Rafa Benitez: Torres And Keane Will Live Up To Hype

Rafa Benitez made a press conference ahead of the first-leg of the crucial Champions League group stage qualifier against Standard Liege , Benitez said it will be only a matter of time before they start raining goals, so convinced is he of their ability both as individuals and as a unit.
"Keane and Torres are clever players, they scored plenty of goals last season and when they have played a lot more games together for us, they will score here too," said Rafa Benitez.
"These two strikers are top class, and they can be at the level of anyone in this competition. They will get better and better."They will need time. It has been a difficult summer with players arriving for training at different stages, but I have no worries about them in the future."
Benitez then turned his attention to the challenge at hand, warning that they will have their work cut out for them even though the Merseyside club are undoubtedly the hot favourites to triumph over two legs."Liege are in good form, they beat Anderlecht last weekend in the Belgian super cup, and last season in their league they barely lost a game and went over 30 without defeat at one stage," he said.
"They did not concede many goals, they have a strong defence and a quick attack. We must concentrate."

Torres targets trophies

Torres scored the only goal of this summer's European Championship final to hand Spain victory over Germany in June and he is now eager for more success.
Liverpool have not lifted a trophy in two years and Torres - who joined the Reds last summer in a record-breaking move from Atletico Madrid - is hopeful he can help end that wait.
The 24-year-old netted 33 goals in his debut campaign in England and he is eager to repeat that form this term in order to repay the Anfield faithful for supporting Spain last month.

"Euro 2008 was my first major title, but I don't want it to end here," Torres, who returned to pre-season training with his club on Friday, said in the Daily Mirror.
"I want it to be the first of many titles because I want to win trophies with Liverpool. I know how much that would mean to the club and the fans.
"They gave me terrific support during Euro 2008 and I know they were cheering for Spain, which is something I will never forget."

Torres has also admitted his gratitude to Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez for aiding his development into one of Europe's most feared frontmen."The goals I scored for Liverpool last season gave me the confidence I need to take into the finals," added Torres.
"I have to thank Rafa and the staff for the help they have given me. I improved as a player because of them.
"Rafa is obsessed with details and he even had a (training) programme worked out for me before I got here last summer.
"He makes crazy demands on us. At the end of training when we're all tired he can still make us repeat routines 20 or 30 times."

Torres Speaks To German Newspaper

Fernando Torres has spoken for the first time to respected German daily newspaper Wunter Under Meijer about how he didn't think his Liverpool career would be as happy as it has turned out.Torres explains that he quickly became disillusioned by post-match remarks by Rafa Benitez that he found ''bizarre''.''It was a bit strange alright. After the Chelsea game at Anfield, Rafa was praising my goal. It all sounded nice until he seemed to imply that I was using stimulants to enhance my game. The journalist asked Rafa if he thought I would cut it in the Premiership and Rafa said 'For sure, Fernando brings a lot to the team because he has Koala Tea and if we play with high tempo, the right mentality and create chances he will score goals, for sure'. I wasn't happy with his implications that I would take any stimulants or steal from a Koala bear but I bit my tongue.''But the perceived accusations from Benitez kept coming though, and Torres was getting more and more uncomfortable with it. ''I'd score another hat-trick and straight away Rafa would be in the media, saying things like I score because of my Koala Tea. Eventually though, I asked Xabi Alonso about it, and he told me that when Rafa says you have Koala Tea he doesn't mean it as an insult but as a compliment. I still to this day don't know what Koala Tea has to do with football, but Rafa sure does talk about it a lot.''

Torres credits coach

Fernando Torres said that Liverpool Coach Rafael Benítez was the inspiration behind his goal-scoring splurge, which helped Spain win Euro 2008.
Torres scored 33 goals in his first season at Liverpool, breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record for goals scored by a foreigner in a debut Premier League season.
Torres, 24, said that Benítez’s relentless demands for improvement since he went to England from Atlético Madrid had been a catalyst in his career.
“There are days when you think, ‘My God, this guy doesn’t let you breathe,’ ” Torres told the club’s Web site on Saturday.
“At a club like Liverpool, you can’t sit back after scoring 20-odd goals and say, ‘Well, that’s it.’ After you score 20, Benítez is at you during the next training session and stays on top of you all day, all week.”
Torres was instrumental in helping Spain win its first major championship in 44 years, scoring the winning goal in last Sunday’s final against Germany. (AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE)