Benitez leaves the door ajar for Juve

SOCCER/ ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: RAFAEL BENITEZ has kept the way clear for a summer move to Juventus by confirming his Liverpool future is linked to the club's search for new investment and that he is flattered by the approach from Turin.

As expected, Juventus dismissed Ciro Ferrara as coach yesterday and contracted the former Milan and Udinese manager Alberto Zaccheroni to take charge until June. Their preferred long-term appointment remains Benitez, who apparently encouraged the Italians’ ambitions yesterday when he admitted to being aware and proud of their interest and cast doubt on how long he is prepared to accept the financial constraints at Anfield.

Liverpool plan to write to Juventus to warn them of the legal implication of any unlawful approach for their manager.

Benitez, who signed a new five and a half-year contract at Anfield 10 months ago, said: “I know they [Juventus] were interested. That is part of the game now in football but I don’t want to lose my focus. When you have clubs asking about you then you have to be proud. It is a big club, one of the top clubs in Europe, but I am really pleased and happy to be here.”

He later added: “As a manager you have to be proud that a top side is monitoring you but now we have finished the speculation.”

Juventus turned to the short-term arrangement with Zaccheroni once they were informed Benitez did not want to leave Liverpool mid-season and might not move at all if the co-owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, find the investment to improve his transfer budget and restart the stalled new stadium project.

Benitez’s confession effectively challenged the Americans to deliver finally on their repeated promises or face the departure of a coach Gillett recently labelled among the top five in the world.

The Spaniard said: “We are working very hard in the conditions that we have at this moment. We have some money we did not have before because we sold some players. I think we have a new investor or maybe more people coming this year, and the possibility of a new stadium is a big boost for everyone here so all these things are on the agenda. We have to trust and believe they will happen. In the meantime, we can talk about names in the market, players who are available for free and that means we can prove that we want to go forward and we can prove that we can manage sometimes without big money.”

Asked whether he needed firm evidence of investment and not simply promises to convince him to stay, Benitez replied: “Yes, I think that is important for all the fans and for all the people here to see these things happen. I think so for everyone here. Everyone wants to see the team and the club progress and I think we are going in the right direction but we have to move forward. Sometimes it is changing things and the key at the end we know is the stadium and the new investors.”

Liverpool have made pre-contract offers to Milan Jovanovic, the Standard Liege striker, and Bordeaux’s Marouane Chamakh, both of whom are out of contract this summer, but Benitez denied the uncertainty over his position would hinder transfer negotiations.

“Players know that I have four years of a contract and if they want to come they will come because it is Liverpool, a club with fantastic fans and a really good team with fantastic team-mates. I was fighting before and I will continue fighting every single week, trying to do the best for my club.”

Benitez hopes to sign a right-back before the transfer deadline but insisted Ryan Babel would not be sold despite widespread interest in the Netherlands international.

Babel’s former club, Ajax, have proposed a loan deal but Benitez informed the player yesterday he will be given this season to prove himself at Anfield.

“He will be in the squad and I think he will stay,” the Spaniard said. “I told him that I know there are clubs asking about his future, who want to buy you or take you on loan, but I think he is a good player and he has to show his quality on the pitch.”

For Zaccheroni’s immediate predecessor, Ferrara, the end of the road came at the San Siro in Milan on Thursday when Juventus were beaten 2-1 by Inter Milan in an Italian Cup quarter-final tie.

That defeat represented Juve’s seventh loss in nine games since December 5th when, ironically, Juventus pulled off their biggest win of the league season, beating league leaders Inter 2-1 in Turin. Since then not only have Juventus lost five of their last six Serie A games but they were also humiliatingly dumped out of the Champions League in a 4-1 drubbing by Bayern Munich.

For weeks now, it has seemed merely a question of time before Ferrara would be sacked. Brought in as a replacement for ex-Chelsea coach Claudio Ranieri just two games before the end of last season, Ferrara’s reign as Juventus coach looked doomed last Saturday night when his side were beaten 2-1 at home by an AS Roma team, now coached by Ranieri.

Were it not for the difficulties linked to finding a suitable and available replacement, Ferrara would probably have gone there and then. Originally, Juventus wanted to engage current Russia and ex-Chelsea coach, Guus Hiddink but, when it became clear that he would require a salary of approximately €7 million per season, the club changed tack and targeted Benitez.

Guardian Service