How Newcastle and Liverpool are united by the cult of Rafael Benitez

“One of the great contradictions of Liverpool, both as a club and a city, is that for all its outward swagger it cares very deeply about the quality and integrity of its leaders,” explains Andy Heaton, of influential podcast the Anfield Wrap.

“That Rafa turned up in 2004 with a CV that was, at the time, the envy of Europe and just quietly got on with the job he was employed to do without fanfare instantly endeared him to a lot Liverpool fans.

“For better or for worse, we put great stock in what is and isn’t a ‘Liverpool manager.’ The manager of Liverpool isn’t merely the coach, he’s the embodiment of what we perceive to be the values of the club, and Rafa had those values in spades.

“Obviously, guiding the Reds to one of the greatest European Cup final victories, elevated him to the pantheon reserved only for those written into folklore. But just as importantly, how Rafa and his family embraced the city, his wife Montse especially, only further deepened the respect that we still have.

“The quiet dignity in which they carried themselves and the countless, and often unreported support (both financial and otherwise, some of which is still ongoing), proffered to various good causes in Liverpool is why he and his family will never be short of friends.”

It was his relationship with Liverpool supporters, as much as a CV that listed clubs of the glitterati, like Real Madrid, Napoli and Inter Milan, that meant Newcastle supporters could not quite believe Benítez wanted to become their manager too, particularly when they teetered on the brink of relegation to the Championship in March 2016.

After bargain basement appointments like Alan Pardew, John Carver and Steve McClaren, Benítez was a complete change, not just in class, but also character. He took over a club that was broken, the relationship between those who supported the club and those that ran it, fractured. He brought unity. He made a city fall in love with football again.

“When it comes to creating unity both inside and outside a football club, it is usually in the natural make-up of the manager,” explains Mark Jensen, editor of respected Newcastle fanzine The Mag. “Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson had it, Rafa Benítez is another.

“You can set up all the PR stunts you want to, but fans are wise to that. When Alan Pardew and Steve McClaren smiled, it wasn’t with their heart.

“Keegan and Sir Bobby immersed themselves in Newcastle United, Rafa does the same. You can tell he loves it. He loves the triangular rapport between manager, players and fans, he gets it.

“He involves himself in things like the foodbank initiative and community initiatives overseen by Newcastle United Foundation because he wants to. He doesn’t view it as an obligation or a chore. A manager who can do, what all these three do, gets it back tenfold from fans.

“Rafa has delivered pride in the club back to Newcastle fans, which had been missing for all but brief periods in Mike Ashley’s tenure – and indeed beyond. Everybody loves success, but just as important, is that feeling of trust in the man in charge.”

There is another side to Benítez, though. One that is not seen when the television cameras are rolling. He can be both an agitator and a schemer. For all his success on the pitch, Benítez can be a difficult employee, challenging, cajoling and complaining in equal measure.

It is no coincidence that’s Benítez’s popularity has soared at clubs where supporters have misgivings about the way things are done at boardroom level. He gives off a very deliberate impression he is a man fighting on their behalf against the ineptitude or spite of others

“He only arrived at Liverpool after falling out with the board at Valencia,” added Heaton. “It’s almost as if he has a masochistic desire to put himself in the most testing of circumstances.

“I think it’s fair to say that Rafa is incredibly stubborn. He values loyalty above all else, and sometimes he might make you want to bang your head against a wall, but when it mattered, he put his neck on the line to his own detriment when it started to go south under our previous owners. I’ve no doubt he’d do the same for the Newcastle fans.”

It has been a similar story for Benítez in the North East, where Ashley’s parsimonious regime has frustrated him in his recruitment plans this year. There was a stream of leaks over the summer suggesting he could quit, in protest, but he did not leave. Battle, though, will recommence before the January window opens.

“At Newcastle under Mike Ashley, we appear destined to have only either puppets, or managers who refuse to be undermined,” explained Jensen. “There is nothing in between. In desperation, Ashley employed both Kevin Keegan and then Rafa Benítez. Keegan’s ambitions and desire to make a success of the job quickly leading to a knife in the back.

“Benítez needs to be properly backed or else he will be wasting his time. When people say he is political, I read standing your ground, that is what is needed at Newcastle – especially with Ashley pulling the strings.

“I think the most positive thing about the situation is that, in my opinion, Benítez wants to stay at Newcastle long-term. The tougher question to answer is whether Mike Ashley will allow the right conditions to exist, which would allow the manager to get on and do the job properly."

If he leaves Newcastle, regardless of the circumstances, Benítez will not be blamed. Few managers achieve that at one club, let alone two. It suggests he has something special.