It's been mentioned before but well done to all our fans who supported him non-stop!
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/newcastles-rafa-benitez-signs-up-8051747
Newcastle's Rafa Benitez signs up to mastermind another epic comeback 11 years to the day after Istanbul
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• 22:30, 25 May 2016
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Spaniard whose Liverpool side rallied from 3-0 down at halftime to win THAT European Cup final in Istanbul has agreed to stay with the relegated Geordies
Eleven years to the day since his greatest comeback in Istanbul, Rafa Benitez signed up to three years of ¬resurrecting Newcastle.
May 25 is already a special day for Benitez, who bossed Liverpool to their iconic Champions League final win on that date in 2005.
Back then, his side went 3-0 down to AC Milan at half-time but then scored three times in seven second-half minutes — a comeback which saw the Reds go on to claim the trophy for a fifth time after a penalty shootout.
Wednesday heralded a more long-term climb back from oblivion, but one Benitez, ultimately, hopes will also have a silverlining.
The Spaniard’s £5m-a-year task is to lead Newcastle out of the Championship at the first attempt.
The aim, espoused privately by Benitez himself, is to then bounce them into the upper reaches of the Premier League, and pursue some of the fantasy and glory that has been missing in the past decade.
Benitez arrived at St James’ Park on Wednesday afternoon to sign a contract containing guarantees, spelled out in lawyerly ¬detail, about the iron grip he will have on “footballing matters” and financial backing he’ll get.
He had been ready to sign to stay on at the club he failed to keep up after joining in March with just 10 games to go for the past 10 days — but only when line by line certainties of his job, budget and scope for rebuilding were committed to a contract.
Owner Mike Ashley, realising his division of responsibility between a head coach, the chief scout, a managing director and the board wasn’t working, has now sanctioned an all-powerful head honcho.
Benitez has been lured by those horrible modern football words – ‘the project, the challenge’.
But it was the ‘warmth’ of the Geordie fans during their unsuccessful relegation battle that won him over.
Family influences also had a pull, with his kids keen on him remaining in England.
When his teenage daughters Claudia and Agata heard their dad's name being chanted during the 2-2 draw at Liverpool they told him: “You can’t leave, they love you...”
Benitez admitted an “emotional” pull in his decision to stay, but also listed systematically, and logically, what was needed.
‘Work harder than the rest’, have a ‘powerful’ squad, and be ‘professional’, was his recipe.
There was a hat-tip to former boss and club legend Sir Bobby Robson, whose statue he had just walked past.
“I would like to build something," he said. "I would like to be close to [sir Bobby and what he achieved], that would be fantastic. I will start working immediately so we can be big, if we work harder than the others.
“Maybe it is because I am getting older that I am more emotional now! I was in Liverpool and I said no to Real Madrid at that time because I had given my word to Liverpool, and that was emotional.”
Benitez admitted that the passion of the Toon fans was significant in his latest massive decision.
He revealed: “Here it has been quite easy, because of the reaction of the fans.
"I was at the Run For The 96 the other day in ¬Liverpool, and my relationship with the fans at Liverpool is really good – with the city, with everything – but we were doing really well there, and we were winning.
“Here, even though we were not winning, the fans were still fantastic. I want to repay them, and I want to do my best for them too.
Benitez admits he has been deeply touched by the welcome he's had at Newcastle
“We went three or four games without winning here, and still they were supporting me and supporting the team. For me, all these things together can make the difference, and that is what they did.
“I remember talking with my staff and saying, ‘We are not winning, but still they are so good’. We were impressed with that, and we said, ‘We have to win for them’.
“We have to win for us, because we are professionals, but after that, it is for them.
"You can see that you can make a project here and improve things, and for me, the club has a great future.
"But we have to do the right things right now.”
