UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Liverpoool (1) v Real Madrid (0):RAFAEL BENITEZ has claimed his formidable Champions League record is in danger of being taken for granted at Liverpool as he enters a defining period in the club's season against Real Madrid tonight.
Liverpool will secure a place in the Champions League quarter-finals for the fourth time in five seasons should they overcome the club Benitez supported as a boy and served as a player, youth team coach and assistant manager. The 2005 winners and 2007 runners-up take a 1-0 advantage into the home leg and arrive at Anfield officially ranked by Uefa as the number one club in Europe over the past five years.
Benitez, who has taken Liverpool to a semi-final along with the two final appearances, has generated more than €109 million in Champions League revenue since he arrived in 2004. But with the Premier League title an obsession at Anfield, and despite the importance of European prize money to the club’s owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, the manager believes his Champions League pedigree has not received the recognition it deserves.
“The messages on this are not the best,” said Benitez. “It is not easy to be in the position we are in Europe and that means a lot of credit for the players, a lot of very good memories for the club and a lot of money for the club. Thanks to this we can improve the squad and the club a little bit. I have my own ideas but maybe people don’t realise how well we have done in the Champions League.”
Benitez did not specify whether he felt undervalued by supporters, the media or the owners, with whom he is engaged in a contract dispute, but admitted Liverpool are more reliant on Champions League finances than Manchester United and Chelsea.
“I think before an important game is not the time to talk about these teams but the big, big difference between these teams and us is money. We have to reduce the distance by staying in the Champions League each year but we have to improve in a lot of other areas.”
A more immediate concern is the availability or otherwise of Fernando Torres, who is still struggling with an ankle injury he sustained at the Bernabeu. Torres, who has missed Liverpool’s past two matches, has taken part in light training sessions in recent days and faces a run-out today before a final decision is taken on his fitness. Alvaro Arbeloa, who suffered a hamstring strain in the first leg, is in a similar predicament while Yossi Benayoun, the match-winner in Madrid, is almost certainly out with a hamstring injury. David Ngog is likely to make only his second Champions League start for Liverpool should Torres be restricted to a substitutes’ role.
Benitez said: “Both Fernando and Arbeloa were training and it was a light training session. We must decide if he is fit and if he can play – two different things.”
The manager insisted Saturday’s Premier League trip to Old Trafford will have no bearing on his decision over Torres but accepts this spell is critical for the rest of the season. “It is very important for the club, for me, the players, the fans and everyone here. If we can beat Real Madrid we will be in a very good position for the Champions League again, that will be very positive, and that if we can beat Manchester United we will still be in the title race. Before I said it would be difficult, and if we don’t beat United it will be almost impossible.”
Steven Gerrard will make his 100th European appearance for Liverpool as Real attempt to become only the second team in Champions League history to advance in the knockout stages having lost at home in the first leg. Real have overturned a 1-0 deficit only once in five attempts in Europe and their captain, Raul, admits it will be a historic achievement should Juande Ramos’ team progress at Anfield. He said: “We’ll be going into the game full of hope. It’s a date made for history, a day for making history.”
Guardian Service
