Rafael Benitez has been coaching first-team sides for 13 years now. Sir Alex Ferguson has been doing it for 33 years. Benitez has won five major trophies, while his Old Trafford equivalent has won 29.
Comparing these two managers at this stage in their careers would be like comparing The Beatles to McFly. Except Benitez is good, and McFly aren't.
Anyway! The point I'm trying to make is Rafael Benitez is certainly a long way off achieving the success Fergie has experienced in his illustrious career.
But are there more similarities between the two managers than we think? Could Benitez possibly become as successful as Fergie? No chance, I hear you cry! But I'm no so sure.
Sir Alex Ferguson arrived in management in 1974, and he had to wait until 1978 before he got a chance at a "big" club—Aberdeen.
At Aberdeen, Fergie won three Scottish Premier League titles in eight years, toppling the dominance of the Glasgow clubs Celtic and Rangers.
He also won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with the unglamorous Scottish side.
He arrived at Manchester United in 1986, and had to wait until 1990 for his first major trophy—an FA Cup. When he joined, he claimed his goal was to knock Liverpool off their perch at the top of English football.
The wait for a league title took even longer, it wasn't until the inaugural Premier League season of 1992-93 that Ferguson claimed his first league crown with United.
He has, of course, gone on to win nine more leagues, two Champions Leagues and four more FA Cups.
Rafa Benitez, on the other hand, came into management in 1986, but had to wait until 1995 before he got a job as a first-team coach.
His first major job came in 2001 as the boss of Valencia. Much like Ferguson did at Aberdeen, Benitez toppled the usually dominant top two in the league, this time Real Madrid and Barcelona, and won two La Liga titles in just three years.
Again, like Ferguson at Aberdeen, Benitez also brought European success to Valencia, as they won the UEFA Cup in his final season in charge.
He came to Liverpool in 2004 with the mission to knock Man United off their perch, a direct opposite of Sir Alex Ferguson's task set out some 20 years earlier.
In his first season in English football, Benitez led Liverpool to an unlikely, some may say miraculous, Champions League trophy. The season after brought an FA Cup for the Spaniard.
Since then, the trophies have dried up, but remember, it took Ferguson four years to get his first title for United. Four years into his Liverpool career, Benitez already has two under his belt.
With continued improvement in the league, including Liverpool's best ever start to a Premier League campaign this season, and three Champions League semi-final appearances, two of which were successful, in four years, Benitez is certainly shaping up to be a great manager for Liverpool.
So, looking only at Ferguson's career four years in at United, and Benitez's four years in at Liverpool, the man from Spain is actually ahead.
Who knows, Benitez may not be just a great manager for Liverpool, but also a great manager for world football.
Could he go on to better Sir Alex? Only time will tell...
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about 1 month ago
i think its possible, but i cant see him staying at liverpool as long as sir alex has at man u. i remember reading somewhere he wanted to win the league in spain england and italy, so who knows, once he's done the job here, he may move on
from about 1 month ago
I don't know Chris, I can see him staying for a good ten years, perhpas not as long as Fergie, but long enough to be comparible to him (as Paisley has shown)
about 1 month ago
Alex who?
about 1 month ago
Definitely Rafa is better and in these modern day times its even harder to do it. With limited resources Rafa is doing as good or even better than Ferguson. I think Rafa may stay for a few more years if he wins the league with Liverpool and try to extend our league titles until Ferguson retires. Because the day i see Ferguson retires is the day that i see Kenny Daglish retire for Liverpool and its time for Man U to suffer the drought.
from about 1 month ago
Hopefully he'll stay until and beyond Fergie's retirement time!
about 1 month ago
Absolutly 100 million % No Barney , If he could emulate SAF then he would of won LFC a league title by now , he has been there long enough to have captured a prem title , a UEFA CL , a league cup , FA cup and other bits put him no where near contention to emulate SAF , Arsene Wenger is more on the way to emulating our Gaffr right now , Benites needs to put a league title on the board at least before we can talk about this subject , and thats not me bringing my United sideinto this , there is NO comparison and needs no thought at all to get my answer .
That does not mean I dont think Rafa isnt a good gaffer coz he is but it will take many titles and one more Euro to emulate SAF . Plus I cant see him being at LFC long enough to win another 20 + titles or cups !
from about 1 month ago
I was expecting this kind of response from someone, that Benitez hasn't won a league title with Liverpool yet, but it took Ferguson 7 years to get his first one! I'm sure after six of those years, people would've laughed at the suggestion Fergie would go on to become one of the greatest managers in the game's history!
from about 1 month ago
Wasnt saying hes rubbish Barney , just stating there are huge differences , first of all SAF relationship with the club has allowed him this success , will Rafa get that kind of backing from LFC for the next 27 years ? im not so sure . yeah it took SAF 7 years to grab a league ...and he was nearly sacked , but he has gone on to win ten of them since , If Rafa cant get a league title for LFC within the next 2 seasons then he has no hope in hell of emulating our gaffer .
Rafa done well taking you to 2 Euro finals and winning one , it was a massive achievment , but he needs a lot more than that , plus its all about the signings , Rafa's best signings were Torres and keeping hold of Gerrard , Fergie has about 50 best signings under his belt , Cantona , Kanchelskis , Ronaldo , Rooney , Van Nistelrooy , Vidic , Ferdinand , Carrick , Sparky ..................
Im not so sure Barney and this is definatly me with a neutral head on , just different class for me .
about 1 month ago
Can I ask you an honest question Barney?
If Liverpool weren't top of the Premier League, would you be asking questions like this? Not a chance.
Liverpool haven't won the Premier League even once in almost a decade.. let them win that first.. then you can start talking about Benitez catching up with Wenger, let alone Fergie.
Either way, I don't see him catching up with SAF - the competition is a lot fiercer.
I don't mean to sound condescending whatsoever.. I just felt that you're making this comparison based on the circumstances rather than the actual facts.
from about 1 month ago
They haven't won it for 19 years !!! Not almost a decade !!
from about 1 month ago
Oops. Meant 2 decades!
from about 1 month ago
I can honestly say that Liverpool being top of the table hasn't affected this article at all. I've said for a while now that Benitez has what it takes to become a great manager. It took Ferguson seven years for his first league title. Benitez is only four years into his tenure. Can Benitez catch Fergie? On the basis of what we've seen so far from Rafa, yeh I don't see why not!
about 1 month ago
Wenger who? When was the last time Arsenal were European champions?
Fergie's in a different league altogether. I do think Rafa is a brilliant tactician, and could get there someday. What he's achieved over the last 4 seasons with a squad that, at least on paper is inferior to the bigger 2 :P is commendable.
from about 1 month ago
The same can be asked about Liverpool being Premiership champions.
from about 1 month ago
Benitez has only been in the job four years though Shyam. The 19 years without a league title can't be attributed to this argument. Now Wenger is certainly a league above Benitez, in fact I wouldn't be able to pick between Fergie and Wenger as to who is the better manager, but in four years as Liverpool manager, Benitez has done more than Fergie after four years as a United manager. Whose to say the future won't be just as successful for Rafa?
from about 1 month ago
Fergie took 7 years...
from about 1 month ago
When Fergie took over at United English football had effectively been killed as regards to Europe. Total rebuiding was required. Whereas Benitez inherited Houlliers already suceesful in europe team.
from about 1 month ago
Look, I'm not saying Rafa will become the next Fergie. To be honest it's hard to imagine anyone emulating Fergie's achievements. All I'm saying is that Rafa can be a great manager too, he has the tactical knowledge to be succesful at this level. Fergie's record alone puts him in a class of his own, I'd like something similar from Rafa... If he can even get close to Fergie's record, I for one will be absolutely delighted.... (I can't see anyone remaining in their jobs that long either tbh)
You can go on about a succesful team, but Rafa had a mediocre team top start with, and he's improved the squad every year with a limted budget at his disposal... The astronomical sums that Rafa's allegedly spent have been raised mostly through the sale of players..
about 1 month ago
What Fergie has done will never be repeated by anyone.
from about 1 month ago
Not repeated perhaps, but his accomplishments will be equalled and surpassed!
from about 1 month ago
I doubt that Barney. 10 league titles and he's not finished yet. No Premier league manager will equal or surpass that. Not a snowball's chance in hell.
about 1 month ago
Not a chance unless he has £Millions at his disposal !!
There is one huge difference you failed to mention !
When you said: "So, looking only at Ferguson's career four years in at United, and Benitez's four years in at Liverpool, the man from Spain is actually ahead."
You neglected to mention the fact that during this time Fergie was busy dismantling the whole youth set up and rebuilding it for the future.
That great Liverpool stalwart Alan Hansen did warn Fergie you win nothing with kids but hey.....Fergie knew better.
Three of Fergie's Premier League titles have come after spending £0, £1,350,000 and £2,750,000 in the previous years transfer dealings !!
Fergie never bought his early success he cultivated it from a brilliant youth system.
Rafa needs money, money, money and then more money !
That's the difference !
from about 1 month ago
Benitez can't be accused of not trying to build up Liverpool's youth system. The sheer number of young players that come in almost every transfer window shows that. It could be a few more years before this youth system becomes evident though, as it was at the start of the Ferguson era!
from about 1 month ago
You hit the nail on the head there !!
You say the amount of young players that come in on every transfer window.........
I don't mean buying them, I mean signing them up aged 13, 14 and 15 and putting them through the 'system'.
Who was the last Liverpool star to come through the youth system at Anfield ?
from about 1 month ago
Maybe you've heard of Steven Gerrard? :O
from about 1 month ago
Yes Steven Gerard...........that's one........keep going !!
about 1 month ago
Circumstances are always to be considered when analysing facts: Benitez benefited from the fact that between 2002-2004 Real Madrid and Barcelona where facing internal crisis and reconstruction. Also, at the time he had a great squad at his orders, with Baraja, Vicente, Aimar, Ayala and Mista in rampant form. But it is not my intention to demerit him, he's a great manager and has achieved lot of things; only to point out that, having less resources with Porto, Mourinho managed to grab two portuguese superligas, a UEFA cup, and a Champion's league trophy in just three years, and i consider Ferguson a better manager (overall) than Mourinho.
The problem i see in managers like Benitez and Mourinho is the rigidity of the system they use, where almost the whole strategy is supported in midfield pressure and contention, rather than passing and possession. For sure it pays big dividends at the beginning; but it requires portentous physical forms, and once the rival learns to read your moves, it becomes predictable and wearisome. And let's not forget that playing football is not all about results; enjoying is also part of it. I consider Ferguson and Wenger systems more.....sustainable for the future.
about 1 month ago
And the poll just goes to show once more that there are more LFC fans read this than any other club fans so how can the poll be solid , plus if u clear the cache , you can vote again .........
about 1 month ago
While you argue your points well Barney I think you may have to come back in 3 years to write it LOL
Rafa is a great manager for Liverpool but he really needs to keep this League challenge going, he really has to win the league before you can make comparisons like this and I know you will come back with the 7 years thing for Fergie, then you'll have to see can Rafa win the league with Liverpool within the 7 years.
Just as Wenger needs to win the Champions League to gloss his cv. I wonder will Rafa be at Liverpool as long as Wenger at Arsenal never mind Fergie at United?
about 1 month ago
good article barney, some interesting points made, and you know your stuff, but i don't think benitez can ever become as good a manager as ferguson, and i don't think he will equal and definitely not surpass ferguson's trophy record.
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