Source: Telegraph
Rafael Benitez's new Liverpool deal is best victory of all for fans
First the obliteration of Real Madrid, then the rout at Old Trafford, and now Rafa Benitez finally, after months of nerve-shredding wrangling, committing his next five years to Anfield. The red half of Merseyside need no longer live in perpetual fear of losing its messiah. [LNB]Like Kenny Dalglish, Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly before him, Benitez has spent half a decade becoming symbiotic with his club. No individual is bigger than any team, but at Liverpool, the manager comes close. The ornate, gilded portrait known as the Rafatollah, paraded with a slightly irreverent religious devotion by sections of the club's support, is testament to the fervour with which he is worshipped. [LNB] Related ArticlesBenitez signs new £20m Anfield deal[LNB]Inside Rafa's new deal[LNB]Gerrard does not fear English rivals[LNB]Tempers flare as Arsenal beat Hull[LNB]Cesc Fabregas and the death of the club blazer[LNB]Top 10: Footballing 'spats'[LNB]Their faith has been tested through the saga. Sympathy with him was almost unanimous in November, when talks started. But as negotiations dragged on, with the Spaniard seemingly throwing obstacle after obstacle, demand after demand, at Tom Hicks and George Gillett, it has wavered. [LNB]First it was his own power in setting valuations in the transfer market. Then the length of contracts offered to players, or his assistants. Then, it seemed – though all sides deny it – the issue switched to become Rick Parry. Then, impossibly, he wanted demands over what might happen should Hicks and Gillett leave. [LNB]More or less, the faithful stood by Benitez, believing him the only one of Anfield's powerbrokers who knows what the club truly means. They have had enough false dawns and new beginnings. A new manager would only bring more five-year plans, more corners turned, more upheaval, as United disappear off into the distance. No wonder the mood among the support is exultant, ecstatic. [LNB]Benitez no doubt feels the same. Sources close to the talks insist there was no deal-breaker that made him sign, simply an acknowledgement that all was to his wishes. He has been granted the powerbase which he feels he needs to build a club he undoubtedly loves into the force he wants it to be. [LNB]In his statement last night, he thanked Hicks and Gillett for their work in finally thrashing a deal out. It is to the former, rather than the latter, that he should send the flowers. Hicks remains deeply unpopular, but it is he, not his partner, who has backed Benitez throughout. [LNB]The irony will not be lost on the Kop. They have been granted their saviour, but he was delivered by their devil. The champagne will have been uncorked in yesterday's Texan sun, too. Benitez and his supporters have come through a battle, but the scale of Hicks's boardroom victory makes the demolition of United on Saturday look like a close-run thing. [LNB]There is now no question over who will win the feud between Hicks and Gillett. First, Parry, a close ally of the latter, fell and in his stead, come summer, will be a replacement authorised by Hicks. Now, reportedly against Gillett's wishes, Benitez has the new contract Hicks suggested 18 months ago. It was Gillett, not Hicks, who was reluctant to cave in to the Spaniard's demands. That he has done so is not only a triumph for Hicks, but yet more evidence that Gillett is preparing to walk away.[LNB]But he is the only loser in a week of stunning wins. The glory of beating Real and United will take time to wear off, but it may just be that Liverpool saved the most enduring triumph for last. [LNB]
