Benítez had signed a bunch of players during the 2007 summer break, but their results in the new season were average. They were lukewarm in the league and only managed to accumulate one point in the first three rounds of the Champions League group stage.
With Agger seriously injured, Benítez once again reached out to the American boss for money to buy players, but was rejected. Benítez was in a bad mood and vented at a press conference.
A reporter asked, "How much do you think you can get in January?"
Benítez said, "I can only train and coach my team as usual."
Someone asked again, "Do you have a target in mind now?"
Benítez said, "I can only train and coach my team as usual."
Another reporter asked, "What is your long-term plan?"
Benítez said, "I can only train and coach my team as usual."
The reporter noticed the problem and asked, "Is there anything that makes you unhappy?"
Benítez said, "I can only train and coach my team as usual."
A reporter asked unwillingly, "Do you have anything else to say?"
Benítez said, "I can only coach my team as usual during training."
Benítez threw a tantrum and said, "I can only train and coach my team as usual" more than ten times in a row. Gillette and Hicks were shocked when they heard Benítez's words and hurriedly issued a statement in the Echo.
The first statement read, "We have invested a lot of money in this summer's transfer market. In the next two weeks, the team will face several important games and must do our best to win. It is too early to talk about the winter transfer. In December, we will sit down and have a good talk with the manager about this issue."
The second statement said, "There are a lot of rumors in today's newspaper, but we don't feel the need to say anything about it. We have played some good games, but it is not time to be satisfied. We have to play Porto on Wednesday night, and then Bolton Wanderers and Reading. In a few weeks, Marseille and Manchester United will be a bigger test. We and Rick Parry are planning to have an in-depth discussion with Rafa about player reinforcements in mid-December. Now is not the time. "
After reading the two statements, the Liverpool fans began to rally and march from the Beatles' Cavan Bar to the Anfield Stadium. Everyone held a sign saying, "We believe in Rafa."
Benítez knew when to stop. He immediately reconciled with the Americans and asked for a transfer fee of around £6 million, which he later used to sign Skrtel.
In the winter of 2007, there were already doubts about the Liverpool's American owners, and it came from the Liverpool local newspaper, The Echo.
The front-page article was written by the Echo's ace reporter, Tony Barrett. He first questioned why the Liverpool's two American owners stopped work on the new stadium because they had no money. They only spent £150 million to buy Liverpool F.C., and the rest of the money was borrowed. He predicted that the loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland would drive Liverpool to a dead end.
Most people were skeptical about Tony Barrett's point of view. After all, the Americans had only been here for ten months. Although there was a misunderstanding with Benítez, the general trend was that the two sides were working together.
Now that two years had passed, it could be said that Old Tony had completely foreseen everything that would happen in the future without missing a single detail!
After that, the relationship between Benítez and the American owners was like fire and water.
The American owners also thought that Benítez's position in the hearts of the fans was too high and the influence he could create was too great for them to control. Therefore, they had the idea of changing the manager.
They put their idea into action. The first person they contacted to change the manager was Klinsmann.
And he admitted it in front of the media.
To this day, no one could understand why Hicks would admit it in public.
Yes, there was a little friction between the Liverpool manager and the chairman over the transfer issue. But with Benítez's public display of weakness, the matter should be put to an end.
Yet, Shiks brought it up again. That was a huge problem.
However, Hicks also spoke with conviction, "No one knows if Rafa will leave because of that misunderstanding. I mean, there are other clubs that do want him. What's more, our meeting with Klinsmann was just a private gathering … "
Hicks's home in Texas was next to Klinsmann's home. They knew each other before Hicks invested in Liverpool.
However, no one would believe what Hicks said about a "private gathering".
Liverpool F.C.'s CEO, Rick Parry, also participated in the meeting between the two bosses and Klinsmann, but Parry was very tight-lipped and did not disclose any information about it to Benítez.
With Hicks's blabbering this time, Benítez and Parry began to become hostile.
The "Klinsmann incident" caused an uproar among the fans. Liverpool fans organized a large-scale anti-American demonstration.
Liverpool F.C.'s legendary striker, Ian Rush, wrote an article in the Echo and pointed out directly, "Hicks's remarks about Klinsmann may not be a big deal in the American circle, but in England, especially Liverpool F.C.'s fans, it is unacceptable. Especially for Liverpool, conflicts must be resolved internally. More importantly, please show the manager enough respect! "
In the 2007-2008 season, Liverpool's road to the Champions League was quite bumpy. They only accumulated one point in the first three rounds of the group stage. Then, Benítez's team went on a killing spree and scored 16 goals in the last three rounds to advance. In the knockout stages, they eliminated the indomitable Inter Milan and the fierce Roma. Then, they met the invincible Real Madrid in the semifinals!
Liverpool played at home first. Hicks and Gillet insisted on going to Anfield to watch the game. After a security assessment, the stadium security department told the two bosses that it was best not to come because the fans were really disgusted with them.
However, Hicks and Gillet watched the whole game in the VIP box.
In the game, Liverpool lost to Real Madrid at home by 3: 4. The visiting team, Bernabéu, suffered a crushing defeat and fell outside the final door.
Gillet and Hicks insisted on coming to Anfield to watch the game, not because they cared much about Liverpool's results, but because they wanted to film a feature film.
The film was mainly used to brag about their investment in Liverpool to attract more funds. At the same time, it would also be used as a promotional advertisement for the sale of their ice hockey and baseball teams in the United States.
During the halftime interval, the two American bosses broke into the home team's locker room with the film crew …
Qin Xiong was thoughtful when he learned about the inside story of what happened in Anfield in the past two years. He could not remember everything related to Real Madrid, but he still remembered some important moments of the game.
He did not expect that in such a crucial semifinal game, Liverpool would be disturbed by their own people during the halftime interval!
It was easy to associate it with the rumor that in Istanbul, AC Milan, who led by 3: 0 at halftime, would open champagne to celebrate winning the title in advance …
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