Rafa Benítez • Tactics: Liverpool, Valencia and the 4-2-3-1 • Masterclass

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0:09 - Intro
0:16 - 4-2-3-1, how it transitions and roles out of possession
5:03 - In possession: Numbers and balance
7:44 - System at Newcastle
8:37 - Liverpool and Steven Gerrard as the number 10
10:28 - Valencia 2001-2004
16:40 - Istanbul 2005 and making key decisions
Over a top-level coaching career spanning almost three decades, Rafa Benítez has built his reputation on an ability to deliver success. A two-time Spanish league and UEFA Cup winner as head coach of Valencia, he subsequently led Liverpool to two Champions League finals, famously defeating Carlo Ancelotti’s AC Milan in 2005 despite trailing 3-0 at half-time. He has also won silverware with Inter Milan, Chelsea, Napoli and Newcastle.
In the first of two exclusive Masterclass features with The Coaches’ Voice, Benítez gives a fascinating insight into the key principles - both in and out of possession - of the 4-2-3-1 formation he has used to such great effect throughout his career. He considers the Valencia team with which he won two league titles in Spain, paying particular attention to the roles of the two central midfielders who formed the double pivot: David Albelda and Rubén Baraja. He goes on to explain the evolution of his Liverpool team, with a specific focus on how the team developed after the 2007 signings of Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano - and the impact that had on the role of Steven Gerrard.
It’s a brilliant insight into the tactical mind of one of the modern game’s most respected coaches. We hope you enjoy it!
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[@guilhermeacr]

Without a doubt one of the best coaches of the century, a lot of repertoire. His last works were greatly hampered by extra-field issues or technical limitations. I think he still has something to offer to football, he is being scouted in Brazil, it would be really cool to see him training in the country of football, a new challenge that could revive his career

[@NathanSweeney]

Forever grateful to this beautiful man ❤️

[@michaelmcewan7709]

Would you consider giving the coach a smaller magnet representing where the ball is when they start to show how players move in response?

[@andreasdarsaklis5495]

I think in other videos they had one.

[@javierlapeira4389]

E

[@manelmanel1876]

This is the best Masterclass. I´ve watched them all.

[@abdullahmab6933]

Love these videos with coaches. we need Don Carlo in future as well

[@alifchannel5164]

Absolutely Yess

[@anirudhmenon9099]

tbh Carlo isnt much of tactician. He's just really good at man management and getting the best out of players. Bit like fergie

[@subhajitroy7706]

@@anirudhmenon9099 it's a myth...... 1500+ matches as a manager n a player...n u think he is not good at tactics???? He played with 442 at parma 442 diamond at Juventus 4321 at milan 433 at Chelsea...at real in 2013-14 4231 n 433 n made di maria a cm when he was a winger....to accommodate bale...in Napoli 442 again with a different approach....made everton play beautifully ....in his 2nd stint at real his team plays in low block mid block n also can press high if needed...he changes within a match according to his opponents....n u say he doesn't know tact

[@HHHBFResurrected]

@@anirudhmenon9099 He's a true pragmatist. Coaches like Mourinho & Conte who get labelled pragmatists aren't really, they take pride in winning with counter culture styles (especially Mourinho) which isn't the same thing. Ancelotti isn't concerned about style what so ever, if it suits his players to win playing attractive football he'll do it, if it suits them to be a bit more stifling he'll do it. That's way he's such a good man manager because it's all about his players, he doesn't force anything onto them they're not comfortable with. He'd have a ton to offer a channel like this. Think about all the different systems & styles he's accommodated over the years. He could do a 20+ minute piece on the diamond & narrow formations in general alone.

[@daviddjon1844]

​@@anirudhmenon9099 _"Carlo IS not much of tactician.."_ Let the Channel invite him and then WE will have opportunity to judge by ourselves.. please.

[@indexpictures]

used to love his one off tactical plans in europe. always felt like we'd be more prepared than the opponent.

[@harrymcmullen2227]

Brilliant and insightful as ever - exactly what I expect from Coaches' Voice, and from Rafa Benitez. The point on Valencia and how his teams tend to finish seasons strongly was one I tried to make while he was Everton manager and many Everton fans were calling for his dismissal. The majority of their defeats were coming from individual player mistakes or moments - players lacking the experience of their role and the overall shape rather than the setup itself failing. Those painful experiences would have manifested as lessons learned in the dog days of April and May when the six-point games came along in the relegation battle. Instead the club panicked and turned to Lampard, who kept them up by virtue of being less rubbish than their rivals as opposed to being significantly better. Expect to see them in the battle all over again in 2022/23.

[@Doggomorph]

Would say the everton sack was down more to the team downing tools, it was so obvious with the Luca digne issue

[@HHHBFResurrected]

Think Lampard kept them up just by virtue of instilling passion. Their squad was more than good enough to avoid relegation, he just got them caring about it. Good as Benitez is tactically that's a recurring criticism from players he's worked with, he's a bit cold. There's also the issue it was doomed from the start. You can't succeed when the fans are on your back & that was inevitable (and his fault). Same thing happened at Chelsea, it took him having a moan to calm everything down.

[@misternavin]

This comment aged extremely well. Kudos.

[@DawleyDude]

He will always be a legend for me. Great manager and great person!

[@tt99football56]

As a Newcastle fan he really did a great job, got us back to the PL & then with basically the same team had us top 10. With money maybe we could have been like West Ham or Leicester, who knows. He's been wrote off, but all he needs is that one job that goes well & people will rate him again.

[@chrisstucker1813]

There’s a small but pathetic contingency of Newcastle fans who actually talk down Benitez and it’s actually upsetting to see. The job he did was nothing short of fantastic with very limited tools at his disposal.

[@tiotom9217]

Steve Bruce then finished 9th with basically the same team.

[@rossconway9238]

@@tiotom9217 He didn't, he finished 13th and 12th. This is after £100 million was spent on the squad over 2 windows. His saving grace was the cup runs. In 8 games across those 2 QF runs we played 1 PL team, had to replay Rochdale and Oxford, scraped past Newport on pens and then got beat by a Brentford who actively played a 2nd team as they were going for the league. He got paid a fortune to ruin a solid foundation set by Rafa who rightly walked away from Ashley who wouldn't invest a penny with him in charge as he knew his asset was PL safe with a manger of his quality. I would have Rafa back in a heartbeat if the chance came about.

[@curtisgibson635]

@@rossconway9238 I think you’ll take that comment back now. Rafa is great but Eddie is clear

[@Flygono03]

In Rafa we trust

[@Frank-1978]

Love Rafa ❤️

[@DJ-qi4zz]

Rafa because of you the future is so bright, Newcastle will always love you

[@AdrianNUFC]

Will always love this man ⚫️⚪️

[@madrid6times990]

Liverpool legend! Love the man to bits.

[@lifeisblessed4802]

He made one of the best trio in midfield ive ever seen,then tried to sign Barry and everything went pear shape after that,But i still love Rafa and will never forget Istanbul,Rafa YNWA

[@Sunshineboy2002]

I remember when 4-2-3-1 was used to counter 4-4-2, it worked very well.

[@jayseth]

Could watch these for hours. So refreshing listening to a brilliant footballing mind

[@DarthTheGamer]

love him, legendary coach! 🙏🏼✝️❤️

[@Theo-ul8qm]

I think rafa’s liverpool always suffered from a thin squad. An injury to gerrard or torres would really set them back. And when xavi alonso left, the midfielders were just too defensive and they didn’t get enough goals / assists from the wings to make up for it. They were always a good team, but with a weak squad compared to the best teams at that time. They could win many games, but never ended up really pushing for a PL title.

[@kyleg951]

Our wingers were never good enough as well with the likes of babbel riera pennant were just not good enough to take us to that next level

[@marcusgirling]

It was the Gillette owners screwed us over we was dying need of new players we have to sell to buy new back then

[@Trudon]

Err yes they did 08/09 season. Had torres been fit the whole season they win it.

[@jamesconnolly3988]

@@Trudon maybe....we were brilliant that season, but then there was man utd who at the time had the likes of rooney, berbatov, tevez, ronaldo, carrick, scholes, vidic and ferdinand.

[@jamesconnolly3988]

@@kyleg951 babel, reira and pennant were never his first choice to buy. Benitez wanted quaresma, simao and dani alves but was denied the money for them by hicks and gillette.

[@AmyCFernandez]

Brillante! Great insight from one of the greatest!

[@cammy944]

Brilliant and insightful

[@adyh7028]

Brilliant Been waiting for this one for a while. Benitez special coach

[@apendica]

Legend. YNWA Rafa. Best Coaches Voice video to date.

[@hinata8097]

Probably my favourite Liverpool manager

[@Jake-hn6yt]

His Liverpool was beautiful to watch. ❤️

[@umangdesai6408]

THIS IS THE ONE!!

[@simplythebest286]

best masterclass 👏👏👏👏

[@SayazWorks]

Great insight

[@rajiabdulrahaman6694]

This is insightful

[@dennardleonard1228]

LOVE IT

[@ugurnart1696]

Thank you great master ✌ You were great those times but later on, u couldn't be consistent.Even if u are not thought one of the top managers in our time, i always think that u are still one of them.

[@MrDolarhyde88]

Definitely one of the best tactical minds of the game. 👍

[@user-rz1ry3wr1u]

World class

[@jeffdan3013]

The best I have watched

[@Kingofthekop1]

Gerrard as a roaming CAM was incredible, undoubtedly his best years.

[@fivetwenty162]

Istanbul miracle master❤🥇

[@MK68i]

Legend

[@Liam-99]

Solid manager, great mind

[@zakariaabdi2635]

Brilliant, learned a lot, keep the hard work

[@totalefootball8637]

What a manager

[@simong8670]

Superb from Raffa, a lot to take in, but brilliant

[@MegaSahaj123]

He was treated shockingly by Everton fans, a truly world class manager.

[@_efc]

He got a warm welcome for his first game at goodison and when things went wrong it was clear that the fanbase wouldn’t back him with his past at Liverpool. He did a poor job, let go of Rodriguez and Digne who were both well liked by the fans and with him doing a poor job, the fans wanted him gone and rightly so

[@Mich-rq1hv]

Sometimes ppl be forgetting who’s Rafa put some respect on this man name excellent manager and i like is style to always keep balance whit is teams !!

[@bennthirteen3701]

Underrated

[@ahmadhasif979]

Brilliant video! Where can i get Formation Table like that?

[@vaimast]

champions league 2005 final was the most inspiring match ever

[@sebastianhadinata3784]

Thank you coach for winning Europa league at chelsea

[@RezAM847]

I don't know what to say Just brilliant

[@Liverpool4ever111]

Best manager ever

[@AgentRafa]

Agent Rafa!!! YNWA.

[@villekyllonen8941]

10:04 what a CB 🇫🇮😍🤩

[@IbrahimAli-fb4qf]

He is still a great tactician can coach any team

[@chinpengsan]

was following the tactics back then when liverpool had hamann, biscan, xabi alonso, gerrard. what was lacking in my opinion was their wingers. if they could have the like of mane or salah during back then, things might be different. many players played the winger position but couldnt really deliver, of course there's kewell, luis garcia, cisse, baros to thank for

[@chijiokeochubili7279]

Iberian Football 101 ❤️

[@granitesevan6243]

All facts

[@herrkiwi3110]

Tbh I never understood why he never started Didi Hamann in the CL final, I was relieved he brought him on straight away in the second half.

[@G.Singh7]

Steve Gerar

[@nicholasvocke2986]

I literally use these tactics on FIFA and I never knew Benitez used these tactics

[@gherzoulhichem7389]

Liverpool fans are here you ?

[@chijiokeochubili7279]

Present ☝🏾

[@Doggomorph]

Fun fact pablo aimar went to Malaysia but had his spot taken up by future captain harris harun, you can say it is against all the odds that it happened

[@budisusilo1555]

His liverpool 2007 will beat Jurgen's liverpool team. Much respect for him

[@Trudon]

Gerrard agger reina kuyt torres alonso masherano....shit yeah

[@user-pd4hf6yd3h]

bro just raised 100 points in 10 mins like nothing

[@enrileindro]

Balance is the key. Now, Manchester City has found the balance and won the treble..

[@mnb9162]

Gerrard was a his best in the 10....but his versatility meant he didnt play there most of his career

[@andyng5321]

no, the reason he didn't play there most of his career was because no one thought of 4231 before 2007 or 2008. They kept using 442.

[@alifrhimi]

If only that time Liverpool have power of money...im surely they never been in dark time era (2010-2015)

[@victorgeorgebr]

voce tbm é o são paulino iludido que veio ver como ele monta os times? skksskksksks pq eu sou

[@BurgundySorcerer]

Funny how Liverpool have now returned to the 4231

[@osmanersin4979]

Please Fatih Terim (Coach) Can you prepare content about it? Because he is an important person. Thank you

[@koichitoyama6859]

3:48 what Mourinho tried to say for 2 decades but bloody pundits would keep talking BS. Would you ever say Benitez is a defensive, reactive coach who can't coach big teams anymore? No! He talks about adapting and balance which is exactly what Jose talks about. They are coaches from the same generation, similar European success too. The stupidity of pundits and blind fans I must say, just because they saw some back passes from Guardiola's teams. Pretty sure folks will start saying Ancelotti is a defensive coach the moment he leaves Madrid.

[@guilhermepimentel1748]

Bem vindo ao São Paulo kkkkkkk

[@francescolombardo92]

Need realy tattica fifa 22..