Holding a cup of coffee in his right hand, Rafa saluted the Sky Sports journalists outside his home in Merseyside today.
There are many rumours surrounding his future at Inter and it is looking more likely that he has been let go by the Italian outfit. The latest rumour going around suggests that his wife Montse told ‘friends’ on Facebook that Rafa received an email from Inter last night confirming that he was fired.
Will Rafa return to Liverpool F.C.?
As a gaffer I don’t think so however I am sure he will be dying to sneak into a game.
After all he one of us, a Liverpool supporter who bleeds LFC Red.
Y.N.W.A. Rafa
Feliz Navidad
-Antoine
On Twitter @empireofthekop
Who needs 4 or 5 players to improve a EUROPEAN TREBLE-WINNING SIDE?!!?!?!?
Guy’s ego was his own downfall. AGAIN.
Hes destroyed Inter in 5 months.
John,
Youre obviously a Rafa hater! Its been quite clear for some time that Rafa has wanted out of Inter!
Its like having a favorite child! One (Mourinho) you give riches and everything he asks for to achieve his goal. Whilst the other (Rafa) you give nothing!
Inter was the impossible job! He was onto a hiding to nothing with or without money!
The guy is quality period after all he’s done for the club why people like you revile him and praise all of our other managers is beyond me!
Its too late for Rafa but I’d have him over the present incumbent in a heartbeat.
Words aren’t enough to describe my respect and appreciation to Rafa… Welcome home :)
Rafa is a true gentleman and a great person – as for destroying Inter apart from injuries from what I can gather they have played better football under him..
I’d welcome him back..
YNWA
G&H is moron and morati is just another moron, how can Rafa compete if all the senior player at inter were injured??
welcome home boss..and Mr Henry please..please..do contact him!!i’ll take him everyday over our clueless Woy “it’s not my fault” Hodgson..
let so called Rafa ego bring back our glory day!!
siempre es posible
Yes, “destroyed” is the right word. Group stages of Champions League. Easily won Club World Cup. And potentially 7 points off the top with an injury list that includes Samuel, Cambiasso, Motta, Cesar, Maicon, Milito and Muntari. Only 4 regular starters available to Rafa most of the year.
Read the facts and not just the headlines.
I’d have Rafa back in a heartbeat. Top man!
Maybe a bit too early for him to come back but you cannot fault the man himself and his love for liverpool! He didnt even sell his house in liverpool and he donated a large sum of money to help local charities! Top man..Stubborn or not hes a true RED!
I support him and welcome him back..
Please NESV bring him back . Feliz Navidad RAFA
At least under Rafa’s reign, we had hope, kicked some big asses in Europe and saw some entertaining football (though we didn’t win them all). I was entertained… but not now under the current manager.
Be nice if he became involved with Liverpool again.
Rafa over Roy anytime. He might be a Red but he still jacked things up a bit before he left. Surely LFC could do better than either Roy or Rafa.
Roy’s saying he needs to buy players to make mark at Liverpool because these players wern’t his own.
Rafa coming in to new surroundings in the UK after living all his life in Spain in the 04/05 season how many of the team where his own players? Alonso, Garcia, Josemi, Nunez compare them with Roys Meireles, Konchesky, Brad Jones, Poulsen.
Konchesky better than Josemi, Poulsen Better than Nunez, ok Alonsos far superior than Meireles, but whichever way you look at it Rafa did not have his own team either yet we reached 2 finals that season and won 1 and only just lost the other bar Gerrards O.G, so Roys excuse doesn’t stick.
Some of you will come out and say Rafa inherited a better squad i disagree but if he did or not they wern’t his players but yet he got them playing well with his style and if they ddnt hed revert to plan B, but Roy can’t get them playing full stop and doesn’t have a back up plan, this is why he should be replaced……SACK ROY,BRING BACK THE JOY……YNWA
WELCOME BACK RAFA HAVE A GOOD CHRISTMAS!!!!!! AND ALL THE EOTK TEAM
are you kidding me? Roy is no match for Rafa.
Disgusted with some of the comments from Rafa Haters.
You hounded the man out of our club and look who we’ve got to replace him. You all listened to the press and followed them like sheep. They wanted him out because he was the one man capable of making Liverpool great.
He won things the first two years and got us to two other finals, the Americans come in, force him to sell to buy and good squad players had to be sold to bring in better – i.e. Bellamy for Torres.
Yes he made some BIG mistakes, but so do all managers, he even had the humility to admit some of them both before and after his tenure (i.e Dossena, Josemi & Gonzalez all sold quickly because he’d made a mistake with them).
Could you honestly see a Roy Hodgson side winning at the San Siro, Nou Camp or Bernabea? We can’t even win away with Hodgson.
I’d welcome rafa back with open arms.
YNWA, Rafa Benitez.
Welcome home Rafa, enjoy your xmas.
At least under your leadership we had our Pride and we believed! you are sadly missed
Ok mates.
Rafa is top class and a great man :)
He’s in our history thanks to Istanbul’s glory :)
But the past lives in the past and Liverpool’s tradition is a value :)
I think the problem with rafa is that Rafa is a figure which divide the fans :)
There are so many haters and so many die hard lovers of the Man and I think it’s normal for a strong figure of management.
In my possible view Rafa is a fantastic coach, but an average manager.
If your aim is winning trophies, especially home & away trophies, getting the CL’s spot and finding an immediate tactical solution for the short – term Rafa is one of the best coaches in Europe :)
But If Your goal is building a Dinasty, an Empire day by day, with a proper & smart work with scouts & youngster, inside UK & abroad, Rafa is not the right man.
If Our aim (Liverpool’s aim) is restore Liverpool as a force in UK, which can challenge Chelsea & United’s supremacy in the long term, in my view Rafa is not the right man, because He’s not a great Manager in my view.
He’s a fantastic coach, but not the best manager, especially if You think to Public Relations & relationships with players.
Anyway I personally hate all the pundits Who dislike Rafa putting his reign in the dark.
However I think that Liverpool have to move on and not living in the past.
This is my personal opinion and I hope that my opinion it’s not an insult for all Rafa’s lovers :)
Buena suerte Rafa.
I like this picture :)
Miss you,el Boss. welcome to home.I want see you come back take care and support Liverpool again. we are not forget miss you that.
Please sack Roy and hire Rafa, he did’nt loose agains STOKE!!!
Welcome back Rafa. You are a true Red and I will love to see you managing Liverpool then any other manager.
Lots here who hate him need to know one thing. This guy will never be supported by media what ever he do. He won us the Champions League took us to our highest point tally ever in history of this great club. He was sacked as he never liked the media and media rating according to him was -10 so they just took their revenge. Have you seen media criticizing Hodgson the way they did or they are doing Benetiz. This will never happen.
For once show your maturity. This guy has achieved far more than Roy Hodgson and will achieve a lot more than many others. Arsene Wenger may be regarded as the best coach but he even don’t have a Champions League victory on his CV. He might have won the Premier League but Benetiz won the league with Valencia with Real Madrid and Barcelona ( Heavy Spenders ) fighting for the same crown. I am a Spain National team fan and would love to see him as a Spanish National team coach if he’s not managing at Liverpool. YNWA Rafa.
Last but not least let me tell you what he has left at Anfield after you all and media mourning about he wasting the money. Torres valued 50 Millions, Aqualani valued 25 Millions (just check the guy playing with Juventus now) Kuyt worthy of 15 Millions, Lucas valued at 8 Millions, Pepe Reina 25 Millions, Babel valued at 10 Millions, Jova valued at 3 Millions, Mascherano valued at 25 Millions, Benayoun sold for 6 Millions, Jhonson valued at 18 Millions, Ngog valued at 6 Millions, Agger valued at 10 Millions, Insua another 5 Millions, Skrtel 8 Millions, This counts for 227 Millions. You think he got to spend this much through owners pockets. If yes then you better go n lick G&H’s ass for that.
Wow my photo of Rafa via Sky Sports News has gone everywhere.
Rick,
In Rafa’s reign the youth set up was overhauled for the better. Look at the youngsters progressing through the ranks. Who persuaded the Barcelona coaches to come over? Who persudaded the likes of Pacheco and Susa to become part of LFC? Credit should be given to rafa for the woirk he has done with the youth setup. Sadly for him he won’t be around to reap the rewards of this work and someone else will gat the credit. Remember one of the reasons pundits and ex Liverpool players turned on Rafa is because he squeezed Heighway and others out to bring in proper youth coaches.
With Rafa we had hope and teams feared us. Mistakes were made and he has admitted them. This isn’t given notice because it doesn’t help the British press/pundit anti Rafa campaigns.
Thanks to Hansen, Redknapp, Lawrenson and others we lost a proper manger and gained a journeyman. Hopefully the damage will be resolved when the owners appoint a proper manager again ie Hiddink or van Gaal.
I’d swap Rafa for Hodgson any day of the week, John Henry bring Rafa back and dump the it’s not my fault blame the fans Hodgson, in the Mersey preferably, hang on I mean the Thames why pollute the Mersey.
you have to laugh at the rafa haters who claim we are living in the past. no doubt these are the same people whowant king kenny back in. id take either back in a heart beat. As scott said read the facts not the headlines,Rafa made us great again i doubt roy could make a champions league winning campaign with le tallec, pongolle, biscan, traore, josemi, nunez, mellor, carson etc. Welcome home Rafa, as far as this liverpool fan is concerned your welcome back anytime…..FACT.
All I want for Christmas is: Rafa Benitez, Liverpool FC manager.
رافا إرجع يا كل الحب
Come Back Rafa Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
First of all I don’t hate Rafa. I have to agree with Rick above. Rafa doesn’t seem to be someone to build a dynasty. What worries me about him is that he drives himself into trouble with owner and/or presidents of clubs almost everywhere he goes. For that reason alone I wouldn’t want him back as our manager.
Bring him back, different league to Hodgson and it would really annoy Fergie
Rafa had to stand up and be counted when tom and jerry in charge of lfc he stood his ground fought his battles with them and purslow he is the only manager to ever stand up and put the true facts about fergie red nose to the world fact he walked away from liverpool fc with his head held high and with the support of liverpool fans and he went to italy were he has incounted a chairman who has not kept his word to rafa so rafa has stood by his princeables and did what he did at liverpool and expressed his opinion on the mater resulting in him being sacked I believe this is what rafa wanted his heart is with liverpool fc and we want him back I no its not very nice on roy but we have had the ten games under him which he requested and we are playing very poor conceding poor goals signed poor players and loosing against sides we shouldnt loose against I no lfc supporters will say rafa could only manage 7th last season but he was fighting a inside war and lost sight of his goals but on the balance of things I would welcome back rafa today I really believe that under roy were becoming a medioca team with some very medioca players let rafa come and finish the job he started with the backing of the owners and lets get back to normality please .
I mean this man is a legend.He has all the money he would need to go to warm weather Spain but instead he chooses snowy Liverpool.
If we can’t get him back at Liverpool, I would wet myself laughing if he got the Blackburn job ;-)
I can’t seeing Liverpool getting him back, as it would mean the end for the “Director of football” and I can’t see the yanks ditching him before he got started.
Rafa coming back to where he belongs. It was just meant to be.
Welcome back RAFA! Please bring him back to LFC! He is the best!
Woy, please get your arse and leave us now!!!
Is there any way we can make sure J. Henry realises that most Liverpool fans would give anything to see Rafa back where he belongs? Anybody know his private email address :-)
haha this post made me laugh!!!….rafa won two trophies in two years with a side which was made of exhoullier signings bar xabi and couple others, he become summit of an idle for some good runs in europe…in five seasons finised 5th and 7th for two of those and 4th and 2nds aswell…his players our playing on the pitch this season and to be fair i never liked roy hodgson, but he has one hell of a job to do to fix rafa downfall and also in 5 months in charge at inter he’s destroyed a treble winning side in a year….wake up and smell the coffee lads time to move on….LFC is a side about winning and since daglish moons ago, aint been a manager fit to sit at the throne of the kop!!!
If Rafa does come back to us it would be every true fans dream!!!
I mean I can’t recall any rafa haters within our own fans when we won the Cl?
Where did they all come from?
Where were you when we were winning the FA cup or in our 2nd CL(champions league for those new to football)
When we beat man u 4-1?
Real Madrid 5-0 (agg)?
So we have one poor injury hit season and finish 7th with a thin squad suddenly Rafa is a bad manager?
How many times did Arsenal with the great Wenger finish above us with rafa in charge?
Where is wenger now?
Isn’t strange how the media love Roy?
It’s not because he is English..
It’s because with him in charge we are no longer a threat and that what they want!
When Rafa was in charge LFC was a threat to every team in the Europe and respected the world over…
Rated number 1 in Europe for 2yrs!!!
Strange how suddenly when rafa had gone zonal marking wasn’t a topic though half the league use it? Even though we had the top 3 best defence in the league?
If Rafa was to come to us it would be equal to signing messi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Come on Henry do the right now and get rid of mr 7% away record Roy and bring back a true legend and some respect to Anfield!!!!!
Rafa over Woy anytime, there is no comparison. Please, Please comeback…He was hounded out by the press. Now they are attacking Torres, will he be the next to be hounded out???
NESV take note!!!!!
All I want for Christmas is: Rafa Benitez, Liverpool FC manager.
Just twitter John Henry’s wife she is always on twitter talking about lfc lets all let here know that we want Rafa back
Welcome home Rafa. We need to sack roy now and get Rafa back.
Lets just do a straight swap, Roy can go back to Inter and Morratti whom he always bigs up and we’ll gladly take Rafa back. Hopefully the experience of Italy will put the fire back in Rafa’s belly and spur him on to more success. He may even have improved his so called poor man-management skills, which I think are a load of nonsense made up by sulky players that never cut the cloth at LFC!
Hear hear Davo, there are 19 Premier League club managers who would just love to see Rafa back at Anfield!
Funniest thing about this picture….back in Liverpool….wearing an Adidas Jacket….Inter kit is made by Nike! Love it!
this shouldn’t even be debated..get him back now…best manager we’ve had in 20years
Bring Rafa home, please!!!
Rafa has not destroyed Inter. He started out very strong, but when most of your defence, and defensive midfielders are injured, the team will suffer.
Also I would like you all to remember, how close Inter was to losing to Chelsea last season, and also how they lost a 12 point lead to Milan, only the win the championship, due to Milans slip up.
Roy keeps saying it is not his team. But if you consider he has let go Benayoun, Aquilani, Plessis, Mascherano, Rierra, Cavalleri, Nemeth and Insua and brought in Wilson, Jones, Poulson, Cole, and Konchesky to his first team squad then it can hardly be called Rafa’s either!
So whose team is it then? I’m sorry to inform you Roy but as the man in charge (for now) it is your team, despite you doing your best to abdicate all responsibility for the dreadful decline of our beloved club.
Surely it is time to bring in a man with a proven record, who is prepared to stand up for his players and the fans. Someone who loves the club and doesn’t hide his head in hands.
I think we all know just the man.
Welcome home Rafa
I’d also welcome Rafa back. Welcome back to merseyside.
Welcome back Rafa. Hope to welcome you back as our gaffer. YNWA
We need Rafa back. He should never have gone!!
With stable owners and transfer funds Rafa will not only get us out of this mess, he will make us great again.
I don’t think his heart was in it at inter, he has unfinished business at Liverpool, the club he loves.
Rafas a Scouser! Welcome back
It’s a bit early for April fools guys, are you being serious that you want Rafa back? This is the same Rafa that took over as manager with Houlliers team to win the European cup. The apart from a victory in the FA cup (thanks to Gerrard and against a nothing team) won nothing in five years. Added to that he then joined the Italian Treble winners only to cause mayhem there and get the sack.
Please, please move on here. Rafa is not a manager, he is a tactician. He can not manage people and this showed in his last season.
Get off the “Bring Rafa back” bandwagon before he ruins another 5 years at the club
one trophy band roy will be what rafa was!!….why does no one talk about taking houlier back who was twice as many trophies as rafa in same amount of time!!!
He will sell Raul,Lucas,Cole,Babel & many more..He won’t give chances for the young to play..4-3-2-1..Will make Torres suffer again
Welcome home Rafa. I am proud you were our manager.
The truth is, whenever we lose, we are watching a loser in charge (fancy an inspirational face rub) who simply does not care about our club. constantly trying to lower our club to his level.
We have someone in charge who is loved by most PL supporters apart from the Liverpool fans. Whenever i ask my mates the question, Would you like him to manage England? the answer is no! Well, i got news for you. Liverpool are a worldwide club. Probably bigger than England.
Looking at Rafa, whenever we lost, i saw a man who cared about our club. One of us, and i knew he would do anything to get it right.
Igorsuncledave, common. Be serious, 2 years running we were ranked as one of the top teams in the world. At some point we were top seeds? Blame Rafa for this……his fault. We won the CL. Some teams never have. See Arsenal. What?????? NO he didn’t win it. It was, Hullier’s team. He reached the final of the CL. He lost it, ha ha. terrible manager.
Listen to yourself mate? Won the FA cup due to Gerrard? Gerrard, is our player. Who else did you want him to play instead? Himself in midfield?
No, one is saying he was perfect, but nevertheless, he was one of us. welcome home ynwa
Percy,
Cole and babel are flops. Rafa has improved the youth setup. he gave debuts to pacheco, kelly, Spearing, Derby, Ngog, Insua= etc how many youngsters do you want him to blood.
Torres goalscoring record is far superior under rafa than any other manager he has played for.
Wake up. Don’t be blinded by xenophpbic press and pundits!!
The thing that worries me is that the new owners said they would listen to the fans if this is going to happen then lets have a referendoum with the liverpool supporters around the world who have use of the internet and vote on who we want as manager roy or rafa and I bet I no who would win the votes and it wouldnt be roy. I do not mean any disrespect to roy he is a good average manager in the lower half of the league as he is proving with us but the owners must see that were not happy at all with him or the football we are playing so John Henry and the rest stick to your word unlike the last lot and and give the fans a vote on who they want as manager now before its to late before we become a medioca team with roys medioca signings
Rafa has UNFINISHED BUSINESS. The man had a lot to deal with last time. Hicks and Gillett and Purslow made it that way. Dont be fooled, hes no mug. he will want control. Its up to NESV to make it clear, work with Camolli, develop the team.
Let him have another 2.5 seasons and then we can say we game him his chance. Dont freeze this guy out he is a “master tacticion”. He loves the club, like we do. I want, like 90% of the real LFC fans, Rafa involved in the rebuilding of our club. Hicks and Gillett destroyed us. Lets hope the NESV “team” can rebuild us into a “bastion of invincability”. YNWA