Forty-five minutes in Florence that shook Liverpool FC boss Rafa Benitez

03 October 2009 04:00
NO tantrums, no flying tea cups, no turning the air blue - what could be more appropriate than Rafa Benitez discussing a half-time team talk before his first domestic showdown with Carlo Ancelotti? Liverpool's manager got a chance to view '15 Minutes That Shook The World' earlier this week - the spoof movie that was made to commemorate that unforgettable night in Istanbul - and it offered some light relief after a particularly miserable trip to Florence. Defying the odds to topple Ancelotti's AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final is, without doubt, the finest moment of his five-year career at Anfield but, in terms of playing in Europe, that first 45 minutes on Tuesday evening must rank as one of his worst memories. There is little doubt he was agitated by what he had witnessed in the Artemio Franchi Stadium and Fabio Aurelio's declaration that Benitez was 'angrier' than he had ever seen him has fuelled ideas that the Reds boss has been smouldering with rage at Melwood in the time since. Benitez, however, was in high spirits yesterday, looking forward to a trip to Stamford Bridge that offers the perfect opportunity to banish that flop against Fiorentina and is confident that he will get the desired response from his players. Chelsea, as always, will be formidable opponents on home turf but provided there is the collective improvement that Benitez anticipates, he sees no reason why Liverpool cannot go to the King's Road and cause problems for Ancelotti and Company. 'We had a team talk at half-time that was normal,' said Benitez, smiling as he emphasised the last word. 'It wasn't so bad. The reaction of the team was very positive; after the game, we were talking about the bad performance and the improvements we need to make. 'That's it. Now we have been training, trying to adjust things so we can correct the mistakes that we made so we can improve. We have analysed everything and we have had meetings with our staff. 'At the end of the game, I heard people talking about this player not doing well or that player not doing well but it's not just one or two - there are too many players not doing well, so all the staff are involved. 'I would like to see the team play as they did in the second half against Fiorentina, winning almost every challenge and creating a lot of chances. We had 13 chances in the second half, compared to one in the first, so it was much better.'

Source: Liverpool_Echo