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Home , Jamie Carragher, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso

Arsenal's Invincibles and Mourinho's original Chelsea team? OVERRATED... It's Benitez who is the best foreign coach we've had in By PUBLISHED: 08:13 GMT, 1 October 2013 | UPDATED: 09:28 GMT, 1 October 2013

Wenger’s Invincibles? Overrated. Check the records, they lost to , Chelsea and United that season. Mourinho bringing the title to Chelsea for the first time in 50 years back in 2005? So what. With the money he had available he should have dominated the Premier League AND the Champions League with Chelsea, but he didn’t. But winning the Champions League in 2005? Now that is what I call a seriously brilliant achievement, and, for me, that is what makes Rafa Benitez the best foreign coach ever to have worked in England.

Historic: Rafa Benitez's (right) Liverpool came from three goals down to beat Milan in the 2005 Champions League final. (left) captained the Spaniard's side to glory in

Flying the flag: Liverpool won Europe's top competition for the fifth time under Benitez's leadership

Disbelief: Gerrard lets the feeling sink in after the final whistle at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium If you count up trophies then there are foreign managers who have come to the Premier League and won more than Rafa Benitez. But I’m talking about pound-for-pound achievement. Liverpool Football Club were adept at winning the trophies almost unwanted by big clubs with huge ambition - FA Cups, League Cups and a UEFA Cup. But the huge hand of history on the club’s shoulder was way too weighty for most managers to bear at . The years were ticking by and any dreams of being champions of England or Europe were becoming more and more distant. At Liverpool, Benitez arrived in 2004, immediately persuaded Steven Gerrard to stay, made a big decision to let leave, signed Xabi and then, somehow, turned Liverpool into the champions of Europe in his first season. Benitez found a Liverpool squad with poor dietary habits and a lack of discipline, who had finished 30 points behind the champions Arsenal and suffered UEFA Cup humiliation at the hands of Marseille. His first task was to head to Portugal to sit down with Gerrard. The Liverpool captain was with the England squad at Euro 2004, and was all set for a move to Chelsea for £36million, according to reports. Benitez kept his main man. He also told he was a centre half, not a full back, and played him in his best position, something the previous manager had failed to do. A year later, Carragher was a colossus in a Champions League semi-final at Anfield against Chelsea, and Gerrard was man of the match in the final. After arriving at Highbury, Arsene Wenger led Arsenal from their blip under Bruce Rioch, to title glory. Under George Graham a few years before some of those same players had won a couple of titles, and had even won a trophy in Europe, something Wenger has still failed to do. Mourinho was able to break transfer records in order to elevate Chelsea to a title they craved. Two successful foreign managers: but neither did the things Benitez did at Liverpool. Think beyond trophy-counting for a moment, and open your mind to what Rafa really achieved. He gave Liverpool fans an emotional football experience, an amazing night, the kind of night none of those other managers can match. He understood the fans, he joined them unexpectedly in a bar in ahead of a Champions League tie.

Cunning: Benitez saw Jamie Carragher (left) as a centre half rather than a full back

Overrated? Arsene Wenger (right) led the likes of Kolo Toure (left) to the Premier League in 2004. Unbeaten over the 38 games, Wenger's side became known as the Invincibles

Romp: Jose Mourinho and his impressive Chelsea team lifted the Premier League trophy in 2005 He threw himself into what it meant to be a fan, a Liverpool fan. He embraced the club, its history and its traditions. And the fans loved him in return. What’s more he took an unconvincing bunch of players at the extremes on the talent scale – from Djimi Traore to Steven Gerrard – to the pinnacle of European success. He masterminded the comeback from a seemingly impossible position, 3-0 down to Milan at half-time in the final. That fifth European Cup now belongs to Liverpool Football Club. The others had their successes, but nothing comes close to that night in Istanbul. I may be wrong, but I don’t think Liverpool fans would swap that special night in Istanbul for anything achieved by Wenger or Mourinho in England.

Fans favourite: Liverpool supporters hold a tribute to Benitez when he returned with Chelsea last season