Ex-Liverpool star explains why he hates Rafa Benitez for what he did after Istanbul triumph
One former Liverpool defender has admitted he resents Rafa Benitez for his treatment of him prior to the club’s UEFA Champions League success in Istanbul.
Argubly known as one of the Reds most famous nights in their stored history, a masterclass from Steven Gerrard saw Liverpool beat AC Milan on penalties in the 2005 final.
Jerzy Dudek famously denied Ukranian legend Andriy Shevchenko to ensure glory in Turkey but an ex-player has since admitted he does not see Benitez in the same way many others do.
“His man-management’s horrendous. Tactically, brilliant. Man-management, zero.
“Absolutely no idea how to speak to anyone. It was summed up by Istanbul, it was an absolute disgrace how he treated me and a few of the other lads.
“He just didn’t care,” Stephen Warnock recently told the Under the Cosh Podcast.
Although initially named in the 18-man squad, the now 42-year-old lost his place to Josemi and therefore was snubbed of a whopping £200,000 bonus.
Still bitter to this day, Warnock detailed how even in the build-up to the game he had his suspicions.
“We were training for two weeks before the final in Istanbul,” he added.
“Two days before you travel, you get a squad list of 18 players, the first 11 and seven subs.
“You knew if you were either playing or on the bench, there was no two or three added players whose jobs were just to travel.
Stephen Warnock in action for Liverpool back in 2006 (Image: Getty)
“I remember running in after the last training session thinking, ‘please be in’. My name was on the squad list and I’m thinking, ‘f****** hell, Champions League final and I’m on the bench, or I’m playing’, so I ran outside to call my family to tell them to book plane tickets.
“At home, I’m packing everything to get ready and then my phone goes. It was Pako Ayestaran who was the No 2 to Rafa. He goes, ‘we’ve made a mistake on the squad list, you’re not in it’. I was like, ‘what?!’. He (Benitez) didn’t even have the bollocks to ring me and I was like, ‘you f***** coward’. I was fuming.”
“The team travelled out, played the game, and he said to me, ‘I’ll speak to you next week’.
“He didn’t apologise. It shouldn’t have come into it, but it did, our bonus was massive. It was £100,000 to lose it and £200,000 to win it. That’s a massive amount of money for me at that time.
“[Steven] Gerrard said, ‘We’ll make sure you get your money’. I’ve still not seen it. Why say it?
“It was hard for me because I grew up supporting Liverpool, standing on the Kop, but I was thinking, ‘I f***** hate this team’.
“I didn’t necessarily hate the team, but I hated Rafa. I was so happy for the lads, but I was also p***** off.”
