Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard believes Rafa Benitez
operates on a 'different level' to other managers after revealing
how he has adapted to his boss' methods.
Former Valencia chief Benitez arrived at Anfield in 2004 and has
since guided the Reds to UEFA Champions League glory and an FA Cup
win, while also transforming a struggling side into genuine Premier
League title contenders.
England international Gerrard
has been an inspirational on-field
influence throughout the Spaniard's five-year tenure and has risen
to a status as one of the best players in the world.
But the Liverpool skipper confesses that he found it difficult
to adapt to Benitez's meticulous methods before realising that his
manager's dedication is what is required for success.
"Even after five years with Rafa, I still feel I want to please
him, that I want to impress him in every game I play," Gerrard told
the Daily Mail.
"The great managers are like that. There are a handful operating
on a different level and I am lucky enough to play for two of them,
Benitez and (England boss) Fabio Capello.
"It is when you see what they put in, some of the little things
they spot, that you realise how hard they work. Rafa will make a
point, and you'll be thinking, 'has this guy not got a life?'
because it seems so minor, but it is what sets him apart.
"I can have a good game - tell you what, I'll be big-headed, say
I've had a fantastic game - we've won 2-1 in the last minute and
I've scored both.
"I come back into the dressing-room and I'm buzzing, bouncing
off the walls, thinking, 'I feel good today', that is when Rafa
comes up and starts talking about a throw-in when they changed the
play and I pressed far too late. He'll say, 'if you want, we'll go
out there and I'll show you'.
"Or you'll have a run of 10 games when you're in form and flying
and he'll pop you a DVD of your recent play and it's broken up into
sections good and bad. And you're thinking, 'hang on, bad? I didn't
do anything wrong'. But you'll watch it and you're out of position
in one match, or you pressed late or you let a man go at a
set-piece. You wonder when the guy sleeps.
"At first when he did things like that, I'd be asking, 'has he
not watched my last 150 games for Liverpool?' There is a danger
that you think he has it in for you because he pulls you so
much.
"When he arrived, he would keep saying to me, 'left foot, left
foot' or I'd shoot and he would say, 'hit the target' and I'm
thinking, 'look, mate, I'm trying to hit the target'.
"I would say to people, 'I'm 26 - if he doesn't think my left
foot's working now, it's never going to work' but then a few weeks
later I scored with my left and he came up with a little smile and
said, 'lucky goal today, left foot and it hit the target' and then
the penny dropped.
"Finally, I realised it was the way he helped push you on and as
a player, you either recognised it or fought it and, with these
guys, if you fight it there is only one winner."