Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Benitez confident of finishing as group winners
Rafael Benitez hailed Liverpool's advance into the next stage of the Champions League with a 3-0 victory over Bordeaux, but still managed words of reconciliation with former club chairman Noel White.
White resigned from his position as a club director tonight in the wake of the previously anonymous boardroom attack on the Anfield boss.
White was quoted last week in the media initially as an unnamed director, criticising Benitez's management methods.
That attack had cast a shadow over the build-up to this Group C match, eventually won convincingly 3-0 by Liverpool to retain top spot in the group on goal difference from PSV Eindhoven.
But hours before the match White had admitted he was the director involved, and offered his resignation.
Benitez said: 'It is a pity, I have not had a bad relationship with Noel White, and I am sorry this has happened. Now, though, I would prefer to look to the future.
'The important thing is the club, and such things as this do not normally happen here. This is a big club and there is a way of doing things here. But I am sorry that it has had to end this way.'
Benitez then turned to his side's victory, which puts them in the next stage with two games to spare.
He said: 'This is important for us, and it gives us the chance now to go on and win the group in our next match here against PSV Eindhoven. Then we can maybe make changes for the last game and give young players European experience.'
On the red card for Fernando Menegazzo, who headbutted full-back John Arne Riise, Benitez said: 'It was a headbutt and you could see the blood. You do not like to see things like that on the pitch, you prefer to talk about good football.'
And Benitez was delighted to see Steven Gerrard break his club goalscoring duck for the season, saying: 'Maybe now we can see the best of Steven, he will be calmer now he has scored. When you have finished one season with 23 goals and not scored for a few games, it does become something that prays on your mind.'
Bordeaux coach Ricardo Gomes blamed Fernando's red card for his side's demise.
Ricardo said: 'The sending-off for Fernando was the turning point, we were disappointed that Liverpool raced away from a throw and did not give the ball back to us after a stoppage. That was not fair play.
'But it was an incident that you cannot condone, in the end it gave Liverpool the extra man and the incentive to go on and win the game. Beforehand we certainly had a chance of an equaliser.
'Our plans to attack were not helped by losing (Marouane) Chamakh early on, it meant an inexperienced player going into a very important game.
'Now we are out of the Champions League, but we have two games left in the group and we must make sure that we qualify for the UEFA Cup by taking third place in the group.
'The fact that we have not scored in the Champions League shows that we are not quite ready yet for the higher level, but I feel that with some adjustments we will be much better in a couple of seasons.'
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White resigned from his position as a club director tonight in the wake of the previously anonymous boardroom attack on the Anfield boss.
White was quoted last week in the media initially as an unnamed director, criticising Benitez's management methods.
That attack had cast a shadow over the build-up to this Group C match, eventually won convincingly 3-0 by Liverpool to retain top spot in the group on goal difference from PSV Eindhoven.
But hours before the match White had admitted he was the director involved, and offered his resignation.
Benitez said: 'It is a pity, I have not had a bad relationship with Noel White, and I am sorry this has happened. Now, though, I would prefer to look to the future.
'The important thing is the club, and such things as this do not normally happen here. This is a big club and there is a way of doing things here. But I am sorry that it has had to end this way.'
Benitez then turned to his side's victory, which puts them in the next stage with two games to spare.
He said: 'This is important for us, and it gives us the chance now to go on and win the group in our next match here against PSV Eindhoven. Then we can maybe make changes for the last game and give young players European experience.'
On the red card for Fernando Menegazzo, who headbutted full-back John Arne Riise, Benitez said: 'It was a headbutt and you could see the blood. You do not like to see things like that on the pitch, you prefer to talk about good football.'
And Benitez was delighted to see Steven Gerrard break his club goalscoring duck for the season, saying: 'Maybe now we can see the best of Steven, he will be calmer now he has scored. When you have finished one season with 23 goals and not scored for a few games, it does become something that prays on your mind.'
Bordeaux coach Ricardo Gomes blamed Fernando's red card for his side's demise.
Ricardo said: 'The sending-off for Fernando was the turning point, we were disappointed that Liverpool raced away from a throw and did not give the ball back to us after a stoppage. That was not fair play.
'But it was an incident that you cannot condone, in the end it gave Liverpool the extra man and the incentive to go on and win the game. Beforehand we certainly had a chance of an equaliser.
'Our plans to attack were not helped by losing (Marouane) Chamakh early on, it meant an inexperienced player going into a very important game.
'Now we are out of the Champions League, but we have two games left in the group and we must make sure that we qualify for the UEFA Cup by taking third place in the group.
'The fact that we have not scored in the Champions League shows that we are not quite ready yet for the higher level, but I feel that with some adjustments we will be much better in a couple of seasons.'
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