Fabio Aurelio has seen a future without Rafael Benitez – and warned Liverpool to do all they can to ensure it doesn’t happen any time soon.
Ever since the Champions League draw paired the Anfield outfit with Real Madrid, it was inevitable the subject of Benitez would become a significant sideshow to the game.
Madrid are long time suitors of the Liverpool manager, who spent 16 years at the Bernabeu as a player and then coach.
And the longer Benitez’s proposed new contract remains unsigned, the greater the intrigue builds over his whereabouts after the end of the season.
For Aurelio, though, there should be no debate. “In my opinion it is essential that Liverpool must try to keep him,” says the Brazilian. “Every year he has been here, the squad has improved.
“In almost every year he has got to the final stages of the Champions League and we have been getting closer to the title.”
Aurelio knows all about the influence of Benitez, having played under the Spaniard during his three-year spell in charge at Valencia.
Benitez ended the club’s 31-year wait for the La Liga crown in his first season before two years later again beating Real Madrid and Barcelona to the Spanish title while also lifting the Uefa Cup.
Anfield then came calling with the prospect of a fresh challenge. But while Liverpool have undoubtedly prospered since Benitez’s arrival in the summer of 2004, so Valencia’s fortunes have deteriorated.
Aurelio stayed on for a further two seasons in which the Uefa Super Cup was won before joining his former manager at Anfield in 2006, after which Valencia have only a Copa Del Rey to show for their efforts.
Such is the hole left by Benitez, the Mestalla outfit are now on their fourth manager since his departure and currently stand in eighth place, some 24 points behind leaders Barcelona.
And Aurelio says: “Rafa was key to the success Valencia had. We didn’t have a squad with big names but we have a competitive squad, and Rafa coached his players really well.
“Maybe the success of Valencia was 70-80% because of Benitez.
“It was a big disappointment for Valencia when Rafa left. He came from a second division team and in his first season there he won La Liga, the first time Valencia had won it in 31 years.
“Then in his third season he won La Liga again and the Uefa Cup. Everybody was really excited about Rafa and the work he was doing. But he decided to move to Liverpool and another challenge.
“After he left, everybody was comparing the coaches with Rafa. He won 10 games in a row there, so everybody was expecting the next coach to win 11.
“That affected Valencia a lot as what he did there, nobody could repeat.”
Benitez will aim to better Madrid once again when Liverpool aim for the quarter-finals of the Champions League this evening.
Aurelio was one of the star performers of the 1-0 first-leg win in the Bernabeu a fortnight ago, creating the winner for Yossi Benayoun and negating the threat of dangerous Madrid winger Arjen Robben.
But the modest left-back says: “It was not only me that stopped Robben, it was the team; Riera helped and Mascherano closed down the space.
“Everybody was working together to make the game easier.
“Rafa told all of the defenders that Madrid have got individualists up front that can win games.”
The Champions League once more represents Liverpool’s most likely route to silverware given the manner in which their Premier League title challenge has floundered during the past two months.
Benitez’s side visit leaders Manchester United on Saturday in the knowledge anything but a victory would effectively signal the end of their championship hopes.
“It’s fair to say the next week will make or break our season,” admits Aurelio. “We can just concentrate on the Madrid game for now, but if we can get through to the quarter-finals then it will be a massive confidence boost for the team and can help us in our game against United.
“The United game is our last chance to show we can still be in the title race and it’s important to gain confidence going into that game.”
Aurelio adds: “When you are at a big club such as Liverpool then you know you will be fighting for the big challenges such as the final of the Champions League and trying to win the Premier League.
“Liverpool have shown in the last few years that the Champions League is a competition we like and know how to play in it. We’ve still got a lot to do in the Premier League. We have a small chance of winning the league but we’re going to have beat United and Villa. But you need to handle that kind of pressure when you are at Liverpool.”
Liverpool are hopeful Fernando Torres will have recovered from the ankle injury he sustained in the first-leg win at Bernabeu and which has kept him out of the subsequent two games. And Aurelio says: “It’s important to have Fernando back. He’s one of our key players, and he’s especially keen to play against Madrid who have always been a rival to him. He wants to show Madrid what he is capable of doing.
“Fernando has quality, he has pace and is a good finisher. With Madrid having to go forward we will have more space behind their defence and Fernando can be a key player for us.”
Aurelio is one of several Liverpool players who are out of contract at the end of next season, their situation mirroring that of the manager to increase the air of uncertainty surrounding Anfield.
“I feel very good here and if the club wants me to stay for longer than I would like to stay longer,” says the Brazilian.
“To be honest, I am not worried that talks over a possible new deal haven’t started yet.”
He added: “I have had some problems with injuries in the past and I am just enjoying the moment of playing in these big games.”
Ever since the Champions League draw paired the Anfield outfit with Real Madrid, it was inevitable the subject of Benitez would become a significant sideshow to the game.
Madrid are long time suitors of the Liverpool manager, who spent 16 years at the Bernabeu as a player and then coach.
And the longer Benitez’s proposed new contract remains unsigned, the greater the intrigue builds over his whereabouts after the end of the season.
For Aurelio, though, there should be no debate. “In my opinion it is essential that Liverpool must try to keep him,” says the Brazilian. “Every year he has been here, the squad has improved.
“In almost every year he has got to the final stages of the Champions League and we have been getting closer to the title.”
Aurelio knows all about the influence of Benitez, having played under the Spaniard during his three-year spell in charge at Valencia.
Benitez ended the club’s 31-year wait for the La Liga crown in his first season before two years later again beating Real Madrid and Barcelona to the Spanish title while also lifting the Uefa Cup.
Anfield then came calling with the prospect of a fresh challenge. But while Liverpool have undoubtedly prospered since Benitez’s arrival in the summer of 2004, so Valencia’s fortunes have deteriorated.
Aurelio stayed on for a further two seasons in which the Uefa Super Cup was won before joining his former manager at Anfield in 2006, after which Valencia have only a Copa Del Rey to show for their efforts.
Such is the hole left by Benitez, the Mestalla outfit are now on their fourth manager since his departure and currently stand in eighth place, some 24 points behind leaders Barcelona.
And Aurelio says: “Rafa was key to the success Valencia had. We didn’t have a squad with big names but we have a competitive squad, and Rafa coached his players really well.
“Maybe the success of Valencia was 70-80% because of Benitez.
“It was a big disappointment for Valencia when Rafa left. He came from a second division team and in his first season there he won La Liga, the first time Valencia had won it in 31 years.
“Then in his third season he won La Liga again and the Uefa Cup. Everybody was really excited about Rafa and the work he was doing. But he decided to move to Liverpool and another challenge.
“After he left, everybody was comparing the coaches with Rafa. He won 10 games in a row there, so everybody was expecting the next coach to win 11.
“That affected Valencia a lot as what he did there, nobody could repeat.”
Benitez will aim to better Madrid once again when Liverpool aim for the quarter-finals of the Champions League this evening.
Aurelio was one of the star performers of the 1-0 first-leg win in the Bernabeu a fortnight ago, creating the winner for Yossi Benayoun and negating the threat of dangerous Madrid winger Arjen Robben.
But the modest left-back says: “It was not only me that stopped Robben, it was the team; Riera helped and Mascherano closed down the space.
“Everybody was working together to make the game easier.
“Rafa told all of the defenders that Madrid have got individualists up front that can win games.”
The Champions League once more represents Liverpool’s most likely route to silverware given the manner in which their Premier League title challenge has floundered during the past two months.
Benitez’s side visit leaders Manchester United on Saturday in the knowledge anything but a victory would effectively signal the end of their championship hopes.
“It’s fair to say the next week will make or break our season,” admits Aurelio. “We can just concentrate on the Madrid game for now, but if we can get through to the quarter-finals then it will be a massive confidence boost for the team and can help us in our game against United.
“The United game is our last chance to show we can still be in the title race and it’s important to gain confidence going into that game.”
Aurelio adds: “When you are at a big club such as Liverpool then you know you will be fighting for the big challenges such as the final of the Champions League and trying to win the Premier League.
“Liverpool have shown in the last few years that the Champions League is a competition we like and know how to play in it. We’ve still got a lot to do in the Premier League. We have a small chance of winning the league but we’re going to have beat United and Villa. But you need to handle that kind of pressure when you are at Liverpool.”
Liverpool are hopeful Fernando Torres will have recovered from the ankle injury he sustained in the first-leg win at Bernabeu and which has kept him out of the subsequent two games. And Aurelio says: “It’s important to have Fernando back. He’s one of our key players, and he’s especially keen to play against Madrid who have always been a rival to him. He wants to show Madrid what he is capable of doing.
“Fernando has quality, he has pace and is a good finisher. With Madrid having to go forward we will have more space behind their defence and Fernando can be a key player for us.”
Aurelio is one of several Liverpool players who are out of contract at the end of next season, their situation mirroring that of the manager to increase the air of uncertainty surrounding Anfield.
“I feel very good here and if the club wants me to stay for longer than I would like to stay longer,” says the Brazilian.
“To be honest, I am not worried that talks over a possible new deal haven’t started yet.”
He added: “I have had some problems with injuries in the past and I am just enjoying the moment of playing in these big games.”
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