobody else. How many did I get? Forty or whatever.
‘Yes, it was a personal present to each one that I gave in my office. You see them and you say hello every single morning. It was good to give them presents because I have a good relationship with them.’
There was much building to be done, of trust and spirits to begin with, and then a team. From the ashes of relegation and a dispirited dressing room had to come something fresh. Newcastle spent close to £60million on 12 players, while recouping almost £90m in sales. A breathless summer of change.
‘What you are looking for are professionals... professionals who can learn and improve and can behave in the right way,’ Benitez says. ‘I have had a lot of very good players in all my career. This group have been fantastic.
‘From day one they were listening, they were trying to improve, trying to put in place the drills and the tactics we were trying to do. It has been really good to work with them.
Benitez revealed he bought and handed out individual presents to all his staff at the club
‘How did I know about the players? Some of them because of the Premier League, some of them talking with a lot of people, watching the games. You talk with different coaches, or friends, or people who have been in the country for years, they know really well the players, and after watching videos and videos then you can see them playing.’
The slog of the Championship season was a surprise, despite Benitez being forewarned.
‘It is more difficult than people think,’ he says. ‘The competition and the physicality of the game allows the other team to balance and neutralise you.
‘You play against teams that you know are not better than you but physically they are stronger and they are very competitive. Every free-kick and every corner is a 50-50 situation and anything can happen.
‘The other one is you play too many games. Sometimes two games a week, three games in 10 days, and then you don’t have time to recover physically and mentally. Mentally it is very demanding. It has been very hard in terms of football but it has been very easy in terms of putting everything behind the team: the city, the fans, the players, the staff,’ he says.
Benitez is shown around the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Unit at the Freeman Hospital by Lady Elsie, the widow of the former Magpies' boss
It was first said Rafa Benitez would not manage in the Championship. It was then said Rafa Benitez could not manage in the Championship. Does it make winning the title more pleasing?
‘No, no, no, it does not mean more because people said I couldn’t do it in the Championship,’ he replies. ‘It’s a lot because we knew it was difficult. It was a big risk going into the Championship. Every game, we had to work even harder than we thought we would at the beginning to achieve.
‘We knew it was hard. We still had confidence. The main thing after winning nine games in a row was to keep people calm.
‘Everybody was expecting and saying now we can walk the division and after we had the situation of Brighton, Huddersfield and Reading (Newcastle won two and drew one). “OK, now we can do it!” And then Fulham came here and we lost and it was a wake-up!
The Magpies celebrate promotion to the Premier League after winning the Championship title
‘There have been a lot of good memories with a lot of games. Maybe that Brighton away game (Newcastle won 2-1) was one of the best because when we realised we could be champions and we could beat anyone.
‘You have to be stable, keep everybody with the same message, be calm, not overreact. Our staff, the nutritionist, the doctor, we have control of things. To give them advice, we have all the physical tests and all the physical data from different companies. We know what our players at Newcastle do in every game but we are not obsessive with that.’
That is Benitez the pragmatist, the focused manager who turned Newcastle around. But then there is the other side, the man who wept at the Hillsborough Memorial in 2011 and the man whose eyes were glazed as he walked to the Gallowgate End after leading Newcastle to a dramatic Championship title in the final minute of the final game of the season.
Benitez and his backroom staff pose together after sealing promotion back to the top-flight
There are three magnetic boards, meticulously laid out with players’ names to the side, and on the opposite wall, next to the glass doors that open to the training fields, is a picture of four dogs: Clem, Red, Goofy and Honey.
How did you get four dogs to sit still for a picture?
‘Probably food!’ replies Benitez. ‘Clem is an American labrador and eats and eats and eats. Honey was homeless and we took her from a shelter.’
Then the Spaniard says, ‘Come, sit. Let’s talk. Would you like some water?’
A giant mural of St James' Park and it's vast stands dominates the wall in Benitez's office
Benitez is now a cult hero among the north-east club's passionate and loyal supporters
‘How do I get my four dogs to sit still for a picture? Food!’
The office has been modernised since Steve McClaren left. It is half flooring and half carpeted. It is a minimalist approach, a set of drawers next to his desk with a photocopier and, to the side of the sofa, underneath the giant TV screen at the far end of the room, is a glimpse into the more emotional side of the 57-year-old.
The Sky Bet Manager of the Month award sits proudly on top of a filing cabinet, two Performance of the Week awards are either side and then there is a gold trophy, given to the Newcastle Sports Personality of the Year (previously won by the likes of Kevin Keegan and Paul Gascoigne). He called it a ‘great honour’ when he received it.
It has been hectic and relentless since confirmation came that a manager with a c.v. that included the Champions League, two Spanish titles, an FA Cup, the UEFA Cup, the Europa League and the Italian Cup was set to lead the potential recovery of Newcastle United from the second tier of English football.
Benitez redesigned the training ground, ripped up pitches and led his players back into the local community.
‘Was the club lost? I think it was a little bit disorientated, rather than lost,’ he says. ‘Lost is a bigger word. It means everything was wrong, and everything was not like this.
‘The staff and the way things were going and how they were doing things was right. A lot of departments were right. You have to fix some things. They were capable to do it, it’s not that they couldn’t, they could do it, but I had to tell them, “Do it this way”.
‘I knew from the beginning that we had to create a stronger bond between fans, city and team. You could see there was a lack of unity. We were trying to find a way. “Together we are stronger”. That is the message I gave through the whole season.’
Benitez gets his hands on more silverware after guiding Newcastle to the Championship title
‘We needed a stronger bond between fans, city and team’
He is reluctant to talk about the Christmas presents he bought the entire staff, but I press him.
‘Yes, I got individual Christmas presents for everyone at the club,’ he adds. ‘At this time I wouldn’t say just I was doing that and nobody else. How many did I get? Forty or whatever.
‘Yes, it was a personal present to each one that I gave in my office. You see them and you say hello every single morning. It was good to give them presents because I have a good relationship with them.’
There was much building to be done, of trust and spirits to begin with, and then a team. From the ashes of relegation and a dispirited dressing room had to come something fresh. Newcastle spent close to £60million on 12 players, while recouping almost £90m in sales. A breathless summer of change.
‘What you are looking for are professionals... professionals who can learn and improve and can behave in the right way,’ Benitez says. ‘I have had a lot of very good players in all my career. This group have been fantastic.
‘From day one they were listening, they were trying to improve, trying to put in place the drills and the tactics we were trying to do. It has been really good to work with them.
Benitez revealed he bought and handed out individual presents to all his staff at the club
‘How did I know about the players? Some of them because of the Premier League, some of them talking with a lot of people, watching the games. You talk with different coaches, or friends, or people who have been in the country for years, they know really well the players, and after watching videos and videos then you can see them playing.’
The slog of the Championship season was a surprise, despite Benitez being forewarned.
‘It is more difficult than people think,’ he says. ‘The competition and the physicality of the game allows the other team to balance and neutralise you.
‘You play against teams that you know are not better than you but physically they are stronger and they are very competitive. Every free-kick and every corner is a 50-50 situation and anything can happen.
‘The other one is you play too many games. Sometimes two games a week, three games in 10 days, and then you don’t have time to recover physically and mentally. Mentally it is very demanding. It has been very hard in terms of football but it has been very easy in terms of putting everything behind the team: the city, the fans, the players, the staff,’ he says.
Benitez is shown around the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Unit at the Freeman Hospital by Lady Elsie, the widow of the former Magpies' boss
It was first said Rafa Benitez would not manage in the Championship. It was then said Rafa Benitez could not manage in the Championship. Does it make winning the title more pleasing?
‘No, no, no, it does not mean more because people said I couldn’t do it in the Championship,’ he replies. ‘It’s a lot because we knew it was difficult. It was a big risk going into the Championship. Every game, we had to work even harder than we thought we would at the beginning to achieve.
‘We knew it was hard. We still had confidence. The main thing after winning nine games in a row was to keep people calm.
‘Everybody was expecting and saying now we can walk the division and after we had the situation of Brighton, Huddersfield and Reading (Newcastle won two and drew one). “OK, now we can do it!” And then Fulham came here and we lost and it was a wake-up!
The Magpies celebrate promotion to the Premier League after winning the Championship title
‘There have been a lot of good memories with a lot of games. Maybe that Brighton away game (Newcastle won 2-1) was one of the best because when we realised we could be champions and we could beat anyone.
‘You have to be stable, keep everybody with the same message, be calm, not overreact. Our staff, the nutritionist, the doctor, we have control of things. To give them advice, we have all the physical tests and all the physical data from different companies. We know what our players at Newcastle do in every game but we are not obsessive with that.’
That is Benitez the pragmatist, the focused manager who turned Newcastle around. But then there is the other side, the man who wept at the Hillsborough Memorial in 2011 and the man whose eyes were glazed as he walked to the Gallowgate End after leading Newcastle to a dramatic Championship title in the final minute of the final game of the season.
Benitez and his backroom staff pose together after sealing promotion back to the top-flight
RAFA'S WAY: THE BOOK
Rafa’s Way, by Martin Hardy, is published by deCoubertin Books at £19.99.
Order at touchingdistance.com, decoubertin.co.uk or from leading book stores.
‘Each one has his own way to show his emotions,’ he says. ‘So I am not the kind of manager who will be jumping around or rolling or whatever, all these things. But still I have my emotions and I’m really proud of all the things we are achieving now. You can see the fans and you can feel the emotion from the fans and the city.
‘Obviously you are proud, but also you are emotional, no?
‘Now when you are getting older, you appreciate these things more. Then you are maybe more linked and connected with the fans around you.’
Benitez had received the assurances he wanted from club owner Mike Ashley about direction and control after Newcastle’s return to the Premier League.
‘When I start something I put all my passion into it,’ he adds. ‘I will try to do my best and hopefully everything will be fine. The things will be done in the right way and we can build what we want to build, a strong team and a strong club that can compete in the Premier League for everything.
‘When I say everything, I don’t say the title, but why not? Everything means we have to be consistent. If you have the FA Cup, you can be there.
‘It is not Rafa saying he wants to win the league, no. I want to be competitive and after we can win a trophy or you can win the league. You never know. It will be more difficult with every year, but for sure, you have to try.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4581814/Rafa-Benitez-Newcastle-win-title-not.html#ixzz4jMgwdTrP
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Rafa’s Way, by Martin Hardy, is published by deCoubertin Books at £19.99.
Order at touchingdistance.com, decoubertin.co.uk or from leading book stores.
‘Each one has his own way to show his emotions,’ he says. ‘So I am not the kind of manager who will be jumping around or rolling or whatever, all these things. But still I have my emotions and I’m really proud of all the things we are achieving now. You can see the fans and you can feel the emotion from the fans and the city.
‘Obviously you are proud, but also you are emotional, no?
‘Now when you are getting older, you appreciate these things more. Then you are maybe more linked and connected with the fans around you.’
Benitez had received the assurances he wanted from club owner Mike Ashley about direction and control after Newcastle’s return to the Premier League.
‘When I start something I put all my passion into it,’ he adds. ‘I will try to do my best and hopefully everything will be fine. The things will be done in the right way and we can build what we want to build, a strong team and a strong club that can compete in the Premier League for everything.
‘When I say everything, I don’t say the title, but why not? Everything means we have to be consistent. If you have the FA Cup, you can be there.
‘It is not Rafa saying he wants to win the league, no. I want to be competitive and after we can win a trophy or you can win the league. You never know. It will be more difficult with every year, but for sure, you have to try.’
