Praise for Benitez

Lippi lavishes praise on boss Benitez

Italy's World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi has hailed Rafael Benitez ahead of Liverpool's Champions League final against AC Milan.
The Merseysiders have ousted several clubs with arguably stronger squads on their way to the final in Athens and Lippi, who quit the Azzurri post after leading them to glory in Germany last summer, believes their success is largely due to the Spaniard.
'Benitez has the rare characteristics of a great tactician,' said Lippi.
'He gets the best out of his players, especially at a crucial time in a competition, even if his team's quality may be inferior to that of their opponents.
'He is practical and precise.'
Benitez's quality first came to the fore on the European stage in 2003-04 when he led Valencia to a Primera Liga and UEFA Cup double.
He moved to Anfield in the summer of 2004 and led Liverpool to the Champions League final a year later in which they beat Milan on a penalty shoot-out after coming back from a 3-0 half-time deficit.
Lippi, a Champions League winner with Juventus, believes the Rossoneri will have a battle on their hands if they want to avenge that painful defeat in Istanbul.
'Liverpool defend very well,' he added. 'They are strong on the counter-attack and have Steven Gerrard, who controls a strong midfield alongside Xabi Alonso.
'Then they have Peter Crouch in attack, who is an effective forward.'
Lippi has not ruled out a Milan win, however, after being impressed with the way Carlo Ancelotti's side brushed aside Manchester United in the semi-finals.
'I don't want to make any predictions,' he said. 'There is one certainty, though, and that is that Milan go into the encounter in great condition physically and mentally.
'They go into the final in confident mood having played a great game against Manchester United.'