A Season on the Brink
A Portrait of Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool – Fully Updated 20th Anniversary Edition
Author: Guillem Balague Series: Guillem Balague's Books
The exclusive inside account of Liverpool's historic 2005 Champions League triumph under Spanish football manager Rafael Benitez from the award-winning Sunday Times bestseller, Guillem Balagué
28th July 2025
Paperback
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Summary
The exclusive inside account of Liverpool's historic 2005 Champions League triumph under Spanish football manager Rafael Benitez from the award-winning Sunday Times bestseller, Guillem Balagué
Description
'ENTHRALLING' FourFourTwo
'STIRRING' Dublin Herald'FASCINATING' Red and White Kop'ASTONISHING' Bleacher Report The Sunday Times BestsellerTwentieth anniversary edition, fully updated with a new foreword interviewing Rafael BenitezWhen Rafael Benitez was appointed manager of under-achieving Liverpool at the start of the 2004-05 season, the reaction of many fans was 'Who the **** is Rafael Benitez?'. After a wonderful spell at Valencia, the Spaniard arrived to take over Liverpool's famous Boot Room, determined to change the club's fortunes and win over a disillusioned Kop. In just one season, Benitez's importation of Spanish players, coaching methods and diet led to a revolution, usurping Jose Mourinho's Chelsea to reach the European Champions League final in Istanbul. It was a match that would go down in history as one of the greatest of all time. At half-time, Liverpool were 3-0 down to Carlo Ancelotti's AC Milan, a team many regarded as the best in the world, filled with stars such as Paolo Maldini, Kaka and Andrea Pirlo. However, against all the odds, Liverpool produced a stunning comeback, with goals from club captain Steven Gerrard, Vladimir micer and Xabi Alonso, before a dramatic penalty shoot-out saw the Reds clinch European glory. Featuring exclusive interviews with Benitez himself, assistant manager Pako Ayestaran and key first-team players, this is the behind-the-scenes story of Rafa's remarkable success with Liverpool.Critic Reviews
An enthralling, revelatory account of a game that will be remembered forever FOURFOURTWO
Fascinating, stirring stuff DUBLIN HERALD
About the Author
Guillem Balague is an award-winning football author, journalist and presenter who works regularly for BBC Radio 5 Live, LaLiga TV and the American network CBS.
His books include A Season on the Brink: A Portrait of Rafael Benitez's Liverpool; Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning; Messi: The Definitive Biography; Cristiano Ronaldo: The Biography which won the Football Book of the Year Award at the British Sports Book Awards and the Best Football Book of 2016 in Poland; Brave New World: Inside Pochettino's Spurs and Maradona: The Boy, The Rebel, The God. All of Guillem's books have been Sunday Times bestsellers in the UK, and each has been shortlisted for various category awards. He is also chairman of non-league Biggleswade FC.Product Details
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28th July 2025
