"When I was at Madrid I couldn't say that": Ex-Real Madrid boss names Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard as best player he ever coached
Ex-Real Madrid coach Rafael Benitez named Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard as the best player he ever coached.
Speaking via The Overlap, Benitez revealed that he could not say it while being with Los Blancos, but can admit it now.
"The best player I ever coached was Steven Gerrard. When I was at Madrid I couldn't say that, but now I can say that," Benitez said.
Rafael Benitez has coached multiple big teams, including Liverpool and Real Madrid in his tenure. The Spaniard served as the Reds' boss between 2004 and 2010, when he worked with Gerrard for six years.
Widely considered one of the greatest Liverpool legends, Steven Gerrard made 710 appearances for the Merseysiders, scoring 185 goals and recording 155 assists. Gerrard won the UEFA Champions League in the 2004-05 season under Benitez's guidance.
Later in his career, Benitez served as the Real Madrid manager for a portion of the 2015-16 season, before being sacked. The Spanish coach also worked as a youth coach for Real Madrid Castilla in his early years. Apart from the two big clubs, Benitez also worked with Napoli, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Everton, and most recently, La Liga side Celta Vigo.
When former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp hailed Real Madrid as a 'huge team' ahead of UCL clash
Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp once hailed Real Madrid as a huge team with nothing negative to stop them ahead of facing the Spanish giants in the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg.
At the time of Klopp's comments, the Reds were 5-2 down in the first leg. The German manager spoke about the main problem of facing Real Madrid in the UCL. He said (via MARCA):
"We have to watch out for their counters, but Vinicius can't be controlled all the time. The big problem was their counter attacks. We'll try to do what we did in the first half."
Further, Klopp praised Carlo Ancelotti's then-squad, while specifically mentioning Luka Modric and Karim Benzema.
"They are a huge team. Nothing negative can beat them. They have all my respect. It's an incredible generation. Modric can play until he's 45, like Modric, Benzema.... And he has the youngsters," Klopp said.
The former Liverpool boss also believed that irrespective of Los Blancos' starting XI, nothing changes for the most consistent team in the UEFA Champions League. The Spanish giants boats of a record 15 UCL titles, the highest for any club in the competition's history.
"We're talking about a great club, but we've learned things against them that can make us stronger. We've seen their league games. But they don't change, they are good at everything. It doesn't matter the XI or the way they approach matches," the German admitted back in 2023.
Jurgen Klopp's fears turned out to be true, as the Reds were unable to make a comeback against Los Blancos in the second-leg tie that season. They lost 1-0 (6-2 on aggregate) to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, as the latter proceeded to the quarter-final.
However, Manchester City eventually picked up their first UEFA Champions League title that season after defeating the Spanish giants on a 5-1 aggregate in the semi-final, before winning 1-0 against Inter Milan in the final.