Rafa Benitez has a flag, held up by a Manchester United fan, etched into his memory.
The Spaniard was managing Liverpool in a Premier League title race a decade ago... a challenge that promised so much but narrowly failed to deliver.
Benitez recalls: “It said, ‘Rafa is cracking up’. But then we beat them 4-1 at Old Trafford! The last 11 games? We won 10 of them.”
The accusation, and the now- Newcastle manager's ultimate reflection on that 2008-09 season, summed up the situation facing today's Anfield chief Jurgen Klopp perfectly.
“We weren’t cracking up,” added Benitez. “We couldn’t do any more. We did everything, but Man United just did better than us.”
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Fail to win away to the Magpies on Saturday night and Klopp’s men will be facing the same heartbreak as Rafa's Reds 10 years ago, although this time it will mean losing out to the blue half of Manchester.
Win, and the dream is still just about alive.
Benitez said: “The similarity is there. We were close but lost out by four points. Sometimes other teams are stronger. If that’s the case, fair enough. You have to try to do better next year. The difference was Manchester United invested £50million, more than double what we had spent.”
The 59-year-old, who still lives on Merseyside almost nine years after leaving the Kop club, has done his best to help them out this season — Newcastle were the last Premier League side to take ANY points off Manchester City when they beat them in January.
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“I have this picture on my phone,” he said. “When we beat City it was snowing and some fans wrote, ‘Ta Rafa’. In massive letters! In the snow. In the street!”
But he will do a “professional” job trying to inflict the same damage to Liverpool despite his legendary status at Anfield.
“They are doing well, doing a great job with a very good team,” added Benitez. “They’re one of the best teams in the world. They haven’t won a trophy yet but there are so many strong teams, so that can happen.
“I feel the Liverpool fans love me because we won the Champions League in Istanbul. We won four trophies and were in three finals, and also the way we were defending the club against...”
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He stopped himself short of saying Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, the Establishment.
“It’s similar to Newcastle," he added. "We fight and we stick together.”
Benitez is now tackling fresh challenges on Tyneside, and is likely to sort out a new contract to stay beyond this season.
He says positive talks have taken place and is now seeking a face-to-face meeting with owner Mike Ashley to seal the deal.
“Everyone knows my idea,” said Benitez. “I want to see this club growing and growing and where it should be. We have time to find a solution.”
