RAFA BENITEZ last night laid into Alex Ferguson again by insisting Liverpool are the true kings of Europe.
Manchester United may be the reigning European champs and the bookies’ favourites to become the first team to retain the Champions League.
But Anfield chief Benitez says Fergie cannot touch Liverpool’s record over the last five years.
The teams meet at Old Trafford tomorrow in a must-win match for Liverpool if they are to stand any chance of catching United in the Premier League title race.
Benitez took a massive verbal swipe at Fergie two months ago, insisting the Red Devils boss gets away with more than any other manager when it comes to taking pot-shots at referees.
And the Spaniard has had another dig at his rival following the Merseysiders’ 4-0 thrashing of Real Madrid on Tuesday — the Spanish giants’ worst Champions League defeat.
Rafa roared: “Liverpool are the best team in Europe over the last five years.
PRIDE ... Rafa Benitez with Champions League trophy
“People seem to have forgotten we have produced some brilliant performances to reach two Champions League finals and a semi-final in the last four years.
“I’ve been given a tag which I do not deserve and which is totally inaccurate.
“I’m not a cry baby, but competing with Manchester United and Chelsea is very difficult.
“They have enough money to sign five £20million players and, if one or two of them do not succeed, then they still have three more to call on.
“I can sign two such guys and if one doesn’t succeed or I make a mistake with one, then everyone really notices it.
“Last season we scored 119 goals, more than anyone else in England. My team doesn’t just hoof the ball up the park, as I keep reading and hearing.
“OK, Xabi Alonso and Stevie Gerrard can play long passes with total precision, which is different from a defender heaving a long ball.
“But we mix our game up and every test is different.
“People show us a lack of respect but we are a great team.
“Then I hear Juande Ramos questioning the validity of our first two goals against Madrid at Anfield!
“Luckily, the whole world can see Champions League matches and everyone could see that if we hadn’t scored one way then we would have scored another.
“The game was ours from start to finish, my players made them suffer from the first minute at the Bernabeu to the last minute at Anfield.”
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For all his bluster, the Reds are NOT Europe’s most successful team in terms of win percentage in the last five years.
On the current European co-efficient (used for Euro seeding purposes), Liverpool are in first place, clear of Barcelona and Chelsea.
But, although they won the Champions League in 2005 and finished runner-up two years later, the honour of top dog goes to Barca who have a win percentage of 61, compared to Liverpool’s 56, AC Milan’s 54 and United’s 51.
With a last-eight place in the bag, Benitez’s boys need to switch their attentions back to the Premier League.
Liverpool are third, seven points behind leaders United, who have a game in hand on their bitter North West rivals.
And Rafa’s Reds face the acid test of transferring their devastating European powerplay football into a final domestic charge for the title.
Benitez says his team can draw enormous strength from stuffing the Spanish champions.
And he wants his team to apply the same tactical and physical game-plan which swept aside Real to provide the Anfield army with their most satisfying week in years.
Benitez rapped: “What we did was a big deal.
“We didn’t let Madrid breathe, we won with the massive backing of our fans, we were aggressive and ambitious.
“It is important to undo the opposition. A team like us, who knows what to do and when to do it, is a good team.
“It would be absurd of me not to admit that I feel very satisfied at having produced good work already this week — and I’m not an idiot.
“But I’m also proud of a job well done by everyone from me all the way down to the masseurs, the kitman, the doctors and the physios who managed to get Gerrard and Fernando Torres to play so well despite not being 100 per cent fit.”
Benitez, who can claim the double over United tomorrow, has revealed he will decide his future within the next fortnight with a new contract on the table.
And he laughed off the notion he prefers to run a team with hard-working players rather than superstar footballers.
He said: “Since when was it impossible for a great footballer to listen to his coach? Of course I like great players and I can work with them!
“And what about my Valencia team where I had half-a-dozen internationals?
“I want the best players with me and I want them to be hungry for work and to look after themselves.
“To always do what’s good for them and for the team.
“Stars can be complicated, I know. But stars do not automatically bring conflict, that’s not so.
“Perhaps if you have three of them you can experience problems.”
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article2316363.ece
