I'll be gone soon! Furious Rafa finally cracks and blasts fans with 'agenda' as well as Chelsea for making him 'interim' manager
By RIK SHARMA
Rafael Benitez has confirmed he will leave Chelsea at the end of the season and blasted the fans for their negative attitude towards him.
Benitez also questioned the need to include the term 'interim' in his job title, claiming the club's decision to do so was a 'massive mistake'.
The Spanish manager's extraordinary outburst blamed the fans with an 'agenda' against him for hampering the team in their bid to qualify for the Champions League.
**Scroll down to listen to Rafa's rant and read full transcript**
'They are wasting time doing banners and singing songs. What they have to do is create a good atmosphere in Stamford Bridge,' he said.
'These Chelsea fans have an agenda. These Chelsea fans are damaging the image of the club.
'They (Chelsea) gave me the title of interim manager which is a massive mistake. I'm the manager and I will manage this club.'
But arguably Benitez's comments has made his position untenable and supporters are already calling for Roman Abramovich to sack him tomorrow.
They were broadcast in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live and he said them again in his press conference after Chelsea beat Middlesbrough 2-0 at the Riverside Stadium in the FA Cup fifth-round.
Scowl: Benitez's side beat Middlesbrough 2-0 but he was fuming after the game
This is the first time Benitez has been openly critical and contemptuous of the supporters and the club.
He implied the fans were to blame for the team's form and said the supporters must get behind Chelsea or else risk being in the Europa League next season.
Supporters' reactions across social networking sites was a mixture of anger and delight - many were furious at the unprofessionalism from his scathing comments while others were heralding this as the penultimate day of his tenure at Chelsea.
In the post-match press conference he said: 'I have been in charge in football for 26 years. I have won the Champions League, won the FIFA Club World Cup, the FA Cup, the Italian Super Cup, the Spanish league twice, nine trophies, all the trophies you can win at club level.
Struggle: Benitez has found it hard to get the side playing well
'A group of fans, they are not doing any favours for the team when they are singing and wasting time preparing banners.
'It's because someone made a mistake. They put my title (as) 'interim manager', and I will leave at the end of the season, so 'They don't need to waste time with me. They have to concentrate on supporting the team, that's what they have to do.
'In the end, they are not doing any favours to the club, to the rest of the fans and to the players.
'Every game they continue singing and they continue preparing banners, they are wasting time. What they have to do is support the team.
'If we cannot achieve what we expect to achieve, that is to be in the top four and be in the Champions League for next year, I will leave; they will stay in the Europa League.'
Pressure: Benitez has been able to get Fernando Torres firing like he did at Liverpool
His comments about the fans and their attitude are especially puzzling given that they came after an away game at Middlesbrough with around 2,000 dissenting fans, when he previously claimed he could not hear the 40,000 who booed loudly at his first game in charge at Stamford Bridge.
Benitez said he did not hear the deafening boos and chants against him during the 0-0 draw with Manchester City, but they seem to be coming through loud and clear now.
If he does survive long enough to face West Brom on Saturday, he can be sure supporters at Stamford Bridge will be more willing than ever to vocalise their feelings about him.
Chelsea's two previous managers, Roberto Di Matteo and Andre Villas Boas, were both fired after games against the Midlands side. Benitez could be fired before.
Stats show he's got to go: Benitez has the second worst win rate of any Chelsea boss under Roman Abramovich
RAFA'S PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT - IN FULL
Can you stay calm despite the fans' abuse?
'I have been in charge in football for 26 years. I have won the Champions League, won the FIFA Club World Cup, the FA Cup, the Italian Supper Cup, the Spanish league twice, nine trophies, all the trophies you can win at club level.
'A group of fans, they are not doing any favours for the team when they are signing and wasting time preparing banners.
'It's because someone made a mistake. The put my title 'interim manager', and I will leave at the end of the season, so they don't need to waste time with me.
'They have to concentrate on supporting the team, that's what they have to do.
'In the end, they are not doing any favours to the club, to the rest of the fans and to the players.
'Every game they continue singing and they continue preparing banners, they are wasting time. What they have to do is support the team.
'If we cannot achieve what we expect to achieve, that is to be in the top four and be in the Champions League for next year, I will leave; they will stay in the Europa League.
'They have to take responsibility too. If they put players under pressure, they don't create a good atmosphere at Stamford Bridge, they have to realise they are making a big mistake because the rest of the fans would like to see the team in the Champions League next year.
'It would be much better for everyone to have a good atmosphere and supporting the team, backing the players, and that's it.
'I'm the manager and I will be managing the team. I like to manage players and not names, so I will pick my team, and I will make decisions and at the end of the season, I will leave anyway because I am interim like they said.
'Again, they are wasting time, they are wasting time. I have proved in these three months that I want to win every single game.
'I am a professional and I am sure if we win, I will be the happiest man in the world.
'But if a group of fans continue with their agenda and they continue not supporting the team and wasting time with these things, it's there decision, but they are not doing any favours to the team, to the club, anyone.’
Do you expect the abuse to persist? Do you regret coming?
'I am really pleased here. I have a very good group of players who are working very hard. It's a top club, so it's not a problem.
Do you expect the abuse to persist? Do you regret coming?
'I am really pleased here. I have a very good group of players who are working very hard. It's a top club, so it's not a problem.
'The problem is a group of people who think they can say what they want instead of supporting the team.
'They have to support the team, they have to support the players and don't waste any other things because they don't need to be worried about me, I will leave at the end of the season, so why do they have to be worried?
'I will do my job, I will try to win every game until the last minute, that's it.’
Does the criticism hurt?
'No, I am surprised. Again I will say I have won nine titles, all the titles that you can win at club level, in three different countries, so I think I have enough experience and enough quality as a manager to hear a group of people with an agenda carry on.
Does the criticism hurt?
'No, I am surprised. Again I will say I have won nine titles, all the titles that you can win at club level, in three different countries, so I think I have enough experience and enough quality as a manager to hear a group of people with an agenda carry on.
'They don't realise that I will leave at the end of the season. They don't need to be worried about me, but what they have to do is support the team.
'If they don't do that and we are not in the Champions League at the end, they can blame whatever they want, but we will see the next year the Europa League.’
Did you always plan to play John Terry?
Did you always plan to play John Terry?
'Yes. Everybody was happy because we won and it was a great performance.’
Should you be judged at the end of the season?
'Again I will say, a group of fans, they don't realise - the rest of the fans, they want to see the team in the Champions League.
Should you be judged at the end of the season?
'Again I will say, a group of fans, they don't realise - the rest of the fans, they want to see the team in the Champions League.
'This group of fans, they have an agenda, they say 'We are right'. They can be right at the end of the season, it's simple.
'They put me there with the title 'interim', so why do they have to bother about that? Just carry on supporting the team.
'It's a team in transition - they don't realise. In the past, we had Drogba, Essien, Kalou, these players, it was a very strong squad, players with experience in the Premier League.
'Now we have a group of players with talent, really good players with talent, but they need time. It's a time of transition.
'But they don't realise it was a time of transition when I came here. The team was not in the Champions League, the team has lost some trophies, so I am trying to do my best and I will try to do my best until the end, until the last minute.
'It doesn't matter what they say. I am a professional, I have experience and I will do my best.
'But if they carry on in the same, they have to take responsibility because they are damaging the image of the club and the rest of the fans because people think all the fans are the same.
'The Chelsea fans are really good, they support the team, but if they continue with their agenda, I don't think they do any favours to the team.’
Rafa Benitez's Chelsea timeline
November 21: Appointed as Chelsea's interim first-team manager until the end of the season, replacing Roberto Di Matteo.
November 23: Suggests the established duo of Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard could leave the club at the end of the season.
December 5: After three Barclays Premier League games without a win, Chelsea register their first win under Benitez - a 6-1 Champions League drubbing of Nordsjaelland.
December 16: Lose Club World Cup final to Corinthians 1-0 in Japan.
December 19: Come from 1-0 down at half-time to win 5-1 at Leeds in the Capital One Cup.
December 23: Crush Aston Villa 8-0 in the Premier League.
2013
2013
January 9: Lose at home to the Premier League's bottom club QPR.
January 23: Bow out of the Capital One Cup, losing to Swansea over two legs in the semi-final.
January 27: Chelsea need a late goal from Fernando Torres to secure an FA Cup replay against Brentford - which they win.
January 29: Declares his only real worry at Chelsea is keeping his players on side.
February 8: Reveals he last spoke to owner Roman Abramovich almost three weeks previously.
February 26: Amid reports of disharmony in the camp, which he plays down, Benitez says nothing will deflect his focus from helping the squad secure a successful end to a turbulent season.
February 27: Chelsea book an FA Cup quarter-final trip to Manchester United with a 2-0 fifth-round win at Middlesbrough. Benitez then blasts the fans and the club in furious rant.
0 komentar:
Post a Comment