After a season in which Liverpool narrowly missed out on the English Premier League title, it seems astonishing that the Reds, following their 2-1 loss to Manchester United on Sunday, are all but finished in the race for the final Champions League spot.
Rafael Benitez's reign as coach of Inter Milan has lasted only six months after the European champions terminated the Spaniard's contract on Thursday.
The future of Rafa Benitez looks to be hanging by a thread after Inter Milan's owner refused to back the Spaniard in an increasingly tetchy war of words with his under-fire coach.
Two quotes to reporters -- in the space of a few days -- from Inter president Massimo Moratti neatly sum up why the bad old days may be back.
Inter Milan manager Rafael Benitez was delighted after the Italian champions ended a morale-boosting week with a 5-2 victory at home to Parma on Sunday which halted a run of four Serie A games without a win.
The pressure on Inter boss Rafa Benitez intensified on Sunday as his team crashed to a 2-1 defeat to Chievo in Serie A.
Rafael Benitez is hungry for success in his first season at Inter Milan and wants to silence his critics by filling the trophy cabinet for the Nerazzurri
updated: Thu Nov 11 2010 05:50:00
CNN's Pedro Pinto asks Inter Milan coach Rafael Benitez questions submitted on the World Sport blog.
The final whistle had barely blown on Liverpool's desperately bad 3-0 defeat at Manchester City on Aug. 23 when the message flashed up. A challenge was thrown down, a point made. Rafael Benítez had finally gone; those who wanted to see the back of him had got what they wanted and Roy Hodgson had taken over. But there was no immediate sign of improvement. In fact, Liverpool was even worse.
Rafael Benitez made a winning start to his career as Inter Milan coach as the European champions beat last season's domestic rivals Roma 3-1 in the Italian Super Cup at the San Siro on Saturday.
NEW YORK -- By the time Rafael Benitez's six-year tenure as manager at Liverpool drew to a close this summer, it was clear to longtime observers that he was a changed man from the once quietly confident Spaniard who had first walked through the doors at Anfield. Appearing visibly stressed at times, the constant political infighting with the club's board and the continuous criticism from sections of the English media seemed to have finally taken its toll. When he succeeded Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan in June, one wondered if he would have been best served taking a year off and recharging instead.
European champions Inter Milan have confirmed the appointment of Rafael Benitez as their new coach.
European champions Inter Milan have announced that former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has agreed to become their new manager.
Liverpool have confirmed that manager Rafael Benitez is leaving the club after six years in charge at Anfield.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has admitted he needs five quality signings to transform his team into contenders for silverware on the domestic and European stage.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez says Thursday's Europa League semifinal against Atletico Madrid should probably have been postponed because of the travel mayhem caused by the volcanic ash cloud over Europe.
Festive cheer can be thin on the ground in the lead up to Christmas with an extra dose of stress heaped upon business managers already grappling with icy financial conditions and potentially bleak New Year prospects.
The latest round of Champions League matches finds a string of top European managers on the verge of being dumped out of the competition - a failure that could cost them their job.
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has backed manager Rafael Benitez to turn the club's fortunes around and reiterated his desire to remain at Anfield for the foreseeable future.
Liverpool chief executive Christian Purslow has declared Rafael Benitez's job as "under no threat" despite the club's European Champions League exit on Tuesday night.
Dutch international Ryan Babel has threatened to leave English Premier League side Liverpool unless he is picked to play in more games by his manager Rafa Benitez.
Under-pressure Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has received the backing of the club's co-owner George Gillett amid speculation that the Spaniard is battling to keep his job.
Rafael Benitez believes Liverpool are facing the worst injury crisis of his tenure at Anfield ahead of their crucial English Premier League clash with bitter rivals Manchester United.
updated: Wed Oct 21 2009 12:41:00
CNN's Uganda-based Liverpool fan iReporter Aldrine Nsubuga vents his spleen over his side's loss to Lyon in the Champions League.
Liverpool will be without star striker Fernando Torres for the crucial Champions League visit of Olympique Lyon to Anfield on Tuesday.
Greece international central defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos has completed his transfer to English Premier League side Liverpool after signing a two-year contract with the club.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez hopes that Alberto Aquilani will prove to be an adequate midfield replacement for Real Madrid-bound Xabi Alonso once he completes his move to the English club.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez is not a happy man. In the past few seasons, he's had his own way in the transfer market, happily signing 3-4 big-name players each summer, spending an average of $70 million across the last four.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has hit out over 'crazy' transfer deals which are pricing his side out of the market.
Portsmouth's 24-year-old England international full-back Glen Johnson has completed his £17 million ($28 million) move to Premier League giants Liverpool on a four-year contract.
Some of the world's top coaches had a torrid time this season.
updated: Fri May 15 2009 08:12:00
Liverpool Manager, Rafael Benitez talks to CNN about his first five years at the club, the Champions League and his plans for the future.
If Rafael Benitez is a man who remembers his life by decades, it's likely he views the current decade as his greatest so far.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has launched a stinging attack on Rafael Benitez, branding his Liverpool counterpart as 'arrogant'.
Rafael Benitez has accused Manchester United counterpart Alex Ferguson of being scared of his Liverpool side and talking "too much" about other teams.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has admitted he almost quit Anfield before signing a new five-year deal last month.
Five members of Liverpool's backroom staff have followed manager Rafael Benitez in committing their long-term futures to the Premier League title challengers.
Liverpool's Spanish manager Rafael Benitez has signed a new deal to keep him with the Premier League club until 2014.
Rafael Benitez is facing a "big decision" over whether to risk star striker Fernando Torres for Liverpool's trip to Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has rejected the terms of a new contract at the Premier League leaders, according to a report.
Alex Ferguson poured scorn on controversial remarks about him by Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez as he celebrated Manchester United's 3-0 win over Chelsea which boosted his side's title challenge.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has launched an astonishing attack on his Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has given his full support to his captain Steven Gerrard in the wake of the midfielder being charged with assault and affray following an incident in a bar earlier this week.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is to meet with the club's owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks in the next week to discuss a contract extension.
CNN.com's Football Fan Zone looks ahead to the new season in the English Premier League, which kicks off August 16.
A year ago in this space, we dropped the hammer on Liverpool, which had inexplicably defied the odds and advanced to its second Champions League final in three years. But seeing as the Reds lost out to AC Milan, managed only another fourth-place finish in the English Premier League and finished the season without a single trophy, it was a tough call to leave them on the Rankings. Not even another Rafa Benítez miracle could save them.
Liverpool's Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso could be on the brink of a $24 million move to Italians giants Juventus.
Liverpool legend Sammy Lee has bounced back from his management disappointment by sealing a return to the club he helped dominate English football in the 1980s.
Didier Drogba stepped up the war of words ahead of Wednesday night's Champions League semifinal second leg by saying he had lost respect for Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has reportedly held trans-Atlantic discussions with the club's American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett over his future at Anfield.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has called on his players to recapture the "spirit of Milan" as they bid to reach the Champions League last-four with a win over Liverpool.
World Soccer's Gordon McKerrow catches up with Liverpool's 21-year-old Dutch winger Ryan Babel, who is enduring a whirlwind first season at Anfield.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez believes that striker Fernando Torres can have as much influence on the outcome of Sunday's Premier League match at Manchester United as Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Rotation" has been the mantra at Anfield this season as Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has shuffled players from match to match like a nervous croupier.
Liverpool's American owners have finalized a £350 million ($692.7 million) refinancing package and insisted that manager Rafael Benitez has their full support.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard admitted problems off the pitch are affecting the players after his side snatched a 2-2 Premier League draw at home to Aston Villa on Monday.
Steven Gerrard fired a hat-trick as Liverpool thrashed crisis club Luton 5-0 at Anfield to book their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Liverpool co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett targeted Jurgen Klinsmann about possibly becoming the Premier League club's next manager, according to a British newspaper.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez poured scorn on reports that he fears being sacked after his side had scrambled to a 1-1 FA Cup draw at third-flight Luton on Sunday.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez says Tuesday's Champions League clash against Marseille will be like a final -- with only victory guaranteeing the Reds a place in the last 16.
Spanish striker Fernando Torres gave Liverpool a major boost when he returned to full training on the eve of Tuesday's must-win Champions League clash against Besiktas at Anfield.
Liverpool's 6-0 win over Derby on Saturday marked the first time the club had topped the English Premier League in five years.
Liverpool will be without injured captain Steven Gerrard and defender Jamie Carragher for their Champions League clash with Toulouse on Tuesday at Anfield.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez praised record-signing Fernando Torres who scored his first goal for the Merseysiders in the 2-0 friendly win over Chinese side Shanghai in Rotterdam on Friday.
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is ready to splash out in the summer transfer market to bolster his squad after their 2-1 defeat to AC Milan in the Champions League final in Athens on Wednesday.
Tuesday's Champions League semifinal second leg between Liverpool and Chelsea was billed as a personal duel between the club's respective coaches, Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourinho. But the all-English showdown was also a clash of cultures.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has told their fans that he is "going nowhere" amid reports that he will be leaving Anfield to take over at Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Substitute John O'Shea grabbed a stoppage time winner as 10-man Manchester United beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield to take a huge step towards securing the Premiership title on Saturday.
Liverpool's English League Cup quarterfinal against Arsenal was postponed on Tuesday because of heavy fog.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has voiced confidence that Craig Bellamy will joing the club after being granted permission to talk to the Blackburn striker.
Liverpool have confirmed that manager Rafael Benitez has signed a new four-year contract to remain in charge of the club.
Rafael Benitez committed his future to Liverpool on Thursday even though he has yet to sign a new contract.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has expressed his delight that injured Mali midfielder Mohamed Sissoko has returned to training.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has given an upbeat assessment on the progress of Momo Sissoko after the horrific eye injury sustained by the Mali midfielder against Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Brazilian defender Luisao scored six minutes from the end Tuesday to give Benfica a 1-0 home win over holders Liverpool in their first-leg Champions League game.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez will remain in Japan for Sunday's Club World Championship final despite the death of his father.
Dietmar Hamann has been ruled out of Liverpool's Premier League match against Middlesbrough on Saturday as he struggles to recover from a horrific tackle by Chelsea's Michael Essien in midweek.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has confirmed that the club are weighing up bids from Aston Villa and Lyon for Czech striker Milan Baros.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has admitted that he is stunned by the failure to secure a work permit for his new Chilean winger Mark Gonzalez.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has cooled his interest in Portuguese star Luis Figo after Real Madrid insisted on a fee for the 32-year-old 'galacticos'.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez believes the hunger of his players to lift the trophy for the first time in 21 years could tip the balance against AC Milan in the Champions League final.
Manager Rafael Benitez says Liverpool must not develop a mental block about playing Chelsea when the sides meet in the Champions League semifinals.
Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez believes that his side can finally overcome English rivals Chelsea when they meet in the Champions League semifinals, after guiding the Anfield team to an outstanding quarterfinal triumph over Juventus.
French international striker Djibril Cisse could return to the Liverpool team during their Champions League quarterfinal against Juventus in Turin, even though he may be less than 70 percent fit.
Bayer Leverkusen's Brazilian defender Juan will miss the second leg of the Champions League clash with Liverpool on Wednesday because of an ankle injury.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has warned his players that unless they start working harder and producing results they have no future at Anfield.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has warned he is unwilling to let protracted talks with Real Madrid striker Fernando Morientes over a possible move drag on.
Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso is ruled out for up to two months with the broken ankle he sustained in the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on New Year's Day.
Liverpool hope to complete the signing of Real Sociedad midfielder Xabi Alonso by the weekend, manager Rafael Benitez has said.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez plans to rotate his four strikers, Michael Owen, Djibril Cisse, Milan Baros and Florent Sinama-Pongolle, next season.
Valencia are to sue former coach Rafael Benitez for breach of contract after he quit the Spanish champions to manage English Premiership side Liverpool.
Liverpool named Spaniard Rafa Benitez as their new manager on a five-year contract on Wednesday, ending weeks of speculation about his appointment.
Valencia's double-winning coach Rafa Benitez quit the Spanish champions on Tuesday and appeared set to join English side Liverpool.
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