Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez might still be working feverishly to figure out how to conquer the Premiership, but one thing is for certain when it comes to the ‘goateed-one’: He sure doesn’t have a problem winning on Europe’s biggest stage
The Liverpool ECHO is reporting that Rafa’s hard work won’t go unnoticed next year, as UEFA prepare to hand Liverpool the title of best team in Europe based on their current success abroad over the past five years.
Having won the competition in 2005, been runners up to AC Milan in 2007 and made it through to the semi-finals this year, Rafa Benitez’s team has accrued more ranking points than any other club in Europe. (Liverpool ECHO)
Liverpool top the rankings table with 104.284 points, giving them a one point lead over Italian giants AC Milan. (Liverpool ECHO)
From Gerrard’s heroics against Olympiakos during the 2004/05 season, to the memorable victories against Barcelona (2007) and Inter (2008), Liverpool have found every possible way over the years to silence the critics when everything else around them seemed to be going up in flames.
If you ask a Liverpudlian what makes them so special when it comes to European Nights, you’re bound to get a number of answers, from the Kop, to Benitez’s tactics. But regardless of what type of answer you get, there is no doubting that a special electricity exists in Anfield that makes even the best and brightest in Europe look like also-rans when they step on the pitch.
So what is it that makes Liverpool so prolific in Europe? Are Liverpool just a team that seems to always have lady luck on their side, or is there something more to their success that makes them so unbeatable when it comes to European competition?