Rafa Benitez has named Steven Gerrard as the best player he coached, placing the former Liverpool captain ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Samuel Eto’o.
Benitez made the judgement in an excerpt from the newly released book Liverpool’s Greatest: A Celebration of 100 Reds Stars, despite having worked with several Ballon d’Or winners and some of the leading forwards of their generation.
Rafa Benitez picks Steven Gerrard as his best player
Explaining his choice, the former Liverpool manager highlighted Gerrard’s ability to influence almost every aspect of a match.
“When I was in Real Madrid, they were asking me who is the best player I have coached, and I said Steven Gerrard,” Benitez said.
“He has the power, he was good in the air, he could shoot with the right foot and the left foot, and he could pass, he could control the ball. So, he was a complete player that needed to understand a little bit more the game, the tempo of the game.”
Benitez added: “He was very good doing almost everything. That is the reason why for me, he was the best player I have been coaching. I had [Samuel] Eto’o, Cristiano [Ronaldo], [Karim] Benzema – but he was more complete than all of them.”
The Spaniard’s assessment comes from a managerial career that included spells at Valencia, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Napoli. He worked with Ronaldo and Benzema at Real Madrid, while Eto’o was part of his Inter Milan squad.
Steven Gerrard’s success under Rafa Benitez
Benitez took charge at Liverpool in 2004, with Gerrard wearing the captain’s armband during one of the most memorable periods in the club’s history.
Gerrard scored Liverpool’s first goal in their remarkable Champions League final comeback against AC Milan in Istanbul in 2005, as the team recovered from 3-0 down to win the European Cup.
The midfielder produced another decisive display in the following season’s FA Cup final against West Ham, while Liverpool also reached the Champions League final in 2007 and mounted a serious Premier League title challenge in the 2008/09 campaign.
