Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez has earned plenty of plaudits for his stellar campaign at the helm on Tyneside this season, guiding the Magpies to Premier League safety and fighting for a mid-table position.
His services remain highly-coveted, though Newcastle are desperate to keep him at the club, and it’s clear that the Spaniard has played a major influence on a number of careers during his long stint at the top of football.
One of those is Spain World Cup winner Fernando Torres, who played for Benitez at Liverpool, and the veteran striker has detailed how his former boss got the best out of him in the Premier League. Speaking to AS, he said:
“I remember my first game at Anfield against Chelsea. [It was so loud] I couldn’t hear a thing – the atmosphere was spectacular. At Anfield, I felt unstoppable.”
“Rafa would say. ‘Well done for scoring three goals but you lost the ball 10 times…’ That was how Rafa was and that was his way of getting more out of you, he would always demand a little bit more.”
Torres, back at his boyhood club Atletico Madrid, is set to leave the Spanish capital at the end of the season and has been linked with a move to Newcastle.
