Quantcast
Featured

Criticism for Rafa but praise for Mourinho – Gerrard’s autobiography

|
Image for Criticism for Rafa but praise for Mourinho – Gerrard’s autobiography
Benitez has come in for some criticism from the former Liverpool captain

Benitez has come in for some criticism from the former Liverpool captain

In a career as long as Steven Gerrard’s was at Liverpool, it’s inevitable that there would be good and bad days; great times and times he’d not doubt much rather forget. But some of the quotes coming from his autobiography, currently being serialised in the Daily Mail, have certainly left many scratching their heads.

Many of the statements we’ve seen so far from Gerrard’s book concern his relationship with Rafa Benitez. Namely how he doesn’t have much time for the man. The Liverpool legend has been widely quoted as saying that he didn’t believe Benitez liked him very much, citing bizarre instances as his reasons for this belief.

He also blames Benitez for the club losing Xabi Alonso. He is quoted in the Daily Mail as saying: “It was clear Alonso was royalty after our first training session together in August 2004, and Rafa Benitez, who had been so clever to buy him in the first place, was equally stupid to sell him to Real Madrid five years later.

“He was, by some distance, the best central midfielder I ever played alongside.

“It was a disastrous decision to sell Alonso, and especially for just £30million — which looks a snip now when you reflect on all he has achieved subsequently, both at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and with Spain, winning the Euros and the World Cup.

“I blame Rafa entirely for the loss of Alonso. He could still have been playing for Liverpool six or seven years after he left in 2009.”

It seems a fairly moot point to make, considering it is widely known that Rafa was keen to ship Alonso out after a couple of average seasons, to replace him with Gareth Barry. But, hindsight is a wonderful thing, particularly in sport, and you could equally argue that Benitez’s treatment of Alonso is also what saw the Spaniard turn his form around from 2007 onwards.

It had been fairly obvious from his time at Anfield that Benitez was there to win, not to pander to stars and reputations, something which appears contrary to many working relationships that Gerrard was used to. However, there is no arguing that, despite any differences of opinion between the two, Benitez got the absolute most out of Gerrard whilst other managers have struggled to fully utilise the former Reds captain.

Even more bizarre though are quotes from the LA Galaxy midfielder that Jose Mourinho would’ve been a ‘perfect match’ for Liverpool. No, we can’t work that one out either. Alex Ferguson aside, there is probably not a single man on the planet that appears to be opposed to everything Liverpool and our fans stand for.

Again, quoted in the Daily Mail, Gerrard said: “It was clear that, tactically, he could set up his team to win any football match… because he was a pure winner. But, more than that, he created a special bond with each squad he managed.

“You heard it in the way his players spoke about him. You saw it in the way they played for him.

“For me, the ideal situation would obviously have been for Mourinho to have managed Liverpool. He was linked with a move to Anfield a couple of times but it never materialised. I know I’m biased, but I think it would have been a perfect match.

“The Liverpool fans would have loved him and he would have known exactly how to turn that love into adoration. He always told me about his deep respect for our supporters. Jose would have had a fantastic time bringing huge success to Liverpool.”

While Mourinho may have thought highly of Liverpool fans – and Gerrard – there are few Liverpool fans that have much time for Mourinho, aside from a grudging respect for his achievements.

It’s possible that the Chelsea manager may have brought success to Liverpool, but his actions and words since his first spell at Chelsea have made it clear that Mourinho is anything but a Liverpool man and it seems that Gerrard would’ve welcomed a man like Mourinho at LFC, who included his players in decisions and ‘bonded’ with his staff much more than the rest of us would’ve.

Of course, these serialisations of former stars autobiographies can be tricky times for fans, with some sections and quotes taken out of context but from what we’ve seen so far some fans may be a little unsure of how to take these first few statements.

How do you feel about Gerrard’s book so far; do you agree with much of what he’s said? It all just appears a bit unseemly coming from a former Red. Let us know your thoughts below.

Share this article

I'm a 32 year old Liverpool fan, living in the heart of the City Centre. I've supported the club since the day I was born and have been writing articles for L4L for over 3 years, writing close over 350 articles in that time. My favorite player of the past generation is Sami Hyypia.

I am the current editor for L4L, with my day job being in R&D for the NHS.

2 comments

  • JUSTIN CHUKWU says:

    For me i am absolutely shocked that Steven Gerrard would say such negative things about Rafa Benitez, a manager who won the club its 5th Champion league cup, a man who nearly won it again in 2007, a manager who was close to wining the club its 19th league title, a manager who made him a world class player and made Liverpool great again. And at the same time heaping praises on Mourinho, a man that hates Liverpool and its fans. Remember when he told Liverpool fans to shut up in one of the league finals? What ever he has against Rafa it is so wrong and unfair/disrespectful he has made it public. I do not think Rafa deserve Gerrard public scourge.

  • Gold says:

    Gerrard is a fool for saying that,Rafa Benitez is the best

Comments are closed.