After leading the club to an FA Cup and an iconic fifth Champions League triumph, Rafa Benitez’s place as a Liverpool legend is firmly secured.
Benitez’s work in the transfer market was a huge factor in their success, although not of all his signings turned out to be a hit at Anfield.
We’ve taken a look back at the first 10 faces the Spaniard brought to Anfield to see how they fared.
Josemi
Having impressed at Malaga, Josemi was first through the door under Benitez and initially found himself established in Liverpool’s starting XI.
But he received a red card in a win against Fulham and later suffered an injury that allowed Steve Finnan to cement his place as first-choice right-back.
After falling out of favour nearly completely at the start of the 2005-06 season, he was sold to Villareal in the January transfer window.
Antonio Nunez
Nunez arrived at Anfield as part of the deal that saw Michael Owen head in the other direction to Real Madrid.
Things did not get off to the best of starts, however, with the midfielder injuring his knee during his first training session, a knock that kept him on the sidelines for three months.
He left the club just a year after arriving but did so with a unique Liverpool record. Nunez remains the only player in the club’s history to score his first and only goal in a cup final, finding the net as the Reds were beaten 3-2 by Chelsea in the League Cup.
Xabi Alonso
Benitez made some shit-hot signings for Liverpool, but none were better than Alonso. A midfield boss and the scorer of some truly underrated goals.
Read: Sure, Xabi Alonso’s passing was good, but have you seen his goals?
Luis Garcia
Having helped Benitez guide Tenerife to promotion in Spain three years earlier, it was no big surprise to see Garcia rock up on Merseyside in the summer of 2004.
The winger played an integral role in their run to Champions League glory in 2005, scoring a stunning goal against Juventus and the infamous ‘ghost goal’…
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