Rafael Benitez reveals why Steven Gerrard surpassed Ronaldo and Benzema as his greatest-ever player

Rafael Benitez reveals why Steven Gerrard surpassed Ronaldo and Benzema as his greatest-ever player
Rafael Benitez has said former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was the most complete player he ever coached, above Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
Benitez worked with Gerrard for five seasons at Anfield, with the pair winning the 2005Champions League and 2006 FA Cup together.
Gerrard was a huge influence on both triumphs, scoring in each final, and produced arguably the best football of his career under Benitez, winning the PFA Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards.
Benitez has coached some world-class talent during a managerial career at some of Europe’s top teams with spells at Valencia, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Real Madrid.
However, he said Gerrard was the number one player he coached. Discussing the midfielder in the recently releasedLiverpool’s Greatest: A Celebration of 100 Reds’ Stars book, Benitez said: “When I was at Real Madrid, they were asking me who is the best player I have coached, and I said Steven Gerrard.
“When we came to Liverpool, he was a box-to-box midfielder. The power, the potential. Then, tactically we were trying to manage. I think he didn’t realise at this time, [it was] late on he realised what we were looking for.
“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 more the game, the tempo of the game. These kind of things he was learning. That was the only thing he was missing at the beginning, because he has all the energy, all the potential.
“Later on, little by little, and especially when we signed [Fernando] Torres – because Stevie has a very good touch, it’s precise and with power – and with Torres running, it was very difficult for defenders to stop him.
“He was very good doing almost everything. He has also stamina, he has commitment. I think he was great in terms of a key player for Liverpool and the way he was conducting himself on the pitch and outside the pitch. He was professional and he liked all the players to give everything.
“That is the reason why, for me, he is the best player I have coached. I had [Samuel] Eto’o, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Karim] Benzema – but he was more complete than all of them.”