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What they say of him in previous years

UEFA site january 2003 (www.uefa.com)

Comment when being third as coach of the team of the year 2002

If Spain's Primera División is the toughest league in Europe - and the last few years' UEFA Champions League results suggest that it may well be - then the coach that masterminds a title triumph is in the continental elite. And to do it in your first season in charge, as Rafael Benítez did with Valencia CF in 2001/02, enhances further that status. What has impressed about the performances of Benítez's team this year domestically and in the Champions League has not only been the fact they have overcome the likes of Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona, RC Deportivo La Coruña to win the Spanish title, and then outclassed Liverpool FC among others in Europe, but the style with which they have done it. Spearheaded by Pablo Aimar, Miguel Angulo and this season the resurrected John Carew, Valencia have played an expansive, attacking game that has led many to suggest they can go one better than in 2000 and 2001 and win the Champions League.

3-10-02. Sergio Aspas in the newspaper “El Mundo”: Mestalla is passing it to him pretty. Their team is leader in Europe and in Spain, and it is gorging of marking goals. That of yesterday was a drunkenness and that that their success gives expensive to door was in interdict. Benítez continues breaking registrations in a surrendered city to his feet.
Article published in Futvol.com on Sunday, 25-8-02. 
STATISTICAL

Benítez overcomes Cúper and Ranieri

Rafa Benítez that last Sunday in Riazor reached the means hundred of official matches in the stool of the Valencia, he presents some superior statistics in all the facets, in this time, to those of his two predecessors in the position, the Argentinean Cúper and the Italian Ranieri.

Although the coach from Madrid could not take place in a worse way his party number 50 to the front of the Valencia, after the defeat for 3-0 againts the Deortivo in the encounter of going of the final one of the Supercup of Spain, the general balance of Benítez is very positive.  
To the margin of the statistics, to the current coach from the Valencia he has been enough him 50 encounters to win the title of League, while Cúper won the Supercup and Ranieri in fact needed more encounters to add the title of the King's Cup, although the current coach of the Chelsea didn't have the opportunity to begin his journey in the entity of Valencia from the beginning of season, since he substituted in the position to Jorge Valdano, after the third day of League of the campaign 97-98. 
The last three coachs from the Valencia participated in four different competitions during their first 50 maches to the front of the team in Mestalla, although the one that had to confront a bigger demand in the level of tournaments Cúper that the only one that participated in the maximum continental competition of clubs, the Champions League of Campeones.  
According to the official statistics, Rafa Benítez and Claudio Ranieri got the same number of victories in its first 50 matches, with a total of 26, although the coach from Madrid achieved a more ones, but the undue alignment of Dennis Serban in the match of Kin's Cup againts the Novelda, in which the Valencia was imposed by 0-1, it caused that the result was varied by a 3-0 favorable to the team of Alicante. For against, Héctor Cúper the one that less victories harvested was, 21, although the one that tied more encounters with a balance of sixteen, for fifteen of Benítez and eight of Ranieri. 
The technician from Madrid also overcomes his predecessors in the section of defeats, since the Valencia only lost in eight occasions during its 50 matches in the stool, while the team of Cúper lost five more encounters and that of Ranieri twice as much that the Spanish coach, with sixteen. 
Under the direction of Benítez, the team of Valencia also presents the best registrations in the section of goals, as much in the logged ones as in those received, after to mark 86 goals and to receive 37. The Valencia of Cúper was the less scorer with 72, for 81 of the stage of Ranieri. In the defensive section, the first 50 encounters of Benítez present a very superior balance to that of Ranieri and Cúper, since with the Argentinean technician the Valencia inserted 51 goals and with Italian a total of 59.  
Regarding the biggest number of goals to favor and in against, in the stage of Benítez the amplest victory arrived in the Cup of the UEFA, when he was imposed by 6-1 to the Legia of Warsaw, while the biggest result in against it was in fact in his last match in the Supercup, where the Deportivo became the first team able to mark three goals to the Valencia since Benítez arrived to the stool. With Héctor Cúper, the biggest number of goals to favo was in the League againts the Numancia, to which defeated for 4-0, while in against the most adverse result it was also of 3-0, fit againts the Manchester United in the Gampions League and in front of Osasuna in the King's Guo. Claudio Ranieri got his best and worse registration in the League, after to win for 6-1 to the Racing of Santander and to lose for 6-0 againts the Salamanca.
David Belenguer, he was low their orders in the Real Madrid Sub-19 and later on in the Extremadura C.F., at the moment he is player of the Betis: "When you make the balance of one year, you realize that with him you have learned many things. He is the most professional coach that I have been in my trajectory like player"

Page official Web of the C.D. Tenerife: “he accumulated the best average of victories like visitor signed by a coach of the representative e in national category (ten victories in 21 matches).” 

“Benítez, an almost obsessive retailer, was distinguished to manage a numberless of punctual situations related with the strategy, the slate or the knowledge of the rivals that allowed the Tenerife to be exhibited as a winning team. Somewhere around, he got the attention of the Valencia that hee didn't doubt to register it to substitute Héctor Cúper.”

In the Daily Today (Hoy) of Extremadura, the 30-4-98 in letters to the director, Inés González, of Almendralejo, among other things says: “Thank you Mr. Benítez!. Rafa Benítez, our “mister” that he has made it phenomenal, good people and better coach, like he has demonstrated along the season” .