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The Mirror are reporting that José Mourinho is being lined up to replace Rafa Benitez should the Spaniard refuse to sign a new deal at Anfield.
Associates of Tom Hicks are reported to have made contact with Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes to sound out the Portuguese over a Summer move.
Frank Rijkaard, Carlo Ancelotti and former Sven Göran Eriksson are also being sounded out for the position, but Mourinho remains first choice should Benitez depart.
The former Chelsea manager has made no secret of his admiration for English football and also of Liverpool and the history of the club. Despite taking Inter Milan to a nine-point lead in Serie A, the ‘Special One’ is said to be pining for a return to the Premiership and could see this as the perfect opportunity to do so.
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The Liverpool Echo is reporting that Rick Parry’s departure from Anfield will be officially announced today.
The Anfield Chief Executive will not depart immediately, however. He is likely to remain in his position until the season’s end.
Speculation is mounting that this is a result of Rafa Benitez’s contract negotiations, but the real reason is said to be his untenable relationship with Tom Hicks.
No replacement has been spoken of at this time.
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Albert Riera has spoken of his relief at not getting in the way of Yossi Benayoun’s winning header at the Bernabeu last night.
“I was just in front of Yossi,” said Riera. “I think Higuain touched me and that made a bit of space for Yossi, so I left the ball for him and he made a great contact.”
“It was a great header and a really important goal for us so you have to give Yossi a lot of credit for that It was really good to see the ball hit the back of the net because we know how important away goals can be.”
“It was the most important moment and it was a big victory for us because it means that maybe now we have a little bit of an advantage – but it is not a massive advantage.”
“We made the game uncomfortable for Real Madrid because we knew that was what we had to do if we were to give ourselves a good chance.”
“We always feel that we have a chance because we have some great players and we were waiting for the big moment to come and when it did we were delighted.”
Riera insists Liverpool are not clear favourites to progress, despite taking the away goal back to Anfield – and the fact that Liverpool have never been knocked out of Europe after winning the first leg away from home.
“In big games like this no-one is ever the favourite – it comes down to what happens on the pitch on the night,” he added.
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Rafael Benitez has spoken of his delight at seeing his Liverpool side claim a much-deserved victory over his former employers Real Madrid.
“This was a very important victory,” he said. “Particularly as we did not have Steven Gerrard, and Fernando Torres was troubled by an ankle injury from the first minute.”
“But we were able to play them on the counter-attack. We knew how Real play and we were able to organise our tactics.”
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Rafael Benitez has stated his desire to remain at Anfield and sign the long protracted four year contract that he has been negotiating with Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
A sticking point is still believed to be Rick Parry’s position, however.
“My lawyers and advisors have been talking to the club’s owners over the past few days about the contract and I believe that problems we have can be overcome.” the Spaniard said.
“I was very surprised to hear rumours that I was going to resign. I can assure you that I have not been considering such a move, and it was a shock to hear such suggestions.”
“It needs to be clear that I was not thinking of resigning. My aim is to keep working and winning and to tell the owners that on the pitch.”
Benitez has been locked in talks with owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks over a new four-year deal for several weeks.
“I expect talks to continue between my lawyers, my advisors, myself and the owners,” added Benitez.
“I am really pleased with my position at the club, I have not been thinking about resigning.”
“My aim is to win every game that is possible for this club, and my advisors will continue to talk. We will see what happens then.”
“We are still talking, so we will see what happens in the future.”
“I was not thinking about resigning, obviously I cannot control other things that I could be fired, but I was just concentrating on the game.”
“The club has made it clear this rumour was not true. That is important for everyone. Stability is the key if you want to be successful.”
“And the players were able to do their talking on the pitch, not beforehand.”
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Alvaro Arbeloa has told Liverpoolfc.tv that he is delighted with a winning return to Real Madrid – the club he grew up at.
“It was a bit special returning here, but once the whistle goes you have to forget about all that and focus on the game. We are really happy – it’s a great result.”
“We played to win the game, but it’s always difficult to win here. We performed well and have given ourselves a good chance of eliminating Real Madrid.”
Arbeloa believes Real Madrid will be desperate to win at Anfield in two weeks time.
“The goal was really important. Now they have to beat us at Anfield. That is difficult for any team and I think the atmosphere will be much better than it was at the Bernabeu.”
Arbeloa pointed out that the Reds managed to score the winner without Torres and Gerrard on the field.
“We know they are really important for us but we have other good players, Yossi scored a really good goal and the team played very well.” he concluded.
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Rafael Benitez has explained why he deployed Steven Gerrard as a substitute and not a starter in Madrid last night.
“Clearly Stevie needed to do a special warm-up in the dressing room with the physios.”
“Afterwards he was doing the normal warm-up with the other players. He needed to do something special beforehand but still he was not fully fit.”
“We knew it could be a problem so, after talking with the doctor and the player, it was decided he could play maybe a few minutes at the end.”
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Jamie Carragher stated his pleasure at seeing his Liverpool side score a vital away goal to gain the victory they deserved last night in Spain against Real Madrid.
“Away goals are massive in Europe and that means they’ve got to get one now in the second leg. If they
come at us it’ll give us more space and make it easier.” said the vice-captain.
“We have done well in this competition by being organised. We are one of the best organised teams in this competition. That’s why we’ve done well in the last few years and we’ve done it again tonight. That’s just what we came for – a clean sheet and an away goal.”
“But it’s only half time, you know. They know what they’ve got to do and that’s come to Anfield and score, so it’s still game on.”
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Javier Mascherano has insisted that Liverpool win still be gunning for a second win over Real Madrid when the sides reconvene at Anfield in two weeks time.
“This win will not change how we approach the second leg, at least that’s the mentality we must have.”
“We must confront that game in the same manner with the same intensity. But we are happy with how we played tonight, and especially with the way we reacted after hearing news that Steven Gerrard would not start the match and after Fernando Torres had to leave with an injury.”
“There’s still another 90 minutes to play and it is going to be very intense. But for now, we are very happy and we can celebrate this away win.” concluded the Argentine.
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Bernabeu hero Yossi Benayoun insists that the job is only half done and the Reds need to finish off Real Madrid at Anfield in two weeks time.
“Of course I am happy because it was very nice to score such an important goal. But the main thing was the win because it was a great result for us.”
“For now, though, we must remember that there is still one more game to go and we must finish the job at Anfield.”
“Winning the game 1-0 means that we have confidence that we can go through but we cannot afford to think that the tie is finished because Real Madrid have a lot of good players and we know we will have to work hard to complete the job. Real are one of the biggest clubs in the world and they are capable of winning anywhere, but hopefully we will do play well again and hopefully we will win and go through to the next round.” said the Israeli.
The midfielder scored an historic winner after 82 minutes in only the second competitive encounter between two of the most successful clubs in football.
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Fernando Torres could be set for a spell on the injury table after limping out of another game.
The Spaniard was subbed after an hour against Real Madrid last night and could be set to miss Liverpool’s next two or three matches – another blow to flagging title hopes.
Boss Rafa Benitez admitted that the situation looks bad:
“With Torres, we don’t know. Probably, he will miss some games.” said Benitez.
“We have one game in three days’ time (at Middlesbrough) so it will be difficult for him to be ready.”
Filed under: News
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Sky Sports News are reporting that Brazilian midfielder Lucas is likely to start ahead of captain Steven Gerrard.
The Reds captain is reportedly likely to miss out thanks to a lack of fitness going into the biggest game of Liverpool’s season.
The likely eleven is:
Jose Reina
Alvaro Arbeloa
Jamie Carragher
Martin Skrtel
Fabio Aurelio
Javier Mascherano
Lucas
Xabi Alonso
Albert Riera
Dirk Kuyt
Fernando Torres
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Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish will reportedly be offered the Anfield hotseat until the end of the season should Rafael Benitez leave this week.
Rumours are gathering that the Spaniard will depart Anfield this week after all major betting companies suspended betting on Benitez’s exit.
Dalglish, who left Anfield in 1991, is said to be unlikely to step in should Benitez leave as he is said to be a big fan of the Spaniard and would not want to offend him by taking the role.
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Guillem Balague has spoken on the rumours that Rafael Benitez will be sacked this week, on his website www.guillembalague.com
“In the last few hours the site has been inundated with emails asking if I can shed any light on the rumour that Rafa Benítez is on the brink of being sacked by Liverpool Football Club this evening.”
“There are reports that betting has been suspended on this particular market and the rumour that Benitez will be gone by the morning has spread like wildfire around the Liverpool supporters out here in Madrid and on the internet.”
“If I am honest, I am not entirely comfortable indulging in these stories at the moment as there is so much mis-information being spread around that it is impossible to respond accurately to every single report or rumour. However, because of the number of people who are getting in touch with us today, I feel I should respond.”
“I can say with absolute certainty, categorically, that Rafa Benitez will not be sacked as manager of Liverpool this evening and that these rumours are not true.”
“At the moment, the situation is delicate – and there have been developments with regard to the ongoing contractual negotiations at Anfield – and this is something that we will discuss here, on the website, once the Real Madrid fixture has been concluded in a couple of weeks time.”
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Top bookmakers have suspended betting on Rafael Benitez’s future after a flurry of bets that predicted he would leave Anfield before the end of the weekend.
The timing of this news is not good given the Reds Champions League encounter with Spanish giants Real Madrid just hours away.
Benitez has been in contract negotiations with Tom Hicks and George Gillett for several months now, with no resolution found and he is said to believe he will need to find new employment should they fail to agree terms before the Summer arrives.
The Americans agreed to offer the Spaniard new terms late last year, but each time paperwork arrived Benitez was aggrieved by verbally agreed points being replaced by differing terms, according to sources.
The Spaniard started coaching at Real Madrid in 1986 and went on to become a first-team coach under Vicente Del Bosque in the mid nineties. With current boss Juande Ramos only on a contract until the end of the season, the Bernabeu club could see this Summer as the time to make their move for Benitez.
Liverpool executive Rick Parry has been at the centre of this struggle, with Benitez wanting Parry to be removed from transfer negotiations as the manager believes he is to blame for the failure of many deals at Anfield.
Rupert Adams, a spokesman for William Hill, said: “We are slightly jumpy after being turned over by the recent Weymouth coup but the level of interest on Rafa getting the sack is unprecedented with over 300 calls logged today alone.”
“We would be very surprised if he is still the Liverpool boss by midnight on Sunday.”
